Wager
Humanity was at the brink of annihilation. It would seem that the more advanced they became, the closer they drifted to oblivion. Greed became the order of the day and a selected few got rich at the expense of the majority. Those at the disadvantaged side contributed nothing but chaos to the system and with each new day came an abortion of hope.
Watching the scale between good and evil tilt, the keeper scratches its scaly scalp, grunting and growling subtly. It paced about in its holographic lair staring occasionally to the vast space of nothingness that preceded outside of the hologram.
"It is time", a thunderous voice echoed out of nowhere, sending a strong wave of vibration that caused the Keeper's holographic lair to glitch. The keeper was still. It was in the presence of the formless being believed to be the superior of all that has been and will be.
By now, the evil side of the scale was almost weighing heavily on the good side. A little flaw from humanity and evil will triumph over good causing all to be lost. All the celestial beings were ready for the annihilation and rebirth of the world, but the keeper still had faith in humanity so it interceded, "if they could just have a little show of love, certainly even the worst of them all will be more humane."
"You want a wager?" The voice echoed again.
The keeper hesitated, while thinking carefully of what It was about getting into. "There's no other way, certainly destiny can be altered". It thought to itself.
Perceiving it's thought, the voice questioned, "you risk going down there to contaminate yourself?"
"I am already contaminated. Everytime that evil triumphs, I become more hideous".
"That's because you attach yourself to them keeper and that's not your job. Watch over the scale you were instructed it shouldn't be that hard."
"How do I watch over them and not get attached? Aren't you tired of the repetitive cycle of destruction and creation? If they could get it right this time, the game will be over and we could finally rest".
"You want a wager and I always give others a chance at redemption. You have till the next 365 days keeper. If you fail, you will be destroyed alongside the world that you love so much."
"And if I win?"
"Win?" The voice questioned and laughed hysterically. The louder It laughed, the stronger its vibrations pierced through the hologram exposing the keeper's lair to thin stripes of bright light.
The keeper protected its vision by placing its limb above its eyelid. But the reflection of the light was too strong and in seconds, it emasculated the keeper's holographic lair.
Emerging from the shores of the sea, the keeper stood 50 ft tall. Its dry scaly skin is moist and drips with water. Its scales were like tiny pieces of mirror haphazardly arranged on its skin. The scales reflected the sun rays and created beautiful colourful light too bright for the human eyes. The keeper did not make itself visible, it needed a more welcoming appearance. Thus, it projected its mind and scanned through the area plus the mentality of the people inhabited there.
After the exercise, the keeper identified its location as an impoverished Island rich in a species of coffea plant whose seeds are known as the coffee bean. It looked around some more but with its mind's eye and not with both its eyes covered in a transparent eyelid.
Getting all the required information, the keeper shape shifted into an older lady and made herself visible. She was by the shore with washed up fishermen who rarely caught any fish in their torn net.
The women, however young, were not as beautiful nor were they attractive. They had visibly dull skin and eye bags that can't go unnoticed. Both the men and women were dressed in tattered clothing and in the head of some of these women were trays of almost decayed fishes on their tray they were trying to sell off.
The keeper, having heard them speak in their native dialect, quickly adopted the Language and spoke in one. She introduced herself to the people by the shore as a healer from a distant land sent by the gods to help alleviate their sufferings. She promised beauty as she promised wealth.
Not wanting to entertain any bold claims, a woman yelled from the crowd, “if you make my crooked teeth disappear and give me beauty, I will worship you as my god.”
A man quickly cuts in and yells, “we haven't caught any fish in a while. My family is hungry and my daughter is seriously ill at the point of death, help alleviate my suffering and pains and I will pledge my undying loyalty to you.” Soon, everyone started bringing their problems.
It was a wonder if the keeper could help alleviate their pains as promised. In their eyes the keeper saw hopelessness. They seemed to have hung on to faith for quite a while and had given up.
Still by the shore, the keeper crouched. She opened her palm and placed it on the sand, packing a handful and releasing it by throwing it upwards. The villagers watched in anxiety, they anticipated a mind blowing result and desperately hoped that it would end their suffering.
As they all waited, the weather darkened and the sun seemed to have disappeared in an eclipse. Simultaneously, the villagers felt tiny droplets of water fall on their skin.
“But we weren't expecting the rain”, were murmurs that soon filled the air. As the rain droplets increased, it fell with fishes from the sky. The fishes were so much that it can't all be consumed at once. The villages took what they needed and the surplus was sent to the sea. That instance, the women also noticed they glowed and were visibly more beautiful. The men were not left out. And soon, the villagers discovered that it's not just rain but an elixir of youth and healing.
The keeper need not do much again to earn the trust of the people. True to their words, the keeper was immortalised to a god and homage was being paid. But whatever the people brings, the keeper spreads to the disadvantaged amongst the advantaged. It was a well structured system and there seem to exist some level of equality amongst the people.
The Island soon gained recognition from the outside world and people started trooping in both as tourists and as investors. The fact that it's a coffea Island attracted so many people who came to exploit it for it's coffee beans.
One evening, the keeper decided to go on an inspection to be sure that the existence is still as it were. It felt odd and she couldn't place it but all was not well. At the initial time, she could use her psychic powers to detect the anomaly in the Island's system. But the more she lived amongst humans, the less in touch she became with her psychic energy.
Almost done with her inspections, all seemed to be well but still the feeling of uneasiness was heavy on her. At that point, she decided to connect to the root of the Island.
Shutting her eyes, she kept seeing the scale crashing and evil wining. For over 2 decades, the keeper has sustained the scale by creating the perfect society. Little did she know that some individuals feel they could get more from the system and since they've been offered more.
Thank you 🙂