Maggots and Gold

In another place, and another time, there were a brother and sister who lived in a small village. One day, since it was Spring and it looked to be a warming and beautiful day, they took off walking together. They came to the edge of the village and began walking across a wide and beautiful field. As they crossed it, they spied the figure of a man on the other side, and as they got closer, they realized that it was their father. They were surprised, as he had died some years before and they had grown up without him, but there he was. As they came closer, he looked at them silently and gestured for them to follow him. Since he was their father, and they had lived so long without him, they followed. He led them across the field, and when they got to the other side, he lead them into a passage which went down into the Earth.

It grew darker, but as they descended, the passage began to widen, and eventually they came around a corner and saw that they were in a large space. In the center of that space was a small village sitting in the dark, quiet and empty. The father walked to the center of the village, stopped, and spoke to his children. He told them to go to the edge of the clearing and hide behind the bushes there. He told them to stay there until he returned, and to take note of everything that they saw. Being dutiful children, they did as he bade them, and he walked away.

They sat there in the dark, and after a while it became light in the village. People began to walk into the center of the village until they had gathered into a crowd. They then noticed another man entering the village and making his way to the center. As he entered the light, they noticed that he looked noble, that he had a regal bearing. He came to the center of his people, then turned sideways. They could see that that side of the Chief was covered with rotting flesh. There were maggots crawling and burrowing their way through the ruined flesh. The people gathered around him and began to pick the dead flesh off, cleaning his wounds. After they had cleaned his face, he turned and walked away. Shortly thereafter the people began to leave as well, until the village was again empty, and the light faded to darkness.

The two children stayed there in the darkness, waiting for their father to return. After some time passed, the light began to return, as well as the people. When they had gathered, the noble man returned. This time, when he got to the center of the group of people, he turned the other way. This side of the chief was covered in gold. The people reached out and anointed the golden part of the chief with oil, took out cloths and began to shine and burnish it until that side shone like fire. When it shone brightly the man turned and left, and shortly the people did the same.

A few minutes later the father returned and asked his children to tell him what had happened. They told of the people coming, and the noble man appearing and showing the side of his face which was rotting and maggot-ridden, of the villagers cleaning his flesh and then his leaving. They then told their father about the noble man returning and showing his side of gold, and how the people anointed it and polished it. The father said he was sorry that they had come to him on this day and seen the maggots first. He told them because they had come on this day that their lives would be hard, that the important things that they tried to do would come to failure, that those they loved would suffer and disappoint them, and that they would find no satisfaction in their lives. He turned around and bade them follow him as he lead them up out of the depths back to the meadow. When he got to the entrance, he stood to one side to let them pass. They looked at him, and not knowing what to do, continued across the field and left him standing there.