Greed of the wretched

we consume our greed till it consumes us

It is a cold day in the city of yellow roses, the washed gray buildings betray the colorfulness the name would imply. The sky painted grey and black by the chimneys smoke almost blocking the weak sunlight that was already impeded by the clouds. the streets of the city were plagued by potholes filled with rainwater and its sidewalks crack and crumble like the hopes and dreams of its citizens. People once envied by their neighbors but are now nothing more than the corpse that media vultures gnaw and scrape at to give the world its needed dose of pitifulness. The inhabitants of this city today are called, wilts.

The boy, shivering from feeling the cold raindrops slowly invade the cardboard box he slept in, He never questioned the bereft existence of his originators as he understood that had either of them kept him, they would have needed to waste their energy and resources on him. Energy that the boy was quickly losing to the shivering his body produced to prolong his survival. he peeked outside of his box to find anything to eat or at least keep the roof of his box from collapsing. After much deliberation he decided he had to venture out into the cold alleyways of the city to find sustenance. the boy moved from alleyway to alleyway in search of food, something that could get him through one more day.

After hours of walking through the grey walls, he found a piece of bread rotting away on the floor. The boy instantly picks It up, but a hand grabs his. Expecting a struggle, he frees himself and runs immediately, only after making sure no one was following him the boy went back to his box and ate his moldy wet carb. The boy thought about what happened and found it strange how no one chased after him. Usually, he would need to endure under a barrage of hits from whoever he stole the food from and only after the aggressor vented his frustration would the boy be allowed to eat. The boy went back to the alleyway, there he discovered an old wrinkly coot lying on the floor right next to where he found the bread. Rain pummeling his failing body as if to force him to the underworld.

The boy stared into the old man's eyes; he knew the wrinkly coot recognized him as the thief who stole his precious bread. Too weak to say or do anything he simply stared back. The boy could sense that death was coming to the old man. The wrinkly coot put his face to the wall and crossed his arms to warm himself. He coughed vehemently and hideously The boy sat across from the old man waiting for an opportunity to obtain the wrinkly coots clothing. He rarely blinked making sure the wrinkly old coot could not run away or attempt to ambush the boy.

The rain continued falling for days but the boy did not waver. The wrinkly old coot would cough and cough until he coughed for one last time and took his last breath.

The boy was wary, he did not know if the old man truly died or was only tricking the boy into appearing so. he approached the old wrinkly coot after 2 days passed. he slowly encroached on the old coot's territory until he was able to flip him over. The old wrinkly coot's eyes had no life left in them. The boy stripped the old man and was able to warm himself just a tiny bit more.

The conditions were harsh for the wretched beggars. Seldom a soul or climate would take pity on them but the ones who were able to survive did so by consuming the weak. Whether it be by stealing, scamming, crying or even murder. Yellow rose did not care for the poor and in return they did not care for civilization.

The boy would beg by day and scavenge by night. As a child he was able to squeeze a good amount of money out of the wilts, although this would cause him to be a targeted by other beggars, he learned that by paying a "protection fee" to a gang he could at least keep some of the money. That did not last for long as their greed would ask him to fork over more each time.

He had to adapt and move from street to street but as time marched onwards and the boy became a man, the donations dried up. It got so bad that at some point the man started asking other kids for "protection fees" but then quickly stopped doing it as it left a bad taste in his dehydrated mouth. The man was cunning, so he was able to figure out a way to look even more wretched and pitiful than his fellow beggars. He would take soot from the barrels they used to keep themselves warm and wipe a little over his face specifically his cheeks to make them look even more sunken than before. He also tripped in front of women he found to be nae and pestered the men he thought were on a date.

But his Moby Dick came in a man who was of stout body and wore a suit that didn't seem expensive at first, but the man was able to surmise that it was of high quality. The stout man would often pass the street he begged on and have a sweeping look upon the beggars. As if to decide who should he give his dirty coins and coffee-stained dollars. The man tried extra hard to catch his attention, he would observe the stout man's reaction to when he would act as if he fell. He saw him almost want to catch him right then and there. That's when the man decided that he will push his luck and beg directly. He put on his most wretched look and disgusting smell. And went to hunt his white whale.

