Goldheart

Gold with the heart's touch....

Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, there lived a young and poor farmer named Horatio. Horatio was a very hardworking man, but lately his business had been going really rough for him. This was because his land had been infested with the seasonal pests and a strange crop killing virus. Due to this, most of his plants died out before he could even collect them. Despite his losses, he made it a point to help anyone he came across who was in need. He was very generous at heart, and never let someone leave his home with an empty stomach. But things had changed now. He barely made any money, and was really worried about whether he'd have to leave the kingdom.

The kingdom, Avion, was ruled over by the ambitious king called Matthew Naples. Matthew was a very ambitious ruler, and like every other ruler, wanted to conquer most of the southern continent for exploiting its metal ores. This was his ultimate goal, and each month since he became the ruler, he took one step in the direction of making that dream a reality. This particular month however, was his birthday month. He decided to give back to his people by offering them a chance to win the position of the royal advisor. The winner of the role would get a lot of money, and would get to be with the king almost every single day, to advise him on taking certain decisions in hopes of ultimate success.

Word about Matthew's competition spread like wildfire. Not just because of the insane privileges the winner would get, but also because the king had set no restrictions.

Even villagers could take a shot at winning the role.

One fine morning, as Horatio was out in his farm watering his crops, he caught a glimpse of the competition banner that was nailed into a tree on the outskirts. He couldn't believe his eyes! Horatio had always admired this new king...he liked all of his policies, and fully supported his ideologies. To be present in his court itself was like a dream for him.

Thus, he decided to compete for the role.

To win the role of the Advisor, the king had to be convinced that the competitor was wise, and had a good 3rd person, unbiased perspective about things. For this, the king had asked everyone to bring a gift with an explanation, to impress him.

On the competition day, there was a huge line leading to the king's court. Everyone had assembled on time with stunning jewels, ornaments, handcrafts, and other unique gifts. Some even brought stacks and heaps of gold coins.

Horatio gulped at the sight of so many rich and lavish presents...all he had brought was a bouquet of bright red and violet flowers, which were very rare in the kingdom. He got nervous, but decided that the king would appreciate something unique.

Alas, to his dismay, the king laughed when he saw Horatio's gift. In fact, everyone in the hall started laughing at him, surrounded by the rich and lavish gifts of everyone else.

This really hurt Horatio's sentiments, but then he thought that Matthew was a rich king...a simple bouquet of flowers wouldn't impress him. He decided to add a smart or wise quote, but before he could do so, he was pushed to make way for the other person in line.

He'd lost his chance. 

His only chance.

He sulkily walked back to his farmhouse and went right to bed. He didn't eat, and neither did he drink.

He was heartbroken. He really needed the money, and also some recognition from his idol. But he'd wasted his chance.

Two hours later, Horatio was surprised to hear that the king hadn't chosen a single person from the huge line of competitors. There was no winner.

Nobody had managed to impress the king, and so he had kept a second round in just a few days.

Forgetting his recent miss, Horatio was determined to find a good present for the king. 

There were rumors of a wizard who lived in the mountains located on the outskirts of the kingdom. Horatio decided to seek his help to divine the right present for Matthew.

He left at the break of dawn the next day, with a bag containing water and some fruits. He carried all the money he had managed to earn that week, hoping that it'd be enough fees for the wizard.

Soon, he reached the mountains. He was already exhausted, but his heart wasn't. His determination was enough to get him back on his feet, and he was on his way.

 He walked for hours on end, but couldn't see the wizard anywhere. There were no signs of civilization, just a couple birds and land animals once in a while. He grew worried...what if...the wizard was just a rumor?

As he walked, he suddenly tripped over a non stationary rock, which caused him to trip and fall down to the ground. 

His water-pot had crashed, and all the fruits had gotten covered with insects.

Finally being overcome with exhaustion, he fell to the ground, the spark of determination almost fading away.

Just then, a figure walked down from the top of a hill, cloaked, and holding a jug of water.

He greeted Horatio, and got him to drink the water.

