I will control my mind with physical exertion
No matter how grave the result may be.
I will punish my mind for controlling and
Depriving me of my rational judgment
And the ability to freely think for myself.
If I do not return to my quill, then I have succeeded in my quest.
V
Gluttony
The approaching blizzard
Was supposed to be the worst
The region had seen in quite some time.
The prophets warned of wide spread panic
And drastic devastation across the land.
They told of the land changing
Into a frozen wasteland
With entire species of animals
Being eliminated from the planet.
They preached how God was disappointed
In how the human race treated his world and
The lack of respect they provided
To its natural resources.
The gifts from God were tossed aside
Along with the desire for longevity in one’s life.
God would punish all
With the blistering frost and relentless ice
In an attempt to alter the ideas of those who strayed.
The prophets spoke of no salvation.
An impending death would be the final gift from him.
Redemption and avoidance
Would not be an option.
Only death would greet those in the path.
The frost reaper would not be shunned.
The prophets were stern in their voice and
Articulated with their words.
However, these self-imposed prophets
Were also viewed as unstable by the citizens of the city.
They would stand on the street corners to
Spread their insanity to anyone
Who would lend them an ear.
Most of the responses
Were in the form of rotten food
Thrown at them by their judging audience.
As they dodged the objects,
They continued to broaden their word of destruction.
They never condemned those
Who critiqued them and even
Intellectually challenged such individuals,
But the battle of the minds never ended well.
Nothing broke the spirits of the prophets.
They would always return to their stage
Each morning to begin again.
I never faulted them
As I truly felt that they
Fully believed their own words
Regardless if anyone else followed them along their path.
As for me, I did not hear
Their words too closely
As the region in which we lived
Was not known for its frigid winters,
Let alone blizzards.
We experienced the typical
Decrease in temperature
Between the seasons, but
Nothing so drastic as to alter our livelihoods.
What worked against the prophets
Was that they had been preaching
Their tale for several winters.
Prior to last winter, we were to be destroyed.
The warm winter that we had
Only added to the insanity
In the eyes of the citizens.
In defense of the prophets,
They never mentioned any time frames
That the destruction would occur,
But as each cold season passed,
Their words lessened in power and belief.
I knew about the prophets
And their speeches
As one was located directly outside
Of my merchant store.
I was a popular vendor
In one of the busier sections of the city.
My location allowed me to survey
Many varieties of people and on slow days,
I would sit outside and watch as the crowds walked pass.
Business was always good for me,
Considering what I sold, in comparison to other merchants.
My store was the main supplier of food
Consisting of bread, fruits and vegetables.
I was known for always having a full supply.
I worked closely with the local farmers
Delivered to me and they never disappointed.
I had always gone out of my way
To insure the happiness of my customers.
I believed that a happy customer
Was more likely to return than an angry one.
I took pride in my relationships
With the farmers and always reevaluated
My pay for their products.
I knew the key to my prosperity
Was the farmers and their crops.
I knew most of my regular customers by name
And made it a point to welcome new visitors.
I believed I was not only selling fruits and vegetables,
But also selling my personality.
I felt it was important
That the people entrusted me
To provide them wonderful staples
Accompanied with a splendid attitude.
The ability to not bargain successfully
Was death to most vendors.
Bargaining was a part of our society,
It was important that it be done in a respectable manner.
Otherwise, one side of the party
Would always become angered.
The transaction and any potential business
Would be destroyed.
I learned that lesson very early in my venture
And adapted it quickly.
I was a master of persuasion and
It was transparent to my customers.
I allowed them to think
They were achieving their bargain
When in fact they were not.
My tone of voice was never raised and
My words were chosen carefully.
The combination allowed the customer
To feel that they had humbled me.
My large amount of customers
Allowed me with an increase in opportunity.
I had survived through the toughest of times
The city could inflict upon me.
My thought process and belief
Was that people always needed to eat,
Regardless of what type of situation was occurring.
Business was the most successful during war times.
The army would stock up on food items prior to leaving the port.
The amount of food they purchased
Was enough to keep me in business
For several seasons at a time.
Unfortunately, no such battles
Were occurring as the world was at an unfortunate peace.
My section of the city
Had all the vendors
The citizens needed to survive
Except for a butcher for meat products.
I was always in awe
That no meat vendor existed.
Everyone traveled across town
To purchase their meat products,
Which proved to be a tiresome act.
I had thought about establishing
A second store,
However, the amount of work
Would be too much for me to withstand.
I was barely able to meet the demands from one.
I am glad that I did not venture into the area
As a new butcher soon entered into the city
And opened across the street from me.
I was excited for the arrival of my new neighbor, as
I believed a butcher was the last piece
Our section needed to be a powerful portion of the city.
Less traveling of our citizens
Meant more opportunities for them to buy locally.
I did not want to bother my neighbor
On the first few days of his arrival.
I wanted to give him a chance to settle in and
Establish his store before I welcomed him.
I was anxious to meet him;
To offer him my support.
I knew opening a new store was a challenge.
Days went by and
When I saw that his store was for opened for business,
I walked over to introduce myself.
I doubted that he would be busy on his first day.
The store was well organized
With a large collection of meats
From all types of animals.
The butcher across town
Never had a supply of meat like that.
The aroma delivered a sense of freshness and quality.
I would often times have to hold my breath
When purchasing meat from any vendor.
Occasionally I even had to battle
Swarms of flies for the staple,
But his store was different.
A wide variety of knives hung from the wall
Arranged by size and shape.
