Alpha and Omega

A town had an annual event:

Men and women of all ages converged at the town square in the dark of the early morning just before dawn.

This was a contest that the townspeople anticipated for the whole year, and when that day came in the dead of winter, there was only the warm feeling of excitement in the air.

There was only one rule and guideline;

“Start at the beginning, and come back to the start when you have finished.”

At first light, the signal man started the count…

3…
2…
1…

GO!

...and the citizens were on the hunt for elusive treasure.

From the gun start, and prepared with game plans, maps and compasses they raced to see who would find it.

Yet every year, it wound up that no one found was able to find the prize, thus keeping the excitement to see if they would be able to find the elusive reward next year.

This year however, there was one girl determined to win the prize, so naturally, she paid close attention to the rule:

“Start at the beginning…”

And she did, preparing for the next step.

“...and come back to the start when you have finished.”

She resolved in her heart to do so, but yet, she felt that she had a good knowledge of how to start and how to finish, but how was she to find the treasure?

Of course, until it dawned on her what the rules actually meant.

There was only a beginning and the end, and the beginning and the end were at the same place.

The girl went up to the signal man and asked him for the prize.

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