Rinsing Lies

Rises and falls of Fortune

The weather was peacefully pleasant as if welcoming Peter on his first day at sea. There were 10 men on the ship, including Edward. Peter gazed at the sun disappearing into the horizon. He missed his village. On the ship, there is almost no space to walk around because of loads of cargo. Peter went to his cabin and spent the whole night in bed because he was seasick.

The next morning, Peter heard a quarrel from the deck of the ship. He quickly went to the deck and found Edward covered in bruises. Another man was standing beside Edward who was also injured. "What's going on here?" said Peter. Another man approached Peter. "Edward wants to go to a village nearby. The other guy wants to sail to a far-off country. I'm Phillip. Are you the new guy here?" "Yes, I'm Peter. Nice to meet you, Phillip" Peter replied. Then they heard a splash. The man, who was fighting with Edward, had thrown Edward in the ocean.

"EDWARD!" Peter shouted from the bottom of his lungs. Before no one could do anything, a shark jumped out of the water and jumped back in, with Edward in its mouth. All Peter could see was a patch of blood floating. The atmosphere was dead silent. Peter stood still for a moment. Then he grabbed the man who fought Edward and threw him off. The shark came again for another meal. Peter went back to his cabin and slammed the door.

Soon came the night. Peter couldn't believe he had ended a man's life. He felt very bad for following what his anger desires. At least he had learned a lesson now, not to follow his anger. The journey continued.

The little boat headed to the Souls' Kingdom. Little did Peter know; his father was the king of a majestic kingdom. The little boat approached the river bank. Peter and the other 7 men carried their goods on their backs and headed to the country market. They displayed their goods in the market. After hours, no one seemed to be interested in buying their things. Everyone waited in silent disappointment. 

They waited and waited till the sunset. A gentleman approached them. They were so happy to finally find a customer. The man picked a handmade pot decorated with paint. "How much for this?" the man asked while looking at the pot. "3 shillings sir," said Peter. "3 shillings? I bought an apple for 4 shillings today! God bless you!" cried the gentleman in excitement. He gave the money to Peter and went away. Peter and the other men were confused. They sold these for 2 shillings each back in the village. They packed the items and went to a little wooden tent, with different thoughts in each mind.

The next morning, they went to the market again. This time, it was different. They saw a big crowd waiting for them. "Here they come! A blessing from God!" cried the gentleman whom they met the previous day. The crowd rushed towards them and started buying their goods. In a short time, all of their goods had sold out.

"Sir, what is this miracle?" asked Peter curiously. "Young man, our king is managing our kingdom's problem poorly. Due to poor economics, the prices of items have gone up. The prices of your goods were unbelievably cheap!" said the gentleman. "I am Cedric Clinton. "What's your name, young man?" asked Sir Clinton. "Peter Jones," said Peter. "I work as a clerk. If you need any help, you can see me at my office in the court. I better go now. God be with you young Peter!"Cedric went away and disappeared.

Peter wandered in the kingdom for two days. The other men had gone back to the village. Peter stayed because he wanted to find a chance, a chance to change his fate. He didn't want to go back and make hammers anymore. After two days, Peter ran out of money and he had no choice but to go to Cedric. Peter asked the royal guards where Cedric lived.

Peter knocked on the door. A young man answered the door. He was not Cedric. "I came to meet Sir Cedric. Is he home?" asked Peter. "He is not home yet but he will be back soon." answered the young man. "I am his assistant Edith Aldon and you can leave your message with me." "I'd prefer to meet Sir Cedric, please," said peter. "As you wish. You may come in and take a seat."said the young man. Peter came in and he was shocked. He had expected a majestic house of a rich clerk. The house was big but it was untidy. There were spiderwebs everywhere. Peter noticed how messy the things were too. Edith noticed Peter's disgust. "Our place might be a bit untidy. Don't mind us. Only two men live here and they're both too busy to take care of this place," said Edith.