Work Text:
In some ways, I am like a glow stick.
You can apply pressure to a glow stick and break it, and it’ll shine brightly for a while before losing its light, its purpose, forever.
If you snap a glow stick a few more times as it’s slowly fading away, it may briefly shine a bit brighter before ultimately fading out, meeting the fate you’ve condemned it to.
You only admire and value a glow stick while it glows, and you throw it away as soon as it has stopped being useful.
After you break a glow stick, it’ll stay slightly bent. It’s a reminder of what you have done to it. You wouldn’t care though, because once it has finished being useful, you’ll discard it.
But if you just let the glow stick be, then it will remain unbroken, whole, and full of potential. It’ll stay perfectly fine and healthy. It doesn’t need to be snapped to have worth. Its potential is enough.
A glow stick left untouched is just fine. It has a quiet and steady existence that doesn’t demand attention but still carries worth. It does not need to be broken to matter, and it doesn’t need to glow to deserve care.
You may not notice it in the dark, but that doesn’t mean that it has no value. Its purpose isn’t to be destroyed for a fleeting moment of brilliance. Its purpose is being ready for when it’s truly needed.
So will you callously break me and force my light out, just to see me shine momentarily before fading away — or will you allow me to exist as I am in my unbroken state, and trust that when the right time comes I’ll shine on my own without the scars?
Or is my worth only visible when I’m broken?