What Do You Covet?

“Please, don’t do this! There’s got to be another way,” pleaded the victim.

The other man inched closer forward. His arm poised and bent at the elbow, brandishing a large knife. Fresh blood coated the tip of the blade. The victim slowly backpedaled, trying to maintain distance, never taking his gaze off his aggressor. The aggressor continued to push forward, his knife at the ready. The victim tossed anything of value at his aggressor, including a half-filled water canteen, rations, and his backpack.

“I have nothing left to offer,” the victim shouted and stuttered. “Please just take it and go!” The victim collided into a dilapidated building. He no longer had any more ground to press backwards. He was cornered. The aggressor was within mere meters of the victim. He continued forward. It appeared that conflict was now imminent.

I have to defend myself!

The aggressor closed the remaining distance, fresh scarlet dripping from his dagger, and soiling the tarnished, brown dirt beneath him. He stiffened his elbow and knuckles, and rushed forward, his knife aimed at the victim’s throat. The victim, in anticipation of this, loosened his shoulders and arms, raising his hands adjacent to his face. As the aggressor’s strike loomed towards the victim’s face, the victim swatted the aggressor’s blade wielding wrist with tremendous strength. The blade flung a few feet to the side and clattered to the ground, leaving a spotted trail of blood in its path. Both men frantically rushed in the direction of the knife. The aggressor reached the blade first and bent down to retrieve it, all while maintaining momentum, attempting to grab it in one quick, graceful movement. The victim pursued the aggressor, and took advantage of his vulnerable bent stance. The victim hurled his knee into the aggressor’s jaw. The aggressor’s teeth chattered loudly in his mouth. The aggressor stumbled backwards, groaning in pain. In a flash, the victim retrieved the dagger and brandished it. This did not faze the aggressor, however. Without hesitation, he charged forward. The victim stumbled backwards, in response.

“Please, just go! Leave!”

The aggressor did not stop. He relented towards the armed victim, his gaze never leaving his deserved dagger. He violently stretched his arms forward, fraught to recover his knife. The victim defended himself, flailing the knife at the aggressor’s outstretched hands, slicing him at the wrist. Blood streamed from the wrist. A clean cut!

“It doesn’t have to be this way!”

The aggressor fleetingly recoiled from the pain, but immediately rose his arms again, eager to regain his weapon. Once more he was slashed, though. But again, he continued forward. This time, he was not so keen on retrieving his weapon. In an instant, his hands were gripped around his victim’s throat. He clutched and squeezed as hard he could, his knuckles turning white, as blood flowed from his fresh wrist wound even faster. He lifted his victim high off of the ground. He could see the fear in his victim’s eyes, as their gleam started to lessen. The victim’s eyes started to close as they rolled back in his head. His breath became ragged and intermittent. As life began to fade from the victim’s body, and as the knife began to slip out of his hand, he was allowed one final act of desperation.

The victim intentionally bit his tongue as hard as he could. Intense pain raced through his body, preventing him from passing out. He tightened his grip on his newfound blade and opened his eyes as wide as he could, trying his hardest to stay conscious. He brandished his blade, and in one final strike, he swiped the blade as hard as he could at his aggressor’s throat. The tender meat of the aggressor’s neck and his previously owned dagger contested each other. His muscles flexed as much as his neck would allow. Despite this, it was no contest. The blade raked through the aggressor’s throat with ease. Blood spewed from the open wound, sullying everything in its path with scarlet. Moment’s later, his grip loosened from the other man’s neck, and his lifeless body slumped forward and dropped to ground. The once was victim, was now the victor of this encounter.

The victor, released the knife and stepped away from the corpse of his opponent, taking in many deep breaths, trying to physically recover from the skirmish. Traumatized, he screamed as loud as his feeble, battle-weary body would allow him. Seconds later, he dropped to ground and vomited, stomach acid and bile mixing with the blood on his recently bitten tongue. He remained on the ground for many minutes, attempting to physically and mentally recover from this disturbance. He gazed upon his aggressor’s corpse.

Eventually, he arose and went to retrieve his items. He then returned to the corpse. After a long let out sigh, he began to inspect the body, looking for anything of value. He did not take pleasure in doing this, but these were rough times, as resources were scarce. After a thorough search, he found nothing of value.

Disappointed in these results, the victor rose to his feet and began to leave the man’s presence. As he was walking away, he couldn’t help but think about the knife. He turned and faced its direction. His eyes met the blade once more, but he noticed something hanging from its hilt. A heart-shaped locket.

It was an incredibly beautiful piece of jewelry. It was rather small, yet despite its size, it simply demanded that its beauty be gazed upon. It shimmered a lustrous shade of gold. It was so ornately shiny, that it seemed that it would sparkle even in the darkest of night. The word “Covet” was engraved in bold, beautiful penmanship on the locket. And covet it, this man did. He gently grasped it, looking even more closely upon its exquisiteness. This pendant was simply stunning. As he softly held it, it was almost as if it spoke to him, Open Me! And so, he did.

