Lord of the Land

Kevin coughed, raised an eyebrow, and surveyed the lands around him.

Under his gaze, the cubicle serfs went about their business. Kevin stretched his shoulders, sipped from his gilt mug, and smiled. The kingdom truly prospered under his benevolent rule.

On the phones, David tried desperately to make his computer run. It continuously hung, causing longer and longer hold times. His eyes were dark and harried, his hair mussed, his tie untied.

In HR, Savannah put together package after package to try to retain employees, all of whom would quit anyway. Most of their exit reviews cited stress-related injuries or causes, and Savannah could do nothing but pass these on to management, knowing that it would do no good; she herself slept poorly, and wondered if she was developing an ulcer.

The CEO worked in the corner office, his door perpetually closed. He reviewed the numbers for the quarter, nodded, and sent an e-mail to Kevin congratulating him on the good job. He informed his star manager of the coming bonus on his paycheque.

And Kevin continued to sip from his lordly mug, survey from his lordly perch, ensuring his kingdom ran smoothly. The people would hustle and harry, demand every more from their lord, and he might deign to hear their demands, or he might dismiss them – always kindly, of course.

Yes, he thought to himself. I am truly doing well for my people.

In the Spirit of the Lord

After Joanne lost 300 pounds, she felt lighter than air, and would often jump up and down in the hopes of achieving flight. It seemed like a plausible thing to do; she knew all about gravity, or, at least, that it existed, but really gravity was just a theory, as her teachers had assured her. Still, she would make occasional hops while strolling down the street, hoping the theory would be disproved.

It was during one of these hops that she saw the necklace sitting in the dirt. It was a beautiful necklace, bright shining gold with a bright red sapphire on a pendant. The sapphire was surrounded by tiny diamonds, with three blue sapphires forming a triangle.

The sun glinted off of it as she picked it up. There was still a price tag on it, now with a bit of dirt. She slipped it in to her pocket, and continued on her way to the church.

As she crossed the street, a couple passed her, looking grimy, low-class, and clearly not heading to the Lord’s house on this fine Sunday. She could hear the man saying, “Jesus Christ, I swear it was in the bag.” Joanne did another hop, happy that God had blessed her.