As the door closed, a tall slender man sat down on one of the four empty chairs tucked neatly into the table and took a quick glance at the candle sitting in front of him. The candle barely lit a room that had barely and furniture. The walls stood white with floral designs and the wooden floor gleamed with oils. The tall slender man imagined a light source pure enough to radiate bright light without fire. While he was still in mid-thought his wife, Martha, entered the kitchen in her white silk nightgown and began cooking dinner.

            “Well, Tom, I see you’re back from work late, again,” said Martha as she began heating up the pot filled with plenty of cold soup.

            “I’m quite sorry. I know I’m inching closer to it. The feeling is almost palpable, I might say.”

            “That’s what you said the last two thousand times, but then again I’m not sure you’re right.”

            “Just be patient, the day of reckoning will soon be at hand.”

            “ Frankly, I don’t care how close you are, you’re just never here.”

            “Well, I’m an inventor and trust me it’s not easy at all. I can’t take a break, especially not while I’m in the midst of such promising work.”

            “ Fine. I feel as if your work is becoming more of a problem than I expected. Take a look at yourself. You’ve got bags under your eyes, a cough, and you’ve been losing weight. Your face is slimmer already.”

            “I think there’s a delicious remedy for such a problem. I do believe it is called dinner. Did you say that you prepared a nice juicy steak?”

            “Not quite,” she said as she plopped the wobbling bowl down in front of him and poured thick viscous soup from the pot. She poured so hard and fast that small bits of hot soup splashed into the bowl and back until and landed on Tom’s face. Dazed, he looked at her just in time to see her brown hair flutter in the air as she turned her back. He sat there in a trance of deep thought. Is that the correct transducer? How can I create a better flow so that it shines brighter? This task is becoming a nuisance. He shifted his eyes over to where she stood only to see the dark shadow of the bedroom door close with malicious intent. As the sound of the door hit Tom’s ears, darkness fell over his eyes as the candle was blown out by a gust of air.

*************    

            Tom opened the door and greeted his aides as he entered his lab, Menlo Park. He jumped into his seat and dove right into his work. As he looked around the room he saw barometers, beakers full of chemicals, transducers and batteries.  Suddenly he called to his aides, “John, Michael, Scott, come here and bring me an iron transducer, a battery, and a surrounding container. I want you to make sure the container has a vacuum within it otherwise it will ruin my results.” Irritated, all the aides dispersed across the room and recovered seemingly random pieces of a puzzle. With great speed Tom grabbed each piece, placed the iron inside the vacuum-sealed container and attached the battery.  He placed the battery beside the container and wired the ends of the iron transducer to the power source. Immediately the experiment began to glow and just as fast, it disintegrated within the container.

“Dammit, Scott, I told you I wanted a vacuum-sealed container. If even the slightest bit of air enters, then the composition of the transducer will immediately be destroyed.”

“What are you talking about?!!”

“Arghh! I guess if you want something done, then you must do it yourself,” muttered Tom as he reached for another transducer.

            “I’m quite sure that I followed your instructions to the last detail. Are you sure you didn’t allow air to fill the container as you placed the transducer in the container?” 

            “Are you questioning my ability to conduct a well-thought-out experiment? I’m sure it wasn’t my fault. Why don’t you sit back for a bit while I show you how it’s done?” said Tom as he stared at Scott’s eyes roll in frustration. Just before Scott could respond, Tom ran over to the counter and grabbed a short cylindrical glass with a small hole in the bottom and a matching pump. Tom snuck a sneering look at Scott as he turned on the pump, which sucked out all the air, creating a vacuum within the cylinder. Once the vacuum finished pumping out the air, Tom triumphantly walked over to Scott and the rest of his aides.

            “I believe that this was the correct manner in which a proper vacuum is to be created,” said Tom as he placed the iron filament into the vacuum. “Scott are you paying attention or shall I repeat what I’ve done?”

            “Well, now that I think about it, you probably should,” scoffed Scott while glaring at Tom. As Scott furiously walked off to his corner of the lab, Tom didn’t even notice Scott’s absence as he continued working on his theory.  Once Tom had assembled his experiment in the exact manner as before, the contraption gave off a faint glow but not enough to lighten Tom’s mood. After noticing the disappointment in Tom’s face, Michael and John slowly disappeared from Tom’s vision so that they would not incur Tom’s wrath. Both had felt it before when they tried to compliment Tom on his progress in a previous failure. In that instance, Tom damaged part of the lab when he carelessly and angrily added volatile chemicals together creating an acidic solution, which melted the flask as well as part of his table and floor. Both assistants feared that another comment would push Tom over the limit. Silence permeated the room as each person sat mulling over their current problems.

            As enough time passed for Tom to calm down, Scott began furiously working on a new theory, which came to him in his fit of anger. The theory was not much different than their most current ideas except that it dealt with the composition of the transducer. Tom noticed Scott’s face light up with excitement while he searched the room for materials. Silently, Tom rose out of his chair and crept over to Scott’s work place in Scott’s absence.  He reached over and inspected each piece of material Scott had gathered so far. He noticed that Scott was using a different filament while applying direct current into the experiment. As Scott turned back around towards his workstation, Tom grabbed a useless flask as an alibi for his foul play. He walked back to his seat and sat there waiting for Scott to finish his experiment. Scott finished his experiment, which he deemed hopeless, and decided that now was perfect for his usual long walk with the rest of the aides after he finished assembling his experiment and decided to a harmless look.  He crept up to the table and recognized the contraption. It was the same one he himself had just made only an hour ago. Tom suspected it work just as the others had done. He turned on the battery and to his amazement he was blinded by a light a thousand candles strong.

