Once day, as some people were digging near the Fountain of Ute, they discovered two beautiful crystals lying deep in the earth. As they pulled the first crystal from the ground, something spectacular happened. It immediately caught the light of the sun and began radiate a brilliant light – so bright and beautiful that it completely dazzled everyone who saw it. And so they called it the Brilliant Sun Crystal (BSC).

The second crystal was much darker than the first one, and it looked somewhat dull and gray when the two stood side by side. Its multi-faceted surfaces looked like a slightly transparent mirrors. And so they called it the Mirrored Window Crystal (MWC).

It wasn’t long before news of this discovery spread far and wide, and a great host of people flocked to see it for themselves. They were immediately mesmerized by the BSC, and one man (who had great wealth) offered the people near the Fountain of Ute a sizeable fortune to purchase it from them. And so they sold the crystal. The new owner took the BSC and traveled the world with it, gaining great fame and fortune in the process.

Thus, the people who lived near the Fountain of Ute were left with only the MWC. At first, they greatly missed having the BSC around, and some of them became deeply jealous, deciding they would have nothing to do with the MWC. But others began to look more closely at the mirrored crystal, and those who did so discovered something wonderful. The mirrored surfaces were not mirrors at all, but were actually windows that looked deeply into the human soul. And everyone who looked into the crystal saw something different and unique. Some looked and found visions of family inside – fathers, and grandfathers, and sons, coming together to share common devotion and passion. Others found friendships that could not be found elsewhere – friendships that went beyond the mere boundaries of age or distance. And still others found abiding traditions, giving them a powerful sense of identity that had been otherwise missing from their lives. And all of those who had been willing to look into the MWC called out to the others, “Come and see this great sight, for truly there is deeper beauty in this crystal than the outward dazzle of the BSC.” But those who had grown jealous would not listen. They had devised a plan to make the MWC appear more dazzling – like the BSC. And so, the disgruntled faction of those living near the Fountain of Ute erected great and powerful spotlights all around the crystal. When everything was in place, they flipped the switch and the MWC immediately grew very bright. It did not become as dazzling as the BSC, but it became more like what the dissenters had longed to see from it. Unfortunately, the light also blinded the onlookers to any of the precious visions inside. In time, the visions became only a distant memory until, ultimately, very few residents could remember them at all.