The Man and the Merchants

Once, a poor man was walking through one of the richest markets in the continent. His clothes were rugged, his shoes torn apart. The merchants eyed him suspiciously and started talking about him with judging eyes. But the man walked like a king of untold wealth. One of the daring merchants came towards this man and asked him, "What are you doing here walking like a king?! You don't belong here. This place is for the wealthy!" The man smiles a warm smile and says "What is wealth?” A standing merchant scoffs "your weight in gold!” another, "your height in silk!" A third also said "your stench as perfume and soap!” The man smiles back to them saying "I have unlimited gold! For as long as I look I see gold in front of me. I have never ending silk! For as long as I caress it does not grow weary. I have the loveliest scent! For as much as I smell I crave it more." The man saw the merchants’ eyes filled with perplexity and continued "I am the man who has fallen in love with a woman whose eyes are as the purest gold, her hair softer than any silk and her scent drugs my soul and drives me into dreams. I am the wealthiest man because the woman I love loves me back!" As he said that with a faint smile and tired eyes, the merchants were dazzled, the women had tears, and the man ever walked more confident. ---------------------- Sami Helbaoui 6/8/2015