As the wind swept over the fields and hills and ruffled the leaves on the trees, the creaks of a floorboard resounded. The door of a small, run down shack was pulled open, and a man strode in. His shoulders were slumped slightly and some rusted animal snares hung loosely over his shoulder. As he closed the door behind him, a woman looked up from her place on a lowly rocking chair. She quickly dabbed at her eyes, sniffing as she looked away quickly. The man looked at her and a flash of something went through his eyes; he almost flinched. “How did the hunt go?” she squeaked finally, not yet turning to him. He sighed and shrugged, a sort of melancholy hovering through his eyes as he tossed the unfruitful traps and nets into an empty chair besides him. The woman nodded as if she expected that. “I’m sorry. There’s just not much in the forest anymore.” he muttered, but she shrugged it off. “It’s okay, Rob.” she said, smiling, but to him it seemed terse; her lips twitched. She changed the subject quickly. “So what are we having today, then? Potatoes and beans… again?” she sighed, and once more, he flinched, almost as if he were shriveling up a little on the inside.
Rob set his jaw and turned around. Walking onto the porch, he stood there for a while, gazing at the trees of the forest and the small road right in front. Eva followed soon, stepping onto it behind him and quietly looking at him. Just then, the clopping sound of horses came to their ears. Looking down the road, an exquisite carriage was coming towards them. It was beautifully ornamented, the horses clean, big and white. Eva looked at it in a dreamy amazement. Rob glanced at her, studied her for a bit, then glanced away. And just as it passed, she smiled. “Maybe if we had a child, this would be different.” She turned to him, smiling at the thought, “Like maybe we’d be riding that right now..” and just as her voice cracked, she turned around and disappeared into the hut, leaving Rob staring after her with that same melancholy in his eyes, wishing he could do something to make her happy.
Later on that day they were by the window. The stars were spread out like thousands of tiny little diamonds glistening at them and dancing with their brothers and sisters. After a few minutes of silence, Eve sighed. “I would have loved to show Michael this.” She murmured, her smile not reaching her eyes. Rob looked at her for a moment, and with a hunch of his shoulders he got up and left.
The next day a few hours before the sun rose, he went hunting again, his nets and traps slung over his shoulder. He set them up quietly and swiftly in an area of the forest he hadn’t thought to try. Retreating to the safety of a tree, he watched and waited. He waited hours on end, watched the sun peek over the horizon, make its way across the sky. He waited in the tree until it began to descend, and darkness began to creep up on the land like an unearthly plague. He waited until he began to become agitated, impatient. He was determined not to go home empty-handed. He told himself that if he didn’t get anything today, he wouldn’t go home at all. And then finally, finally, the heavens seemed to have mercy on the poor, struggling man and a trap was set off. A loud squeal rang through the air, shooting through the previous silence like gunfire. Rob jumped down from the tree and dashed forward. Branches were snapping now as the animal tried to make its escape, and Rob sped up, driven by the fear of disappointing his wife once more. Her face, her red puffy eyes haunted his mind as he pushed his way into the clearing, letting his gaze rest on the animal caught between the sharp jaws of the snare. Except; it was unlike any other animal he’d ever seen. It had the antlers of a deer, the head of a lion and the body of a fox. He stared at it in awe for a moment, watching it thrash around in the net it was entangled in, one leg bloody and limp. He walked up to it, kneeling down and pressing the dagger to its neck. And just then, it spoke. “No! Good man, wait!” Rob stared at it in astonishment, hesitating. Had it just spoken? “I am a very special animal, you see. The king of the forest. If you let me go, I will grant you ability beyond your wildest imagination. Tell me, Rob, what is it that you most desire?” The animal stopped struggling and gazed at the man with such intensity that goose-bumps rose on his arms. “How did you know my name?” he exhaled, flabbergasted, his eyes wide. “I know everything. Tell me, how is your wife? Still mourning over Michael? The poor stillborn babe. Is that what you want? Children? Set me free, and you’ll have three crying at your feet. Or do you want riches to provide for your family? Diamonds will pour from your pockets.” The animal shifted, and Rob sat back, too confused to think. Unconsciously, he began to imagine a better life- children screaming and playing in the background, Eva singing in the kitchen. He’d have a job, a life that they all wanted. He looked back up at the animal, its eyes twinkling with something he couldn’t recognize.
