Once upon a madrigal season, there was a choir director who believed that order was the backbone of brilliance. To ensure every piece of the production was flawless, he created maps—beautifully detailed maps of the auditorium and the tower, complete with arrows, labels, and notes that rivaled the schematics of a medieval castle.

The maps were distributed to the students along with to-do lists that left no room for ambiguity. Yet, despite his best efforts, there was one student—a well-meaning, perpetually confused soul—who just couldn’t seem to grasp the concept of “following directions.”

“Mr. Rockford?” the student asked for what felt like the millionth time, holding the map sideways as though trying to find buried treasure. “So… how can I help?”

The choir director, a man of profound patience, turned slowly, hands clasped behind his back like a general surveying the battlefield.

“Well,” he said, keeping his tone as light as possible, “the map in your hand quite literally shows you everything you need to do.”

The student furrowed their brow. “Right, but, um… where exactly is the ‘north wall’ of the auditorium? And is the tower… like, the stairs? Or something else?”

The director closed his eyes for half a second, likely saying a silent prayer for strength, before responding. “The north wall is the wall with the giant sign that says ‘Stage Entrance,’ and the tower is, you know… the tower. It’s the big, tall thing attached to the building.”

“Ohhh, okay! Got it!” the student chirped, wandering off toward absolutely nowhere helpful.

The director stood there for a moment, glancing at his watch. “How I’ve managed to keep my hair this long,” he muttered to himself, “is nothing short of a Christmas miracle.”

By the end of the day, despite the detours, the misplaced risers, and the occasionally backward maps, the auditorium and tower were transformed. The students stood in awe of what they had accomplished—even if a few of them were still unclear on what a tower actually was.

And as the choir director adjusted one final music stand, he smiled, not because everything had gone perfectly, but because even amidst the chaos, they’d somehow pulled it off. After all, patience, a good map, and a sense of humor were all you really needed.