The Tower

The architect could barely contain her excitement. For months, she had a dream, and today, after receiving a long-awaited gigantic shipment of building materials for Christmas, she planned to break ground on this dream. Her dream was to build a tower, but not just any tower. She was going to build the tallest, most magnificent tower ever to be created in human history, a tower that would make the Eifel Tower look like nothing. Maybe she was young for an architect. Maybe more experienced architects wouldn’t take her seriously. But she did not let these thought discourage her. She would show them how architecture is done, with a tower so splendid it would be envied and admired by the whole world!

Block by strategically placed block, her tower took form. First it was one story, then two, then three. The tower grew taller, and taller, and taller still, until she had to stand to place the blocks. While she was building, she allowed no one to enter her construction zone, not even her family. This was partly because she feared someone would demolish her tower, inadvertently or on purpose. But mostly, it was because she wanted to build suspense for the grand opening. There were temporary setbacks in the project, as part of the tower fell on numerous occasions. But she would just rebuild it and keep going. When only a few blocks remained, she used them to make a beautiful spire which she delicately placed at the top of the tower. For the finishing touch, she appointed a soldier from her loyal army of plasticarmored soldiers as king, and sent him to the top story of the tower, the perfect location from which he could rule the world on her behalf. Then she stepped back, and admired her architectural marvel with pride and delight. “Mommy! Mommy! Look what I built,” she shouted triumphantly when she could keep her joy to herself no longer. “Wow!” exclaimed her mother lovingly when she walked in from the kitchen, “That is an awesome tower! You are quite the architect!”

Her architectural marvel was celebrated with a hug, but it wasn’t long before the architect was ready for a new challenge, so with a mischievous grin on her face, she said “Mommy, watch this!” Then she lightly but purposefully bumped the tower, giggling with delight as it came tumbling down, scattering blocks all over the floor. “Aw, you knocked the tower down,” the mother said with playful disappointment in her voice. “Yes,” the architect said, “but now I’m going to build something even better!”