“Yes, I think that’s what it is. Riches. Let me go and you can be the richest man on this earth. Give Eva everything she deserves and more- maybe you can even pay for some of that modern medicine to help her conceive children. Would you like that?” it asked, its voice practically dripping with power, seducing the ears of the man before it. Rob looked up. “What must I do?” he asked eagerly, leaning forward. “Just let me go. Simply. Let me go and I will reward you with something so amazing, it will change your life forever. Just set me free.” It coaxed gently. Rob lowered the knife, eyeing it with suspicion. “How can I trust you?” he said. The animal almost grinned, baring its fanglike teeth. “I am the king of the forest. I give you my word- that is the most powerful appeal I can make. I will give you riches you never imagined having.” It spoke slowly, as if letting the man digest every word. And then slowly, as if under a trance, Rob lifted the dagger once more. Carefully, he cut away the rope bit by bit, lifting it over the animals’ antlers. He opened the latch and the snare snapped open, releasing the animals wounded, bloodied leg. The animal jerked upwards away from it. It tentatively stretched its leg, testing it almost, before turning to Rob once more. Without a word, it lowered its head. Gently, the tip of one of the antlers touched the top of Robs head- and just then, a jolt went through him. It spread through every fiber of his hair and through his veins like poison, tingling in his fingers and burning his eyes. His vision blurred and then cleared suddenly. “It is done. Your fate has been changed. You will be rich. You shall cry tears of gold.” It boomed, taking a step back and straightening up, its antlers glistening as it shook itself. Turning around, it began to walk away, each step slow and calculated. And just before it stepped into he bushes, it turned around, its eyes twinkling with that same mischief once more. “Remember. Happiness is just a teardrop away.” It winked, baring its dagger like teeth once more before bounding into the bushes and disappearing from his sight forever.
That night Rob bounded home as fast as he could, tearing up the steps of his small hut. The door swung open as he walked in, breathing heavily. His wife was sitting in the same place once more. As he walked up to her, she stood up- but something was different. “Nothing? Nothing again?” She said, almost astounded. “Yes, but listen-“ He started setting down the broken net and bloodied snare, but she broke him off, exasperated. “No, you listen! It’s been a month and you haven’t caught anything! We’re running out of vegetables- there are] hardly any left!” she cried, taking a step forward. Rob paused, his heart drumming against his ribs. “But-“ he started to protest, except she wouldn’t listen. “You have to find something Rob.” And then with such zeal and passion she spoke, her eyes burning. “Sometimes I’m glad Michael didn’t survive- I wouldn’t have wanted to bring him into this world.” And with that, she withdrew, disappearing into the room. Rob took a step back, his shoulders hunching slightly, as if the words crushed him with an unbearable weight. He took another step back, turning around and opening the door, standing on the porch and breathing in the air as if he had never breathed clean air before in his life. His throat choked up, his cheeks suddenly wet. And as tears spilled from his eyes, he heard a clink as something dropped to the floor. Blinking, he heard it a few more times. Looking down, he froze.
There, by his run down shoes, lay a few, solidified, gold tears.
Dumbfounded, Rob bent down, picking up the pieces of gold and rolling them between his fingers. They were real. He wasn’t dreaming. The animal had been true to its word!
And so began his slow, agonizing descent into his doom.
The next day, Rob woke up a new man. Overjoyed, he went to the market place and sold the gold pieces for whatever they were worth, and bought all the things he could possibly think of. Food, water, clothes, even some roses for Eva. When he went back home, she was thrilled. She asked where all of it could have possibly come from, and with a nonchalant shake of his head, Rob said he had stumbled over some good fortune in the forest. She hadn’t pressed the matter, much to his relief. Time and time again, Rob went back to the forest to look for the animal and thank him. Sometimes he even went for show, playing on with the “good fortune” he had been blessed to find. But soon, will all the debts the couple had to pay off, with all the deals that they had to seal, the unpaid taxes they neglected, their revenue slowly died out once more. The smile faded from her face- or it seemed to, in Robs’ eyes. He began to look for ways to make himself cry, to spill the tears of gold that lurked behind his irises like undiscovered treasures. Of course, the fall was slow. It began with petty things. Desperate to prolong their time in the sun, he searched for sad things. He called for them.