Once the pendant was unsealed, a picture was revealed. It was a picture of a tombstone. The man peered at this picture of a tombstone, and blinked, somewhat flustered. How could something so lovely be shrouding something so macabre? But, as soon as his eyes reopened from blinking, the picture had vanished.

The man paused in thought for a few moments, confused, but continued to gaze upon the locket. He closed it, to once more regard its beauty. He quietly listened and stared at it. It was almost as if, once more, it spoke to him. Put me on! He instinctively put it on. It continued to speak to him even louder than before! What do you covet?

Companionship, the man thought to himself.

The man solemnly glanced around at his surroundings. Desolation was all that could be seen. Ruin and wreckage, withered vegetation, and the absence of virtually all wildlife. This was all that could be seen for miles. Every skeletal building was simply a reminder of a lost society. Every inch of starved soil was begging for flora. And the ominous sounds of silence persevered throughout.

Open me!

Mechanically, the man opened up the heart-shaped locket. Where once was a picture of a tombstone, followed by an illustration of nothingness, now displayed a picture of a small family. A woman, a child, and a man that held an uncanny resemblance.

The man, frightened, closed the locket and chucked it as hard as he could. He stood there in silence and contemplation. He could no longer hear the voice, but the locket was all he could think about. He reluctantly searched for the pendant and retrieved it, opening it again. And again, there was a picture of that small family.

I am an ally. Follow my directions and you shall achieve what you covet.

The heart-shaped locket no longer spoke. It did not communicate any further with the man. But the man instantly had a newfound, indescribable sense. A compulsory sense to go in a specific direction. The man began walking in the direction that this sense beckoned him to go. He left behind the corpse of the locket’s previous proprietor, and appeared to begin to aimlessly wander through the desolate wasteland.

An elderly couple sat in chairs adjacent to each other outside their home. They held hands and watched the sunset. Waves of amber began to recede into the clouds. Squirrels scurried up the rich bark of brown trees, layered in thick, vibrant green leaves. Rabbits playfully raced after each other, retreating to their burrows given the first sign of potential danger. Little boys and girls whizzed towards the directions of their parents’ firm voices. Night time was nearing and it was time to go home. The elderly man clutched at his locket in one hand while firmly grasping the hand of his partner. As the sun finished its descent and began to give way for the moon, two silhouettes were exposed over a nearby hill. The silhouettes appeared to be an adult male and a youthful male. They held hands and paced towards the elderly couple.

As the two silhouettes began to become more visible, the elderly man began to reminisce. For nearly all of his adult life he had followed his heart. His heart had desired companionship. It led him to a beautiful wife, who bore a beautiful child. His heart had desired community. It gave him the guidance to find many good people, hidden amongst the unforgiving wasteland. They gathered together and built a thriving community. His heart had desired a flourishing ecosystem. It led him towards the knowledge to cultivate concrete changes in nature. All credit due to following his pure heart and his blessed pendant. It never once bestowed any miraculous gifts to him. It simply gave him the ambition and knowledge to pursue what he coveted. But was that not a miraculous gift in itself?

“Grampa! Grampa! Come push me in the swing!” the boy pleaded, as he raced towards the house.

“Alright, but then bedtime,” the grandfather established.

The grandmother smiled and went inside, her son trailing behind.

The grandfather and grandson hiked in the direction of a wooden swing. The grandfather pushed his grandson on the swing, both grinning from ear to ear. Moments passed.

“Grampa! Grampa! Now let me push you!”

The grandfather chuckled as he halted the swing and switched places with his grandson. What had he ever done to deserve such a great family and such a great life? The eager grandson shoved his grandfather as hard as he could, struggling to get him moving, at first. Surprisingly, he mustered enough strength and momentum to push his grandfather. The grandfather swung, higher and higher, laughing all the way.

The grandson reached into his pocket. He pushed his grandfather again. He pulled an item out of his pocket. He pushed his grandfather again. He readied the item in his hand. He pushed his grandfather again. As his grandfather descended from the apex of his swing, the grandson placed a knife upon his grandfather’s throat. Blood spewed from the grandfather’s neck. Then, the grandfather thudded forward off the tire swing, lifeless.

The grandson sauntered towards his grandfather’s corpse and retrieved the heart-shaped locket. Open me! He opened it up. Inside was a picture of an elderly man pushing a young boy in a swing. The picture vanished in an instant. What do you covet? Several images interchanged in the locket, quickly. First, a tombstone. Then, three tombstones. Then, a graveyard. Then, a city ablaze. The pictures continued to frantically change, as the boy closed the locket.

I am an ally. Follow my directions and you shall achieve what you covet.

The ominous child beamed a smile, his eyes devoid of any compassion. He stepped over his grandfather’s still body, retrieved his bloodied knife, and began to amble towards the house. It was time to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. It was time for him to follow his heart.