"'I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.' Nelson Mandela...very deep, isn't it?"

The heavy eyes looked up at the man walking with steady steps across the room. He was smiling at every face, a most comforting beam, but the people upon the chairs had long ago forgotten how to smile.

"And what a better way to conquer that fear than to expose ourselves to it?" the man continued mildly. "And what a better way to expose ourselves to it than to write it down? Therefore," he reached his desk and slid open one of its drawers. "I brought you these."

A gentle thud vibrated through the wooden desk, causing a cloud of dull curiosity to arise among the group. A few heads actually turned to the man, eyeing the organized pile of notebooks he was now clutching against his chest.

"Here," the man resumed to walk, but this time it wasn't aimless ambling. He handed each person a notebook, then headed back to his desk, allowing the men and women a moment to frown at his absurdity. Then he returned with a pack of pencils, and offered it to them with the simple air of someone offering his friends cigarettes.

"I want you to write what you fear most," he began to explain when everyone seemed to pay him attention again. "Is it darkness? Is it small spaces? Is it something else? No matter how silly, no matter how illogical, just write it down, as well as what makes you scared of it.  This way you will realize that your fear is as fragile as the paper it's written on. This way you will not only overcome your fear, but you will also be able to step on it if you want!"

The end of his speech was met with silence. To some, the suggestion seemed ridiculous, to others it seemed wonderful; the majority, however, thought it didn't really matter. They had nothing to lose after all. Nonetheless, they were certain of one thing: that their worst fears, no matter how silly, no matter how illogical, were darker than darkness and more suffocating than small spaces.