He would go into their small, piteous store, uncover the things that once belonged to their unborn son and go over them, reopening the wounds that had healed not too long ago. And when something would make the fresh wounds sting and burn- a toy, perhaps, the clothes they had bought for him and that he had never worn- the gold tears would spill from his eyes and let them bask in its glory for another few months. But then the luxuries of the fallen world began to seduce him. Soon, not even that was enough. He began to go to theatres and watch the saddest tragedies they could offer him- somewhere out of sight, he would cry those tears of gold, and collected them in a small bag he kept close to his heart. Day after day after day, he would go to the theatre and force himself to cry, feel the sorrow of the actors up on stage. But at one point, they ran out of tragedies. He had seen them all- three, four, even five times. He knew the storyline so well; he could quote them word for word. It never affected him anymore.
And then, he began to see indulgences in a new light. He started to buy them things that they did not need but simply wanted. He bought Eva the sweetest chocolates, the most extravagant jewelry, the most luxurious ornaments. He bought material for remaking the hut into a larger house- but then thought, why should he rebuild it himself if he could hire someone to do it for him? Eva began to gain weight. She looked healthier- her hair had a shiny gloss to it now, a luster before it could never have matched. Her face was rounder; her clothes fit her better. Luxury became her. But things didn’t stop there. At one point, when he had exhausted all other sources of melancholy, he switched to pain. Sometimes the pain of others- but mostly, his own. He would cut himself now. With a sharp blade, he would dig it into his skin across his arm, let his tears fall freely and pick the gold out of the blood that it had mixed with. And when his arm was covered with healing scars, he would switch to his legs. Impossible as it may seem- at one point, not even the pain made him cry anymore. It was as if he had gotten used to it, to all types of pain and sadness. His eyes were a fountain that had run dry, and for months, no gold would come. Eva, too, continued to gain weight. Her legs became fatter, her arms thicker. She seemed to rumble with life. But her husband was too blind to notice. She called on him time and time again, but he was too caught up in his gold tears. They managed to get on for a while, without him having to cry- but for the love of God it just wasn’t enough. He wanted- no, he needed more. A few gold tears didn’t satisfy him any more; he wanted them all. Slowly, day-by-day, he got further entangled in the web he had weaved for himself, drowning more in his greed.
And then one day, it all changed.
He went home early that day, when Eva was out doing some errands. He needed gold, he told himself. This was for the gold, he chanted. He waited for hours, the lights of the house burning dim. He watched the sun slowly lower itself to the ground outside, and the sky turn a shade or red-ish orange. And then finally, the door swung open. Eva walked in, seeming to glow with a radiance foreign to her. She was startled to see him waiting so eagerly, but brushed it off. “Rob! Great, you’re here. I have such good news, I have to tell you someth-!” She beamed, glowing with happiness. “I do too. Our fortune is going to last, Eva.” He grinned sinisterly, and she seemed to sense a change in his voice because she stopped and stared at him. His eyes, crazed, glanced over her as if she were an object standing in his way to glory. Slowly, he pulled out a dagger from behind him, twisting it between his fingers. Eva blanched. “Put that away Rob, I have to tell you-“ He took a step forward, his eyes almost soulless. “Maybe later. I have some business to attend to.” He smirked mischievously, and grabbed her arm, raising the knife. Eva squeaked and tried to draw away, but he held fast. “Rob! What are you doing?!” She squealed, pale as death itself. But he continued; he rose the dagger to her neck now, pressing it to her skin. Eva went deathly still, backed up against the wall. “Rob. Stop it. Please,” And then she began to cry. Ah, those tears that drove everything. Rob felt his eyes water, and relief surged through him. It was working! And without a moments thought, he stabbed her.
Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down.
