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"Son, recite the words I speak to you this night."

"Father, just tell me where it is, for heaven's sake!"

"Do not speak profanely, my son."

"Just tell me where the treasure lies."

"Your mind is too stupid. You've forgotten how to recite."

"Don't mock me! I can just write it down. Or, my Golem will remind me."

"You are a man, use your mind!"

"Tell me!"

"From heaven to Earth, I touch the sky,

Where man can't touch until he dies,

Flowing streams of golden light,

Cascading down the massive flight.

The sesame seed's faith my son must hone,

if my treasure he wishes to own."

And then the ancient man gave up the ghost.....

The bright sun bore down on the small man unrelentingly. He was sweating from every pore of his body and panting like a dog.

This isn't where he should be, he often told himself. If only his father had given him the location of the treasure.

"Master," came the voice of his golem. "Master, the ancient man did give you the location of the treasure."

"Shut up, Golem," the short man, who is known as Ali Baba, rebuked his tool. "He gave me nothing but useless rhymes and a riddle. He could have simply said, "go to the mountain and knock on the door!"

"We have not tried to remember the rhyme, though," the Golem corrected Ali Baba.

"Curse my life, it's too hard to bare!" Ali Baba wailed pathetically as he shook his fist at the sky. To Ali Baba, the world seemed cruel and unfair. He saw it as always working against him.

"Your father died of disappointment," his mother always told him when he started to whine. "Your father knew you could be so much more than you are, and yet you sit here and whine about your life."

They lived in an old house that was little more than a shack. When Ali Baba's father was alive, it was kept nice, clean, and well-stocked with food.

Ali Baba knew his father had secret wealth he had stored away from everyone. He always wondered why he kept it away from him and his mother, but his father had his reasons.

"Money is not everything, my son," his father told him years ago. "Even more than this, money in the wrong hands is dangerous. It's like giving a gun to a murderer. No, my son, I'll make sure you are the right man before you find the treasure."

To these words, Ali Baba started sulking. His father was cruel, unfair, and withheld valuable wealth from himself and his mother.

"Don't you care about what will become of my mother?" Ali Baba rebuked him. "If I had your treasures, she could live like a queen!"

"Don't mock me, boy," the ancient man had rebuked him. "You and I both know what would become of your mother if I gave you the treasure. She would have no right to it under the law. You would squander and waste the treasure, just like you waste your life."

Ali Baba acted offended by this statement, but deep down, he knew his father was right. He knew his impulse would be to take the gold and waste it on women, alcohol, and other thrills.

He refused to be honest with himself, though.

"Come, master, let's go and find you some water," the Golem told Ali Baba, bringing him back to the present.

"You should go get it," Ali Baba retorted bitterly as he continued moping. "That's your job after all. You're my tool. Get me water."

"I don't have any coins, master," the Golem told him, feeling glum about his inability to do his job.

"Find one!" Ali Baba spat and curled up into a ball like the pathetic man he was.

The Golem seemed shocked but decided to agree. He picked up his small satchel and started walking into the city, hoping he could do some work for someone to get a coin.

As he approached the gate, he was stopped by an old beggar woman.

"Pardon me, good Golem," she pleaded with him. "I can't carry my bundle. Would you please help me carry the load into the city so I can sell my wares?"

Golems were the sworn servants of their masters. They could not refuse to do any tasks their masters asked them to do. So, the Golem did not have to comply with the woman.

"Good woman, if I carry your bundle, would you give me a coin?" The Golem asked.

"I don't have any coins, I'm afraid," she told him. Her eyes were pleading and something inside the Golem prodded him to help her carry her load. He never felt this before, but felt compelled to do the good deed for the maiden.

Without another word, he scooped up her bundles of wood in his massive arms. She beamed happily as he set her bundle down on the busy city streets.

"I will never forget you," she told him.

He nodded and turned to find another way to get his coin. When he turned back towards the woman, she was no where to be seen. He scratched his head, confused, but shrugged it off.

Next, a young holy man struggled to move large golden candle sticks from the holy site into his cart. The Golem hoped this man might have a coin for him if he helped him.

"Good man of holiness," the Golem greeted the man as he approached him. "If I help you move the candle sticks, would you give me a coin?"

