The Eyesore

The Kingdom of Sylin was falling apart, and King Gavin was at his wits' end. Ten years ago, the Kingdom of Galvindar had cursed him during their feud. He’d refused to apologize for the wrong he’d done them and laughed at the curse that was cast upon his kingdom. Now, he was not laughing but in complete despair.

First, the drought had come, drying up the earth, leaving behind cracks in the ground, and draining the waterways of the life-giving fluid they all needed. This drought had caused all the farms to wither and die, leaving no fruits, vegetables, or grains behind for the livestock, let alone King Gavin’s people. Soon, all the animals of the land grew sick and died. The people were growing thinner on the rations they were receiving out of the Kingdom’s reserves, which, after ten years, were close to being cleaned out themselves.

To top off the final insult, the final dig, the worst part of the curse, King Gavin had felt like he was being watched for the last two weeks but couldn’t figure out by whom. He just couldn’t shake the feeling. Earlier this week, he’d been looking out his window and seen the ground wink at him. An eye had sprouted out of the cracked ground, watching his every move. Even as the King jumped from his bedroom window to the ground below, effectively ending the curse and bringing rain to the parched land.

The eye remained where it had grown, so the people created a monument to it as a reminder to future Kings and Queens that sometimes an apology can save your kingdom.