Eva dropped to the floor, her crimson blood staining her dress and pooling around her. She gazed up at him, her eyes wide, terrified as she choked. Rob bent down next to her, gripping her hand tightly. “I loved you…” she sputtered, and then it happened. Tears began to fall down his cheeks, the gold glistening on her heaving chest as she struggled to keep a grip on her life. “No, no, no- what have I done?!” He gasped, gripping her fiercely, and she coughed, blood dripping down the side of her mouth. “Eva! Eva I’m sorry! Stay with me- Eva!” he cried, but it was useless. The animal- it had tricked him. It had made him think this was a blessing. He could almost hear its strange laughter, see that twinkle in its eyes. Eva’s eyes began to droop. “No, look at me!” he yelped, and shook her. Her eyes opened, but they seemed to look right through him. She was neither here nor there. “Don’t take her from me, please! She’s all I have! I’ll give back the gold, everything!” he called out, hoping that someone, anyone would hear his voice and take pity on him. He couldn’t live without her. “I- I was carrying your son... ” she exhaled, her voice growing weak. And suddenly, she went still and death threw its cloak on her with an unearthly laugh.
The grief that overcame him was incredible. He didn’t think anyone could have felt such grief. Ironically, now he felt the sorrow of the world weighing down on him. He felt the sorrow of the actors, felt the sting of his cuts, heard the cries of his second unborn son as he wept in his mothers dying womb. He sat by her side for hours, tears spilling from his eyes as her blood curdled and thickened, her body grew pale and lifeless. He cried for his stupidity, greed, pride, the life he had wanted for them but never could get. Never had he felt such intense grief. It choked in his neck and crushed him under its giant foot, squeezing the air out of his lungs. The gold piled up next to her as he held her cold hand in his.
And then he went quiet. He stilled.
Gathering the gold up in his hands, he went to the furnace and put it in a pot. With a match, he lit a fire, and set the pot above it. His movements were tense, almost robotic. His face was devoid of all expression. He sat there for a while, just sat. He didn’t move, didn’t blink- he hardly seemed to breathe. With his bare hands, he picked up the burning pot, his skin sizzling and burning against its hot touch. He grit his teeth, squeezed his eyes shut, but he didn’t let it go. His neck, red now with strain, seemed to throb. He pulled the pot with melted gold in it and gazed at the beautiful, golden, magnificent liquid swirling around inside. His hand was bloodied now, but he didn’t care. He’d do it, he’d take back the gold. He said he would. He brought the boiling pot to his lips- they sizzled and burned fiercely and he held back a cry. His eyes burned with tears but for the love of God, he held them back. No more would gold spill from his eyes. And with one last look at his wife, he drank. The agony was immense, inhumane almost, but he accepted it with open arms. The gold burned his throat, spread down his throat like liquid fire, ripping his muscles apart. He couldn’t feel himself scream. It set fire to him from the inside out. Just as the world went black around him, he smiled.
He did it. He took the gold back. He kept his word.
Maybe he’d see his son after all.
Rob set his jaw and turned around. Walking onto the porch, he stood there for a while, gazing at the trees of the forest and the small road right in front. Eva followed soon, stepping onto it behind him and quietly looking at him. Just then, the clopping sound of horses came to their ears. Looking down the road, an exquisite carriage was coming towards them. It was beautifully ornamented, the horses clean, big and white. Eva looked at it in a dreamy amazement. Rob glanced at her, studied her for a bit, then glanced away. And just as it passed, she smiled. “Maybe if we had a child, this would be different.” She turned to him, smiling at the thought, “Like maybe we’d be riding that right now..” and just as her voice cracked, she turned around and disappeared into the hut, leaving Rob staring after her with that same melancholy in his eyes, wishing he could do something to make her happy.
Later on that day they were by the window. The stars were spread out like thousands of tiny little diamonds glistening at them and dancing with their brothers and sisters. After a few minutes of silence, Eve sighed. “I would have loved to show Michael this.” She murmured, her smile not reaching her eyes. Rob looked at her for a moment, and with a hunch of his shoulders he got up and left.
