Parable of the Village Child - Part I

Here is a story that blossomed out of frustration for failure to work as a team. A miserable experience that I hope I can rectify by not allowing it to happen on my watch.

PARABLE OF THE VILLAGE CHILD


There once was a village that was selected by the master to raise a special child. They were chosen because they were good people. They were talented, smart, and beautiful.
This child was strong and healthy and everyone knew it had great potential.
The villagers knew that the child could be entrusted to everyone else, so they did not worry when the child cried. There were four village doctors, so surely one of the others would check in on him. The first doctor had other patients that paid more, so the others could help. The second doctor had missed breakfast that morning and was just now able to grab a bite to eat. Surely, the other doctors could look into the child’s needs. The third doctor was up late, so he slept in and didn’t even realize the child was crying. The fourth doctor had a tickle in her throat and so figured she ought not to see the child when she might be coming down with something.
A mother passed the child as she was on her way home from work. She felt sorry for him and wiped away his tears and cooed at him for a moment before she felt the pull of her own family’s needs and she left, knowing someone else could fill his needs. A brother passed, giving the child a dirty look for being so annoying and crying so much. A sister looked in on the child and determined she didn’t have the skills necessary to help calm the baby. But that was okay because there were plenty of mothers around that would take care of the child. A father passed by and got frustrated that there was no one around to help so he went along his way, intending to find someone to help, but he got distracted by an important business call he needed to attend to.
The busy villagers soon grew irritated by the child’s constant complaining. The child slowly became ugly, gangly, and stupid. The villagers began hating this willful child, constantly annoying everyone with its needs and wants.
One day the child was silent. At first there was just relief in the air. As the mother passed by she was glad to see it had fallen asleep. The brother passed by and stuck his tongue out at the child. The sister poked him and wondered why he was cold. The father passed by without looking at him.
The doctors were all relieved that the other doctors must have taken care of the child since they could no long hear the constant crying.
When the master came finally to check on the child, the villagers were shocked at the sudden outburst of wrath! What could cause such fury in one they loved so much? They all ran to the master to find him holding the child in his arms, tears streaming down his face. The child was dead.