Your routine walk through the woods that day had been anything but routine.
The scenic area had been a place of significant value to you since you were young. Ever since your parents divorced, you had used it as a place of calming down and relaxing. Many hours had been spent here (as it was only a few minute's walk from your house) daydreaming, drawing, and playing. However, now that you were grown up, it was a place of memories long forgotten and reminiscing.
As you treaded through the glade, you thought about all those terrible memories - the fights, the screaming, pillows stained with tears. Gazing around, you found that, distracted by your musings, you had entered a part unfamiliar to you. I'll keep going straight, you think. There'll be an end eventually.
After a few minutes, you happen upon a break in the dense greenery. A beautiful pond, crystal clear, lays in front of you. A small sign stuck into the ground says "Resid's Pond". Only now do you notice your extreme thirst.
As you drink from the body of water, you notice your reflection. Something is bothering you, but you can't figure out what. You finally notice - your reflection is skinnier, your hair the perfect style, your complexion clear. Your reflection is the ideal you.
Amazed, you stare deeper into the pond. More features begin to appear: a scar from an early childhood is gone; your clothes impeccable and in line with your personal taste; and, the most shocking, your parents stand behind you, holding hands. They love each other again, you realize. It's all you've ever wanted.
You spend what seems like eons gazing into the clear waters. All at once, you get the urge to reach out and touch it. Surprisingly, it is as smooth as glass. You are possessed by the thought "Jump in".
You comply, and amazingly, you find yourself able to breathe. You grin broadly, expecting to see the better you, the perfect you. However, it is devoid of anything; no plants, no animals, nothing.
You frown. Hm. Try as you might to swim up, it feels as though you have chains attached to your legs. You begin to sink. As the waves pull you under, you realize:
Once greed grabs hold of you, there is no going back. You are doomed to spend eternity at the bottom of the Pond of Desire.