The next day a few hours before the sun rose, he went hunting again, his nets and traps slung over his shoulder. He set them up quietly and swiftly in an area of the forest he hadn’t thought to try. Retreating to the safety of a tree, he watched and waited. He waited hours on end, watched the sun peek over the horizon, make its way across the sky. He waited in the tree until it began to descend, and darkness began to creep up on the land like an unearthly plague. He waited until he began to become agitated, impatient. He was determined not to go home empty-handed. He told himself that if he didn’t get anything today, he wouldn’t go home at all. And then finally, finally, the heavens seemed to have mercy on the poor, struggling man and a trap was set off. A loud squeal rang through the air, shooting through the previous silence like gunfire. Rob jumped down from the tree and dashed forward. Branches were snapping now as the animal tried to make its escape, and Rob sped up, driven by the fear of disappointing his wife once more. Her face, her red puffy eyes haunted his mind as he pushed his way into the clearing, letting his gaze rest on the animal caught between the sharp jaws of the snare. Except; it was unlike any other animal he’d ever seen. It had the antlers of a deer, the head of a lion and the body of a fox. He stared at it in awe for a moment, watching it thrash around in the net it was entangled in, one leg bloody and limp. He walked up to it, kneeling down and pressing the dagger to its neck. And just then, it spoke. “No! Good man, wait!” Rob stared at it in astonishment, hesitating. Had it just spoken? “I am a very special animal, you see. The king of the forest. If you let me go, I will grant you ability beyond your wildest imagination. Tell me, Rob, what is it that you most desire?” The animal stopped struggling and gazed at the man with such intensity that goose-bumps rose on his arms. “How did you know my name?” he exhaled, flabbergasted, his eyes wide. “I know everything. Tell me, how is your wife? Still mourning over Michael? The poor stillborn babe. Is that what you want? Children? Set me free, and you’ll have three crying at your feet. Or do you want riches to provide for your family? Diamonds will pour from your pockets.” The animal shifted, and Rob sat back, too confused to think. Unconsciously, he began to imagine a better life- children screaming and playing in the background, Eva singing in the kitchen. He’d have a job, a life that they all wanted. He looked back up at the animal, its eyes twinkling with something he couldn’t recognize.
“Yes, I think that’s what it is. Riches. Let me go and you can be the richest man on this earth. Give Eva everything she deserves and more- maybe you can even pay for some of that modern medicine to help her conceive children. Would you like that?” it asked, its voice practically dripping with power, seducing the ears of the man before it. Rob looked up. “What must I do?” he asked eagerly, leaning forward. “Just let me go. Simply. Let me go and I will reward you with something so amazing, it will change your life forever. Just set me free.” It coaxed gently. Rob lowered the knife, eyeing it with suspicion. “How can I trust you?” he said. The animal almost grinned, baring its fanglike teeth. “I am the king of the forest. I give you my word- that is the most powerful appeal I can make. I will give you riches you never imagined having.” It spoke slowly, as if letting the man digest every word. And then slowly, as if under a trance, Rob lifted the dagger once more. Carefully, he cut away the rope bit by bit, lifting it over the animals’ antlers. He opened the latch and the snare snapped open, releasing the animals wounded, bloodied leg. The animal jerked upwards away from it. It tentatively stretched its leg, testing it almost, before turning to Rob once more. Without a word, it lowered its head. Gently, the tip of one of the antlers touched the top of Robs head- and just then, a jolt went through him. It spread through every fiber of his hair and through his veins like poison, tingling in his fingers and burning his eyes. His vision blurred and then cleared suddenly. “It is done. Your fate has been changed. You will be rich. You shall cry tears of gold.” It boomed, taking a step back and straightening up, its antlers glistening as it shook itself. Turning around, it began to walk away, each step slow and calculated. And just before it stepped into he bushes, it turned around, its eyes twinkling with that same mischief once more. “Remember. Happiness is just a teardrop away.” It winked, baring its dagger like teeth once more before bounding into the bushes and disappearing from his sight forever.
That night Rob bounded home as fast as he could, tearing up the steps of his small hut. The door swung open as he walked in, breathing heavily. His wife was sitting in the same place once more. As he walked up to her, she stood up- but something was different. “Nothing? Nothing again?” She said, almost astounded. “Yes, but listen-“ He started setting down the broken net and bloodied snare, but she broke him off, exasperated. “No, you listen! It’s been a month and you haven’t caught anything! We’re running out of vegetables- there are] hardly any left!” she cried, taking a step forward. Rob paused, his heart drumming against his ribs. “But-“ he started to protest, except she wouldn’t listen. “You have to find something Rob.” And then with such zeal and passion she spoke, her eyes burning. “Sometimes I’m glad Michael didn’t survive- I wouldn’t have wanted to bring him into this world.” And with that, she withdrew, disappearing into the room. Rob took a step back, his shoulders hunching slightly, as if the words crushed him with an unbearable weight. He took another step back, turning around and opening the door, standing on the porch and breathing in the air as if he had never breathed clean air before in his life. His throat choked up, his cheeks suddenly wet. And as tears spilled from his eyes, he heard a clink as something dropped to the floor. Blinking, he heard it a few more times. Looking down, he froze.