Tom stood there baffled. Could Scott have done it? Did he accomplish what the “Wizard” could not? Impossible! Scott is smart but to be completely honest no one would expect him to have invented this. If someone found out that Scott created an experiment of this magnitude, then it would overshadow everything I’ve done. I’d be ruined.

Tom jumped into action and flew across the room to where he found a similar experiment to Scott’s in every way possible except that it didn’t work. Tom knew that since Scott hadn’t tried his experiment before he left, there would be no way for him to know about Tom’s mischievous deeds. After switching the experiments, Tom rushed back to his desk as the door creaked open. 

Scott came bouncing through with an amused expression. He quickly picked up his jacket, which he forgot due to the thoughts of a delicious honey maple sandwich.  As Scott walked towards the door, he glanced over at Tom, who managed to display a façade of deep thought and entanglement. Once the door closed behind Scott, a wave of relief wiped across Tom’s face as he leaned back in his chair parting his lips only to produce a wry smile. He thought about how to distribute “his” invention throughout every American home. “Ahh. I will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles,” he chuckled as he reclined his feet on his desk.

****************************

            Tom sat down at the dinner table as usual and stared at the candle, which lit the room, while he contemplated the day’s events. “ I’ve seen that look before. You look like you’ve got something of the utmost importance on your mind,” said Martha with her fingers interlocking and furrowed brows. She stared

            “Well it was a good day. I…uhh invented a new source of light.”

            “You don’t seem very pleased about it. Isn’t this what you’ve been working on for the past few years? I would expect some joy and happiness out of you.”

            “It’s complicated. Why don’t you get me a glass of water?”

 Martha grabbed a glass and began filling it with water. She then walked over to the table and sat down next to Tom while handing him the glass. “ Well, at least you’ll have a lot more free time now that you’ve finished with your work,” she sighed.

            “Finished?” he scoffed, “This is where most of my work begins. Now I have to patent my invention and of course, find a reasonable way to market it. I’m planning on creating a company called “Tom’s Light Company.” It’s not like I can just wait for the money to come to me.”

            “What? I thought times were bad now with you always in your lab. I don’t know how much more of this I can handle,” she exclaimed as rubbed her hand on her forehead in frustration.

            “Don’t worry it won’t be long now. I’ll make enough money to permanently retire,” said Tom while grinning boyishly at Martha. “It’ll make all our problems disappear, just like that,” he said with a snap.

            “I’m sorry I can’t wait for some hypothetical time to get the person I know back. There are things I want to do and I can’t do them here while waiting for you,” choked Martha. “I love you but it’s either me or your inventions and its quite clear that I’ve lost.” She got up from the table and walked into the bedroom. Moments later she emerged carrying two bags filled clothes and the rest of her possessions.

            Tom’s eyes bulged upon recognition of her dark-brown leather suitcases. “I don’t believe there’s a need to go this far,” he said while Martha walked towards the front door.

            “I’m sorry but I’m quite sure that I must do this, otherwise I’ll be left to wonder…” her voice trailed off as she looked into his eyes and then back towards the door. She heaved a final sigh and picked up the suitcases on her way out. As the door closed, the candle began to flicker until it settled, but it just wasn’t as bright as before. He sat there pondering. What did I do? I was only working hard enough to ensure that I could provide for the both of us. I can’t see why she doesn’t understand that. What more does she want from me?

*****************************

            The sound of knuckles pounding on wood echoed through the house. The door slowly opened revealing Scott in a brown tweed jacket. He began searching for Tom among the heaps of clothes laid everywhere. Scott noticed the lone dinner plate with a half-eaten steak. The candle sitting on the table had already burned itself out and the wax hardened over the table as it was dripping off the edge. The only light came from the corner. I was “Tom’s” successful experiment, which he had brought home the day after Martha left.

            “Tom?” asked Scott as he approached Tom’s bedroom door. He pulled the handle only to hear it creak at its hinges. “Tom are you here?” wondered Scott with a fearful and uncertain look on his face.

            “What?!” said Tom under the sheets of his bed only half-awake. “Why are you here?”

            “Well, we haven’t seen you at the lab for a few days now and—“

            “Are you guys now becoming concerned about me?” scoffed Tom. He popped his head out from under the covers to see a reminder of his own failure and deception. “There’s no point in continuing on with the experiment for me. I may have found a new source of light but my life is as dark as ever. Take the godforsaken experiment and leave!”

            “But you made it! I can’t take the credit knowing that I didn’t invent it,” argued Scott.

            “ Great,” said Tom as he rolled out of bed and walked out of his bedroom towards the experiment. “I confess that I didn’t make it, you did. I just took it off you’re desk while you weren’t looking.”

            “What?!! Why did you do that?” exclaimed Scott.

            “Well, I couldn’t let you overshadow everything I’ve worked for,” argued Tom as he picked up the experiment. He reached for the powerful battery and in a sudden moment his body began to convulse violently as electricity coursed through his entire body. Tom hit the ground with a thud that seemed to reverberate off the walls.