Rags to Riches
Ray endures debilitating adversity and often ponders how he could go any further. The land Ray inhabits has a gracious ruler but he overlooks many areas of his vast flourishing empire. As Ray sees it there are only a few options—join the king’s guard or try to make his living by hustling and thieving around the empire’s poverty-stricken areas where the king’s guard do not pay attention to these petty crimes. The king's guard are easily bribed by the crime organizations of the kingdom. Having grown up in rough areas throughout his childhood, he is familiar with the destruction the guards cause by ignoring crimes such as theft and even as far as murder.
On a brutal summer day, Ray travels to the king’s palace as he is trying to make an honest living by becoming a member of the king’s guard. “This palace is the one of the most beautiful sights I see” said Ray. Wonderful architecture and beautiful imported marble are in abundance in the courtyard. Fountains are numerous throughout the palace like oases in a desert and they act as such because the water is clean. Crystal-clear water gushes out of all the fountains and they are easily accessible to anyone nearby. Ray easily grows fond to a place as nice as this! After a few months of training, Ray's quest in becoming a member of the guard quickly vanishes and he is told to gather his belongings from the barracks and to leave the palace at once. He did not pass selection.
Ray thinks to himself as he is about to exit the palace courtyard, “As I stand here, I only want to stare at this sky and its magnificent color. I am simply lost in its blissfulness.”
Ray paces back and forth, upset that soon this sight will soon vanish and no longer be shareable with the world. He tries to convince himself that he is imagining that wondrous sky and that nothing could possibly exhibit such beauty.
On his way out he walks and sees an object being thrown from a window high up in the king’s castle. Having no other obligations, Ray walks over and makes sure no one is watching. Upon closer inspection, a large watermelon fruit is the object thrown from the window which explains why as soon as it hit the ground it burst. Within the remains of the fruit is a precious and beautiful garnet stone. The stone undoubtedly holds value and Ray will use it for provisions and other items necessary for stability. Ray sells the gem to a merchant just outside the king’s palace and he thinks to himself how he could be so blessed to have such a thing happen to him. Ray is star-struck and so Ray travels into the palace courtyard again just before dusk—the same time the day before. Ray waits for some time fearing he will surely be caught by the patrolling guards. To his astonishment, another fruit is thrown from the window and within the watermelon this time were emeralds and sapphire stones. Ray quickly grabs the stones and begins to find buyers to sell it for profit so that he is able to finally live a comfortable life.
For months Ray infiltrates the palace just before dark and every time the watermelon contains a precious gem. Ray amasses an impressive fortune, and his name carries weight throughout many kingdoms. He is an avid adventurer and befriends kings and wealthy merchants from all over the world. After all the wealth he obtains, Ray encounters a monk from a nearby monastery in his home kingdom. The monk asks Ray, “how have you amassed this wealth and what have you done with it.” Ray strikes up a lie and feeds it to the monk so he will not have to continue this conversation. After that simple question, Ray ponders about the interaction later that day in his home.
He thinks to himself how lucky he is to be blessed by the outrageous chance that gems will be available to him because of fruit being discarded. Ray remembers his childhood and the years as a young man in the slums of his home kingdom. He is blind because of his fortune. Ray now desires and seeks to make amends. Ray declares he will spend the rest of his days trying to alleviate the harsh living conditions the people and most importantly the youth were experiencing in those areas of his kingdom.
Ray seeks out other impoverished areas to spend his fortune on and vows to do so until the end of his days.
Author's Note: I decided to stray far from the original plot of the story. I did not include the king or the goblin, two of the main characters in the original story. I thought about adding the king in somehow because that would be relevant considering my new character, Ray, was doing great things for his kingdom and many others. However, I felt that it might complicate my simple story of how luck changed a man’s life and ended up changing the lives of many others. When I read about fruit the monk was giving to the king contained gems and they were being thrown away I could not let that go to waste. I saw a lot of potential and wondered what if someone were to find the gems as soon as the fruit was discarded? I like giving gifts when I can or just doing random acts of kindness and it makes me happy when I see other people doing it too. Additionally, a part of me wanted to be the character I added in this story. I think it would be awesome if I found bundles of cash falling from the sky. I think my story was drastically different from the original and contained almost a completely new plot. I saw something early on when I was reading the story and decided to run with it and see where it took me.