Of Grave Reasoning

Once, in a time of grave reasoning and careful logic, there was a child who laughed.  She laughed wildly and stifled, with abandon and with gentle chuckles, often awake and sometimes asleep, and the sound was always like the pealing of bells.
            But, as it was a time of grave reasoning, the frowns upon the faces of passersby and the scolds of those of permanent fixture were frequent and sharp and came down like blows on the little heart.
            Then came a day when a ship filled with mysterious strangers arrived, flying on the air.  Sounds of laughter could be heard ringing down and settling amongst the frowns and the scolds, drawing the child like a beacon.  When a hand stretched down to her from the side of the ship deck, the child grabbed hold and let herself be swung aboard.
            The next day, the ship was gone, and the child too.
            For it was a time of grave reasoning.


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