Thank Goodness It’s Not Always Friday
A long time ago, a brother and sister were two young stage actors in a family of actors. Their names were Fuzzy and Fluffy McGiggles. Fluffy McGiggles was a stunning actress, slightly older than Fuzzy, and more experienced in the way of the stage.
Fuzzy always envied Fluffy for her age, for that meant she was able to play the lead rolls in their family’s stage productions. Fuzzy yearned for the day when he would finally be able to join his older sister, and the rest of the actors, on the stage.
Finally, on his seventh birthday, his family decided he was ready to start. He only took a bit part, but he was thrilled. Fuzzy memorized everything he was supposed to do, and overall did a great job as a supporting actor during rehearsals. After several months of rehearsals, the actors decided to let him actually perform in front of a paying audience.
Fuzzy’s first performance was on a Wednesday. He was a bit nervous. When he got out on stage, though, his nerves disappeared. There were about a dozen people in the audience. It was a small enough crowd that it felt exactly like practice.
Although Fuzzy did a decent job, it was not nearly as exciting as he hoped.
“Don’t worry,” Fluffy reassured him after he expressed his disappointment the next day, “Friday will be better. We get so many more people on Fridays.”
Fuzzy nodded, and prepared for the Thursday performance.
That performance went about the same as the Wednesday performance. Fuzzy did a great job, as did Fluffy McGiggles and the rest of the actors, but he still didn’t have the same experience he had been anticipating. But Fluffy once again reassured him that the next night, Friday, would go better.
Friday dawned bright and beautiful, and Fuzzy felt as though maybe his older sister’s reassurances would prove accurate. The day was so sunny,he thought it even felt magical. But unfortunately, throughout the course of the day he grew accustomed to that feeling.
As the evening came upon them, and the McGiggles prepared for the show, Fuzzy once again felt a special sense in the air. There was no better way to explain it. He just attributed it to the delight of “Friday”, and anticipation of the show. Even backstage, he could tell that the crowd was a lot larger than usual.
He felt more nervous than he had even the first night of the show, but followed the breathing recommendations his sister had given him. Those helped, and he was ready when it was his time to enter the scene.
He acted like he’d never acted before. Actually, he didn’t so much act as lived the part. He felt the surroundings of the scene he was imagining, and could practically see the imaginary world. Fluffy was right, he realized. Fridays was amazing.
After the show was done, while he was still living in the moment of the final applause, he whispered softly to himself, “I wish every day was Friday.”
“Done,” came a soft whisper from the air around him. He glanced around, attempting to find the source, but could not find it. He assumed he just imagined it, and proceeded to completely forget about it.
The next day dawned brightly and crisply, just like the previous day. He yawned, and rolled to go back to sleep. After all, it was a Saturday. Everyone, even Actors, got Saturdays off. And even though he loved the stage, he also loved his sleep.
But Fuzzy had only just rolled over when Fluffy came in and yanked his blanket off.
“Wake up, Fuzzy,” She laughed at him. “You can’t sleep in on a Friday!”
“Friday?” Fuzzy exclaimed with excitement as he sat up.
“Yes, Friday! I don’t know how it happened, but the King and the High Wizards have declared that today is again Friday. And even the Calendars agree! So we have another show to do!” Fluffy was bouncing with excitement. She loved performing on Fridays.
Fuzzy bounced out of bed right after that, ready to start practice and prep for the day.
The day went quite well. Everyone was delighted by the King and Calendars’ surprise proclamation. Everyone performed their work with great energy. After all, it was a Friday. Everyone loved Fridays.
And as had happened the night before, there was a huge crowd out in the audience for the McGiggles’ Stage Production.
It was another perfect Friday.
And then the next day, it was once again Friday.
Fuzzy and Fluffy were still excited, and things went well. Indeed, up through the twelfth Friday in a row, everything seemed to be going well. But on the Thirteenth Friday, everything started to noticeably change.
Although Fluffy and Fuzzy hadn’t noticed, the crowds in the audience had slowly been decreasing.
The citizens were still required to work every Friday. And unlike the actors, they could not sleep later the next morning to compensate for staying up too late the previous night. And so they started not coming.
The Thirteenth Friday was when it was readily apparent. Fluffy and Fuzzy looked at each other in confusion, but also exhaustion. Although they did not need to awaken with the sun, they too were feeling the weight of not having a day off.
And so it continued, for 48 days of Friday. Finally, on the 7th 7th Friday, Fuzzy had enough. That 49th Friday performance had truly drained him, to the point of once again throwing a wish to the wind. Fortunately for him, whatever magic had been in the air his for his first Friday performance was there in greater strength on the 49th Friday. When Fuzzy dully wished that he week would go back to normal, a strong voice boomed deep within the earth a single word: “Done.”
The actors and the dozen people in the audience looked around, trying to figure out the source of the interruption, but to no avail. The hidden force was centered around Fuzzy’s wish, and could not be found now that the wish had been accepted.
The next morning, the citizens of the city got up to go to work, only to find that the King had not decreed another Friday. The Calendars, and the Wizards in the city confirmed this decision. The week had returned to normal.