He started by sleeping on the side of the street that the stout man would walk on, once he saw the man walking down the street, he would squeeze a bit of lemon into his eyes to make them seem as if he was crying. As soon as the stout man saw him, he stopped in his tracks and bent down to talk to him. He rambled about the injustice of the world and how wretched souls like him deserve to be treated like any other, but the man was disinterested and wished he would just give him the money and leave but then the stout man invited him to join him at his estate to wash up and eat a home cooked meal. the man was truly speechless for the first time in his life. Before even being able to reply he simply raised him up by the arm and told him that he will his chauffeur shall pick them up right away. The man suspected something was amiss as he could never imagine such good will would come from his white whale but as soon as he imagined that he could momentarily get away from the cold and destitute streets he had long forgotten what he was worried about.

shortly a car then came over to pick them up and the man was able to see the faces of envy from the other beggars before entering. He felt prideful almost as if he won against them in battle.

The stout man apologized and introduced himself as Blakely Evermore and that he was truly happy from the bottom of his heart that he agreed to his proposition. Soon they would arrive at the evermore estate. A giant manor painted in gold and white stood tall surrounded by colorful flora, the inside of the manor was filled with paintings and impressive sculptures that even the man was able to gawk at. He was speechless for the second time. Due to the Many maids and butlers that served the place it was lively and hectic. It simply felt unreal as if the manor was from a fairy tale. Evermore then asked one of the countless butlers to get him ready for tonight's dinner as he was the guest of honor. The man was surprised yet again and asked Evermore if what he had was right. Evermore then replied by saying that he doesn't see any other guests around and laughed loudly.

The butler then took the man to take a shower first as he wafted a horrible smell. the man entered what could only be described as something alien. He saw a bathroom that was bigger than any room in a homeless shelter. He found shampoos and other liquids that he did not know what their uses were but nonetheless he decided to use all of them by mixing them almost as if he was concocting a potion in his hands.

He turned on the shower and was blasted by cold water but then turned the knob to the other side and almost screamed in agony from its heat. After finishing the shower another butler then came and started cutting his long messy hair and shave his beard. They gave him a suit to wear not unlike the ones the butlers wore. The man looked in the mirror and saw someone unrecognizable. He touched his face and went through his hair as if to confirm that it truly was him. The butler then announced to the man that dinner is ready and that he should prepare to meet Evermore at the dining room.

As he was guided to the dining room, the man thought to himself about how he wishes this day would never end. That he could stay this version of himself and never go back to who he was. The man racked his brain trying to think of a way to prolong his day of heaven. And after much deliberation he decided to ask the butler if he thinks Evermore would allow him to work with them as a butler. The butler stopped dead in his tracks for a moment. A moment with an incredibly eerie silence. After what felt like an eternity the butler then said they have arrived and opened the dining hall doors.

He entered a room only lit by a fireplace. It was wider than it was long. A very lengthy wooden dining table spanned the entire mid-section. And directly facing the door was the taxidermized head of a pig with an apply in its mouth. Evermore saw the man and loudly exclaimed that he could barely recognize him and that he should take a seat before the food gets cold.

The man sat down at the end with his back to the fireplace with evermore sitting at the other end. Evermore told the man to dig in and started eating the steak that was served. He also emphasized that he should the drink the red wine as it came directly from their vineyard.

The man took a gulped down almost the entire drink and then started choking. He then took a deep breath and Thanked Evermore for his hospitality. He then said that he wouldn't doesn't want to enjoy such niceties without repaying him and that he would love it if he could work as a butler in his manor.

Evermore laughed louder than ever before.

Longer than ever before.

So long in fact that the man started getting uncomfortable.

The pieces of steak were flying out from Evermore's mouth as his uncontained laughter escaped his chest.

After calming himself down with the red wine. He apologized for the boorish behavior and that he could not help himself.

He then asked the man if he knew what wagyu beef was.

The man couldn't answer him.

Evermore continued eating the steak with even more vigor while explaining that Wagyu is a type of cow that is treated with the utmost care and hospitality, fed with food that is far beyond what any other livestock could dream of, and that they even gave them frequent baths and massages to keep their stress levels low. it can even be considered royalty among all cows and pigs. The man asked what this had to do with him getting a job, but evermore quickly shut him down by saying that he should not interrupt people when they speak.

He continued saying that had they let these cows out in the open they would have lived a long life but never tasted the joys of life that humanity could give them.

The man finally realized the horrors that were unfolding. He looked at the steak with incredible disgust.

Evermore then thanked the man for drinking the wine so quickly otherwise he might have had a conversation with his food and that it always gave him a stomachache.

The man stood up quickly trying to escape but alas it was too late.

His vision started blurring slowly and he could hear Evermore ask the butlers to start make sure they prepare tomorrows dinner.

The man would close his eyes and never open them again.