"Ah, I would, good son of clay," the holy man bowed to him. "But I have sworn an oath of poverty. I don't have a coin to my name."

"I understand," the Golem said as he turned to leave. But again, something inside of him stopped him. He saw the poor man's red, hot face and felt that strange feeling inside of himself.

"I will help you anyway," the Golem announced. Without waiting, the Golem moved all 24 candle sticks from the chapel to the cart. The man smiled from every corner of his face.

"May the blessings of the earth, fire, water, and heaven be upon you," he said, giving the Golem a benediction. The Golem thanked him and again turned to see where to find his coin.

As he glanced back at where the Holy Man was, he was no longer there. That was strange, the Golem thought. I did not see him ride away.

Again, before the Golem had a chance to think, someone appeared. This man looked different from the last 2 he encountered. The man was well-dressed in colorful robes with fancy tassels.

He had strange rings on each of his fingers with fine gemstones. The Golem felt hopeful that this man would help him find a coin.

"Good Golem," the man greeted him. "I watched how you helped each of my Djinns. You are a useful lad, aren't you?"

"I'm afraid I am not a lad," the Golem answered. "I'm the servant of my human master."

"Pish-posh," the man waved his hands. "I hear you know the secrets of the ancient man's treasure. If you give me the rhyme, I will make you rich beyond compare."

The Golem felt conflicted. He had the rhyme stored deep inside his stone-like memory. But, it was the rhyme of his old master's deepest secrets. He could not tell him the secret of the massive riches in the rhyme.

"My oaths to my masters forbids me," the Golem answered apologetically. The man eyed him closely before vanishing in a puff of smoke. He left behind a gold coin so the Golem was able to get his master a glass of water.

However, upon returning to the site where Ali Baba lay, the man was nowhere to be seen. Unsure what else to do, the Golem brought the glass of water back to the shack, hoping his master would be waiting for him.

To his astonishment, the Golem found the well-dressed man seated at the family's dinner table. Ali Baba's mother made the man bread and coffee since this was all she had to offer.

Ali Baba sat beside the well-dressed man. When he saw the Golem his brow furrowed and he ordered the Golem to come inside immediately.

"Thank you, good sir," the Golem told the well-dressed man, "the coin allowed me to get my master the water he needs."

"Dump that stupid thing out and get over here," Ali Baba shouted.

"Ali!" his mother rebuked him. "Don't speak to Golem that way."

"That's not his name, mother," Ali Baba rebuked her in turn.

"My apologies," Golem bowed his head. "I've sinned in my arrogance. Ali Baba, would you like me to be silent from now on?"

"I order you to be quiet!" Shouted the insolent man. "Never speak to me again or, I swear by heaven, I'll rip the cords which are your sinews and may your tongue dissolve in your throat!"

"Calm yourself!" His mother rebuked Ali Baba, but it was too late. An order was an order to the Golem. He nodded and kept his mouth closed. He would never speak again.

Ali Baba rolled his eyes and turned back to the wealthy man.

"So, you believe you can help us find the treasures of my father?" Ali Baba pressed on.

"I have found your father's treasure," the wealthy man corrected him. "But I don't have the key. The key lies in the riddle your father told you on his deathbed."

"Oh yes!" Ali Baba exclaimed happily, confident he remembered the strange rhyme his father told him so long ago.

"Let us go and find the treasure, shall we?" The wealthy man said with a mischievous grin. Golem wanted to tell his master the suspicious grin of the man, but he was ordered to be quiet and remained silent.

The wealthy man led them out into the desert. The Golem could tell his master was irritated by the journey. He was going to offer to carry his master, but remembered he must stay quiet.

The group continued walking across the vastness of the desert well into midnight. Finally, they arrived at the foot of a massive rock. The wealthy man grinned once again, and Ali Baba looked confused.

"This is a sacred place for us, Ali Baba," the man spoke, but his voice echoed like a bolt of thunder. The Golem gulped as he began to understand what was happening. But Ali Baba was ignorant.

"We are the Djinn, son of earth," the wealthy man continued. "Your actions were wicked and vile your whole life. You are unworthy of your father's gifts. Only Golem is worthy."