When I first entered
I was alone, but soon greeted by a short thin man
Who came from the back.
He was wearing a typical white butcher apron
That was smeared with blood
And random chunks of excess meat clinging to the cloth.
He was carrying two butcher knives,
Each equally coated with blood.
My initial reaction
Was that he had just murdered a person,
But his warm smile and demeanor was inviting.
He mistook me for a customer
And was very appreciative of my presence.
He reminded me of how I always
Cherished my own customers.
He quickly set down his knives and
Headed over to where he kept his freshly cut slabs of meat.
He proceeded to ask how he could assist me.
I informed him that I was his neighboring vendor.
His face lit up with excitement
As he walked from behind his meat counter.
He said his name was Beelzebub and
That he had been a butcher in another region
For quite some time.
He had decided to travel here
As he heard that the quality of meat
Was better due to the warmer climate.
From the look of the current stock in his shop,
I would say that he was correct.
I had never seen such beautiful cuts of meat.
The marble of meat and fat was artwork to my eyes.
I was used to slabs of meat that were cut with dull knives
And no care for the level of fat within each piece.
I told him that I was glad that a butcher
With high quality standards was here.
I had brought him over a complimentary basket of fruits,
Which he was very grateful to receive.
Although he was covered in blood,
His store was spotless and cleansed.
He took excellent care of his tools.
When not in use,
They were shiny artworks displayed on the wall.
My reaction of the new butcher
Was that of excitement and acceptance.
Not only did he fill a void in that part of the city,
But he complimented my own business very well.
To be able to purchase all of one’s food products
In such close vicinity
Would surely attract new customers to our area.
We said our farewells as I could tell
He needed to handle more chores.
The mornings are very busy within our area
As all of the vendors open up their shops.
Most place tables outside along the streets
To entice customers with visuals of their products.
I usually displayed a few baskets of varying staples
Mainly as a reminder of the types of
Fruits and vegetables that were currently in season.
I had been open for business in the city for so long
That I did not need to lure customers in.
It had been known for some time
That if one needed fruits and vegetables
That I was the man to see.
All of my products came from nearby farms.
I had established a friendship with the farmers
Where I would pay them a good price for their crops.
In turn I would raise the cost slightly
So that I would gain a profit from the sell.
I treated the farmers well and
Stayed competitive with my purchases.
Every few days I would receive a delivery
With new stock and paid them by quantity.
It was beneficial for the farmers to sell to me
Instead of the citizens
As the amount of time they would have to spend
On the streets would take them away from their farm.
I believed they made more money
Selling large amounts to me
Than they would selling individually to random people.
I was not alone in that style of business
As several others vendors used the same method.
While I placed some ripened apples
Within a basket outside my store
I saw Beelzebub doing the same.
We waved to one another
As the street began to fill up with people.
I noticed him making his way across and
I waited for him to approach.
His height concealed him within the sea of people and
I actually lost sight of him for a brief period.
He soon emerged from the crowd,
Before he did, I had thought he got swept down the street
From the momentum of the rush.
He patted me on the shoulder and
I could tell that he needed to ask me something
So I gave him my full attention.
He said that he had concerns
About a particular matter.
I asked him what it was he was concerned with and
He replied that he had been hearing tales
Of an approaching blizzard.
I immediately smiled
And reassured him that no such blizzard existed.
He told me that he had heard the story
From a lone man standing on the corner
Preaching to those who walked by.
I informed him of the local prophets,
That they had been preaching
About the blizzard for many years.
I calmed his nerves by revealing that the city
Had not even received a drop of snow in quite some time.
My words appeared to ease him, but
I could tell that he was still hesitant.
I could relate to him
As the prophets were very harsh in their tones;
Very luring with their words.
He soon became relaxed and
Said that the details of the frozen event were very convining.
I agreed with him as
I sometimes questioned the notion of the tale,
But my belief that no one could foresee events
Always won the conflict.
I noticed that he had customers and gestured.
He quickly dove back into the river of people
And surfaced on the other side.
Business was prosperous
As usual during that time of season.
With the approaching winter,
I purchased more fruits and vegetables
Than I usually did in order to
Keep my pr
ofits steady until the spring.
The back portion of my store was used to house excess.
During that period, I instructed the farmers
That they should deliver me the unripe fruits and vegetables
As they would last longer than the fully ripened ones.
They always obliged my wishes.
I had faith in the fact that I was able to supply customers
With perfect staples
Even during the cold days of winter.
The next morning I talked with Beelzebub,
I told him about my winter method of storage.
He agreed that it was a good idea and
Said that he would also begin storing meat
In preparation of the possible lower quantity.
Normally I would not share my
Strategies and methods to other vendors,
But I felt Beelzebub had become my friend
And that his product was not in direct competition with mine.
The conversations that I had with Beelzebub
Were gratifying to me.
I thought that he respected me not only as a fellow vendor
But as a friend.
I got the sense that he confided in me more than anyone else.
That only increased my willingness to assist him;
To make sure that his business would survive the season.
I had never done anything like that before
For any other vendor, but
I was drawn to the butcher.
His success was my success.
Over the next few days leading up
To the beginning of the winter season,
I felt that Beelzebub and I were well prepared.
Our storage units were stocked completely full.
So much so that we could barely close the door.
The winter trust that I always provided
To the customers began a long time ago.
They knew that they could purchase food
From me no matter how cold the weather reached.
I gifted Beelzebub that trust that I had worked
So hard to achieve.
I believed in him and his shop.
I was more than content to watch other vendors fail and crumble,