The Wandering Merchant

  Conquering vast plains, tall mountains, and scorching deserts… He carries his heavy baggage full of valuable trinkets and accessories that wobbles his knees along with the crushing responsibility crawling up to drag him down until he pleads. To add, a dejected look of exhaustion and an uncertain feeling of accomplishment, he sets out for work.

  He arrives at his first village, distant from home. Its walls scream greatness and its guards stand proud of their highness. A well governed village is rare to see. The merchant enters and as soon as he steps on the market’s borders a lady approaches him with curiosity until more and more come rushing for him. What once was a downcast face somewhat lightened the burdens it carried. After earning some money from the locals, he sets out again. This time, his baggage was a little lighter and his face slightly better.

  Arriving at his second village, further than he expected, his knees weaken and his vision blurs. He could taste his sweat running down on his face. His temperature continuously rises as he nears the center of the village and suddenly… he collapses. A heat stroke. Travelling in the desert was too much for him. The heat and the lack of water got to him sooner than he expected.

  He wakes with the sunlight hitting his face and the sound of metals clanking, as if it was being hammered. A well padded bed and a damp towel on his forehead made him feel like he was levitating. Besides that, this reminded him of his mother’s care, the thought of leaving didn’t come to mind. All his worries floating away like a feather and his body well relaxed, he just wanted to stay a little longer like this, and so he closed his eyes. Suddenly, the sound of metal stopped. He could hear footsteps approaching. Heavy footsteps resembling that of a giant. He barely opened his eyes as the door opened. Expecting a tall figure, he was puzzled to see nothing… until he gazed lower. A bald head with furrowed eyebrows, a hairy moustache and a goatee reaching the ground, an incredibly buffed body that could probably roll a giant boulder, in its hand is a hammer the size bigger than its head, and a fierce aura radiated from it. It was a dwarf, a blacksmith in the village.

  Soon after, the merchant told his story and how he ended up in his situation. He offered the dwarf a thanking gift for looking after him but was rejected after hearing his sob story. Though this was not the merchant’s intention, he felt guilty. The dwarf shrugged it off and instead of taking the merchant’s gift for free, he bought it along with a couple of things he needed for his shop. Shiny tools, flexible leather, and chunks of raw materials. The merchant promises to pay him back someday for the good deed as they wave each other goodbye like good old friends.

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  A lightened baggage, a replenished energy, and a warm heart. He sets out once again, now with a smile on his face as his goods are almost nearly gone. Despite this, the feeling of uncertainty never left him. He arrives at his third village, probably his last for this journey.

  A sinister feeling filled the air with eyes gazed through windows piercing through him as he went around. His shoulders could no longer relax, it almost felt like his shoulders were glued to his ears while he clenched tightly at the straps of his bag. Every step feeling like the next ones would be an instant death trap. His once delighted mood was overshadowed by this village’s atmosphere. The villagers also seemed antisocial and unsettling, refusing to go out of their settlements and show themselves. The houses were poorly sustained as you can see vines and molds growing from their walls. Sooner or later, the merchant decided to leave since it didn’t seem like he was getting something out of this village other than the feeling of immense vulnerability. He could no longer ignore the feeling of danger in every corner he turns into.

  Fortunately, he exited the village safely, though this experience reminded him of his own ragged hometown, opening a scar on his heart that was momentarily healed from the second village. Speaking of his hometown, he decided to wrap it up and travelled back home. This time, he wanted to have some time to think so he went around instead of tracing back his footsteps.

  Back from the beginning, a dampened mood he carried as he traversed through the plains. The sun sets, adding to the gloomy feeling he was experiencing, thinking that his family would be overjoyed to see the sun setting but are unable due to their children’s declining health conditions stemming from an unstable nutrition support. To add, he felt disappointed for having some goods left thinking the money he earned wouldn't be enough. The merchant was drowning in his depressive thoughts. The feeling of serving insufficient support to his family ate him up. His once high shoulders now lowered to the ground.

  His growing silence overpowered the sound of the wind, though this did not last long. The sound of horses galloping, a carriage’s wheel turning at full speed-crushing the rocks it went over, and the sound of armors clanking approached behind him. This captures the merchant’s attention and turns around. A prince! A young one at that with his knights in shining armor. He was baffled to see a prince out in the wild this far from the castle, which was opposite from his village. To his surprise, the prince halted before him and greeted him with an excited smile. He was attracted to the merchant’s trinkets that shined from the bag. Thus, the prince offered him a horse and some gold in exchange for some chosen items he liked.

  The merchant bloomed to have heard this offer and agreed to the prince. Who would have thought the prince was actually this generous. And so, the merchant heads home with his baggage almost cleansed. Despite this, there was still a feeling of uncertainty he felt earlier and would surely arise once something bad happens again. This didn’t matter to him, he focused on what he currently had and thought that it would be enough to go on for days for his family, far from suffering. Until then, he is to live in this prosperity he had created for them.

  This isn’t about a merchant.