"Nonsense!" Ali Baba fumed in rage, unafraid of the presence of the spirit of fire. "I am the rightful heir of my father's wealth and treasure."

"If you are, then recite the words," the Djinn answered him in a voice so low it shook the earth.

"Golem, tell him!" Ali Baba ordered. The Golem stared at his master, unable to transgress the previous commandment to remain silent.

"Speak, you fool!" Ali Baba commanded again. Still, the Golem could not speak. If he spoke, he knew that his sinews would tear and his tongue would dissolve.

The Djinn grinned evilly as he watched the pathetic human scream at his servant. As Ali Baba's rage grew, flames licked his feet, and he started to burn with a fiery rage.

He started to scream at the rock face, trying to guess the password to enter the treasure caverns. "Something about sesame seeds!" he screamed as the flames continued to grow.

"Error, incorrect password, please try again," the Djinn mocked him.

The Golem watched in horror as his master's flesh started to burn. Unable to watch his master burn alive, he threw himself at the feet of the Djinn.

"Do you wish to speak? Or do you wish to reset your password?" The Djinn asked him with a glint in his eyes. The Golem swallowed and pointed to his throat, hoping to tell the Djinn he could not speak.

"Speak the rhyme or your master will die," the Djinn growled.

The Golem felt tears form in his eyes as he opened his mouth to speak. He was shocked by the tears, having never been able to cry before.

"From heaven to Earth, I touch the sky,

Where man can't touch until he dies,

Flowing streams of golden light,

Cascading down the massive flight.

The sesame seed's faith my son must hone,

if my treasure he wishes to own."

The Djinn grinned, but not in an evil way this time. His grin was kind, even familiar. The Golem stared at the strange fire spirit, who quickly shifted. Suddenly, it was not the Djinn who stood before him but his old master!

"Sir," the Golem exclaimed, tears now cascading down his cheeks. "I thought you were dead!"

"I am, dear Golem," the old man told him. "But this doesn't mean I cease to be. I've been watching you and my pitiful son. You have served both him and my wife dutifully since I've gone. And, you kept my words in your heart."

"I am a Golem, sir," the Golem said humbly. "I cannot forget."

"You can, but you remembered my words because of your love for me," he smiled at Golem.

"I don't understand," Golem said apologetically.

"You remembered because my words mattered to you," he told the Golem. "My words did not matter to Ali Baba. He did not love me."

"Sir, I am sorry," Golem said. "I believe your son is good, but has bad in his heart."

"You're right," the old man agreed. "That's why I licked his flesh with the flames of the Djinn. My son ignored me when I appeared to him as a poor widow, a needy holy man, and only helped me now because I looked like a rich man. You helped me in every form."

"That was you?" the Golem exclaimed. "I'm glad I helped you, sir."

"Some humans are unworthy of their gift as humans," the old man concluded. "Others who are not human are more worthy of the form. Now, my true spiritual son, I grant you the being of a man. My son shall remain, but his tongue is taken away from him, just as he decreed to you. You shall be his master."

"With all due respect, sir, I don't want to be a master," the Golem said.

"What do you wish?" the old man asked.

"I want to be able to pray as men do," the Golem said. "I want to return to the Holy Site and work to make it a house for God once again. I want to pray, and I want to meet God there."

The old man's spirit became joyful at his words. He laid his glowing hand on his shoulder and said to him, "I will put you to sleep now. When you awaken, you shall be a man. You will be in a Holy Site, which is put under your care. You will meet God here, and you will pray."

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Legend says the Golem awoke in an impoverished region of the Earth. He was in charge of an ancient chapel that had fallen into disrepair. He diligently started to repair it. In the process, he made the old city beautiful.

The city began to prosper and thrive. They did not know where this mysterious man came from or why he did what he did for them. Whenever they asked him, he would simply say:

"I've met God."

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I really hope you enjoyed this story for the Reset Your Password Challenge! The story of Ali Baba has always intrigued me! The origins of the legend seems to be very ancient, perhaps predating the Islamic Empire.

However, the story has altered significantly over the years, the roots remain the same. Ali Baba was nothing like Disney's Aladin. He was a lazy man who wasted his gifts and abused his servants.

I wanted to exemplify this in my story and praise the Golem! I hope you enjoyed and thank you so much for reading :) :)