As soon as Horatio drank the water, he felt re-energized and stronger than ever. It wasn't just any water...it was like a potion.

He'd met the wizard.

The wizard led him to a nearby cave, the place where the wizard claimed to have been living in for half his life. He explained that civilization wasn't for him, as all people ever want there is to be rich and have external attachments.

After knowing this, Horatio realized that the wizard wouldn't help him if he told him what he had truly come for. So, he lied, and said that he wished to lead a life like the wizard's.

The wizard was happy to learn this, and decided to train Horatio to become one himself. He began practicing spells with him, teaching him all of his iconic spells, even the potion for energy.

In about a day, Horatio had made significant progress. He had learnt how to make potions of night vision, and potions of healing. However, when the wizard went to his cave to sleep for the night, Horatio snuck into the cave, and brought out the book of spells. He quickly flipped through the pages, and stopped when he saw exactly what he was looking for. 

The gold transformation spell.

This spell could turn any object into gold. Horatio was left in awe...he tried to read and by-heart the spell, and soon he could turn fruits into gold. He repeated the spell once more, this time on a flower.

It turned into gold too.

"Yes! I can impress the king now!", Horatio exclaimed with joy, "or even better; I can become rich and overthrow him!"

 But his shouts woke up the wizard.

Once the wizard learnt about Horatio's intentions, he immediately banished him from his cave. He told him to go away, and never ever come back to him for help. Horatio was furious! After all, who was the wizard to curb what spells Horatio used, and for what purpose?

Enraged, and determined at the same time, Horatio walked back through the lands on the outskirts to find his way back into the kingdom. He was just in time for the second and last round of the king's competition. Horatio quickly remembered that it had to be wise too, so he trapped some birds and thought that he'd say "the kingdom shall soar to success, like this golden bird". He thought this would impress the king, and so he tied the birds down to a tree, and started to utter the spell. He wanted to give the king one of the birds, and then sell the other three along with some others that he thought would get him heaps and heaps of gold. 

He cast the spell.

However, due to absence of an object, the spell started to go out of control, and Horatio got sent flying into the air. He was momentarily left suspended in the air, and to his shock, his hands had turned gold!

He tried to move, but found out that his legs were golden too!

After a long pause, he finally landed on the ground with a large thud, but he was entirely golden.

Shortly after, the magic couldn't seem to contain all of his body, and so it exploded into a million golden ingots into every direction. 

All that was left behind was his heart, which was golden too.

*

Jonah the shepherd needed to impress the king today, and he needed to find a good present to do that. But to his dismay, the flower-shop keeper had also decided to participate, which led to all the flowers being his present.

Jonah sluggishly started to walk back to his house, but he saw something shiny in the distance.

It was something made out of gold, and on looking at it from a closer distance, he found out that it was a golden heart!

Oh it'd make for such a lovely gift!

Jonah happily jogged back to the king's court, and handed over his present.

"Your majesty, this is a golden heart. I spent all of my time sculpting this out. This proves that I'm very hardworking, and once determined, I'll be ready to do anything. This golden heart is almost indestructible, just like our kingdom, hence it'd be a perfect addition to the jewel vault, just like I would be, to your court. Please allow me to be your Advisor, your majesty."

The king lifted the heart and looked at it closely. To Jonah's delight, a wide smile spread across Matthew's face.

"Guard, escort Mr. Jonah to the advisor's chambers please. I've declared a winner."

***

I was trying to go for a fairy-tale vibe while writing this particular story...that is because fairy-tale lessons remain true throughout your life. The message I tried to highlight was that no matter how good of a soul Horatio was, in the end, just one wrong decision led him to lose everything.

The message I tried to convey was that no matter how many good deeds you commit, no matter how hard you work, no matter how much of a positive impact you make on the world, one wrong move can ruin it all. And that's because your good deeds aren't passes for you to commit bad ones; good deeds are golden acts of kindness and genuineness that should come from within, and they shall only make you and the person you help feel good. 

And once you live by that lesson, you'll truly have a goldheart.

-Armaan Kothare