There, by his run down shoes, lay a few, solidified, gold tears.
Dumbfounded, Rob bent down, picking up the pieces of gold and rolling them between his fingers. They were real. He wasn’t dreaming. The animal had been true to its word!
And so began his slow, agonizing descent into his doom.
The next day, Rob woke up a new man. Overjoyed, he went to the market place and sold the gold pieces for whatever they were worth, and bought all the things he could possibly think of. Food, water, clothes, even some roses for Eva. When he went back home, she was thrilled. She asked where all of it could have possibly come from, and with a nonchalant shake of his head, Rob said he had stumbled over some good fortune in the forest. She hadn’t pressed the matter, much to his relief. Time and time again, Rob went back to the forest to look for the animal and thank him. Sometimes he even went for show, playing on with the “good fortune” he had been blessed to find. But soon, will all the debts the couple had to pay off, with all the deals that they had to seal, the unpaid taxes they neglected, their revenue slowly died out once more. The smile faded from her face- or it seemed to, in Robs’ eyes. He began to look for ways to make himself cry, to spill the tears of gold that lurked behind his irises like undiscovered treasures. Of course, the fall was slow. It began with petty things. Desperate to prolong their time in the sun, he searched for sad things. He called for them.
He would go into their small, piteous store, uncover the things that once belonged to their unborn son and go over them, reopening the wounds that had healed not too long ago. And when something would make the fresh wounds sting and burn- a toy, perhaps, the clothes they had bought for him and that he had never worn- the gold tears would spill from his eyes and let them bask in its glory for another few months. But then the luxuries of the fallen world began to seduce him. Soon, not even that was enough. He began to go to theatres and watch the saddest tragedies they could offer him- somewhere out of sight, he would cry those tears of gold, and collected them in a small bag he kept close to his heart. Day after day after day, he would go to the theatre and force himself to cry, feel the sorrow of the actors up on stage. But at one point, they ran out of tragedies. He had seen them all- three, four, even five times. He knew the storyline so well; he could quote them word for word. It never affected him anymore.
And then, he began to see indulgences in a new light. He started to buy them things that they did not need but simply wanted. He bought Eva the sweetest chocolates, the most extravagant jewelry, the most luxurious ornaments. He bought material for remaking the hut into a larger house- but then thought, why should he rebuild it himself if he could hire someone to do it for him? Eva began to gain weight. She looked healthier- her hair had a shiny gloss to it now, a luster before it could never have matched. Her face was rounder; her clothes fit her better. Luxury became her. But things didn’t stop there. At one point, when he had exhausted all other sources of melancholy, he switched to pain. Sometimes the pain of others- but mostly, his own. He would cut himself now. With a sharp blade, he would dig it into his skin across his arm, let his tears fall freely and pick the gold out of the blood that it had mixed with. And when his arm was covered with healing scars, he would switch to his legs. Impossible as it may seem- at one point, not even the pain made him cry anymore. It was as if he had gotten used to it, to all types of pain and sadness. His eyes were a fountain that had run dry, and for months, no gold would come. Eva, too, continued to gain weight. Her legs became fatter, her arms thicker. She seemed to rumble with life. But her husband was too blind to notice. She called on him time and time again, but he was too caught up in his gold tears. They managed to get on for a while, without him having to cry- but for the love of God it just wasn’t enough. He wanted- no, he needed more. A few gold tears didn’t satisfy him any more; he wanted them all. Slowly, day-by-day, he got further entangled in the web he had weaved for himself, drowning more in his greed.
And then one day, it all changed.
He went home early that day, when Eva was out doing some errands. He needed gold, he told himself. This was for the gold, he chanted. He waited for hours, the lights of the house burning dim. He watched the sun slowly lower itself to the ground outside, and the sky turn a shade or red-ish orange. And then finally, the door swung open. Eva walked in, seeming to glow with a radiance foreign to her. She was startled to see him waiting so eagerly, but brushed it off. “Rob! Great, you’re here. I have such good news, I have to tell you someth-!” She beamed, glowing with happiness. “I do too. Our fortune is going to last, Eva.” He grinned sinisterly, and she seemed to sense a change in his voice because she stopped and stared at him. His eyes, crazed, glanced over her as if she were an object standing in his way to glory. Slowly, he pulled out a dagger from behind him, twisting it between his fingers. Eva blanched. “Put that away Rob, I have to tell you-“ He took a step forward, his eyes almost soulless. “Maybe later. I have some business to attend to.” He smirked mischievously, and grabbed her arm, raising the knife. Eva squeaked and tried to draw away, but he held fast. “Rob! What are you doing?!” She squealed, pale as death itself. But he continued; he rose the dagger to her neck now, pressing it to her skin. Eva went deathly still, backed up against the wall. “Rob. Stop it. Please,” And then she began to cry. Ah, those tears that drove everything. Rob felt his eyes water, and relief surged through him. It was working! And without a moments thought, he stabbed her.
Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down.
Eva dropped to the floor, her crimson blood staining her dress and pooling around her. She gazed up at him, her eyes wide, terrified as she choked. Rob bent down next to her, gripping her hand tightly. “I loved you…” she sputtered, and then it happened. Tears began to fall down his cheeks, the gold glistening on her heaving chest as she struggled to keep a grip on her life. “No, no, no- what have I done?!” He gasped, gripping her fiercely, and she coughed, blood dripping down the side of her mouth. “Eva! Eva I’m sorry! Stay with me- Eva!” he cried, but it was useless. The animal- it had tricked him. It had made him think this was a blessing. He could almost hear its strange laughter, see that twinkle in its eyes. Eva’s eyes began to droop. “No, look at me!” he yelped, and shook her. Her eyes opened, but they seemed to look right through him. She was neither here nor there. “Don’t take her from me, please! She’s all I have! I’ll give back the gold, everything!” he called out, hoping that someone, anyone would hear his voice and take pity on him. He couldn’t live without her. “I- I was carrying your son... ” she exhaled, her voice growing weak. And suddenly, she went still and death threw its cloak on her with an unearthly laugh.
The grief that overcame him was incredible. He didn’t think anyone could have felt such grief. Ironically, now he felt the sorrow of the world weighing down on him. He felt the sorrow of the actors, felt the sting of his cuts, heard the cries of his second unborn son as he wept in his mothers dying womb. He sat by her side for hours, tears spilling from his eyes as her blood curdled and thickened, her body grew pale and lifeless. He cried for his stupidity, greed, pride, the life he had wanted for them but never could get. Never had he felt such intense grief. It choked in his neck and crushed him under its giant foot, squeezing the air out of his lungs. The gold piled up next to her as he held her cold hand in his.
And then he went quiet. He stilled.
Gathering the gold up in his hands, he went to the furnace and put it in a pot. With a match, he lit a fire, and set the pot above it. His movements were tense, almost robotic. His face was devoid of all expression. He sat there for a while, just sat. He didn’t move, didn’t blink- he hardly seemed to breathe. With his bare hands, he picked up the burning pot, his skin sizzling and burning against its hot touch. He grit his teeth, squeezed his eyes shut, but he didn’t let it go. His neck, red now with strain, seemed to throb. He pulled the pot with melted gold in it and gazed at the beautiful, golden, magnificent liquid swirling around inside. His hand was bloodied now, but he didn’t care. He’d do it, he’d take back the gold. He said he would. He brought the boiling pot to his lips- they sizzled and burned fiercely and he held back a cry. His eyes burned with tears but for the love of God, he held them back. No more would gold spill from his eyes. And with one last look at his wife, he drank. The agony was immense, inhumane almost, but he accepted it with open arms. The gold burned his throat, spread down his throat like liquid fire, ripping his muscles apart. He couldn’t feel himself scream. It set fire to him from the inside out. Just as the world went black around him, he smiled.
He did it. He took the gold back. He kept his word.
Maybe he’d see his son after all.