Man is a creature driven by desire. Tis a desire that is at times so blinding that man makes foolish choices leading to a series of misfortunes. Exhibit A: Midas, a business tycoon who was steadily rising up the ranks of the wealthy.
"Perhaps I should buy out the Spartans, that way I'd gain more profit and get rid of the competition" he mumbled to himself "or maybe I should go buy stocks from the Hittites instead" he added as he paced back and forth in his office
'there must be a way for me to earn more,' he thought to himself looking down at the assembly line. He was pushed out of his thoughts when a little girl jumped into his arms. His little girl, his beloved Marigold.
"Daddy! Daddy! let's play," squealed the excited toddler clinging onto her father
"I'm sorry darling but daddy is busy," he replied kneeling to her level "We'll play when daddy's done with work," he continued putting a gentle hand on her head ruffling her hair, earning a pout from the little girl
"You're always busy," she protested trying to put on the most persuasive face she could
"You know daddy is working hard for you right?" He replied trying to soothe the child "What if daddy buys you another pony would that make you happy my princess?" he added. At this point Marigold knew that she should stop before her daddy gets upset. It has been a tell that the girl has been all too familiar with, the one that told her that her daddy has more important things to do than spend time with her.
"okay..." she replied defeated as she walked back to her nanny
"Come on sweetheart. We can play with your new dolls when we get home," said the woman as she held Marigold's hand smiling gently at the upset child
"I wish Daddy didn't have to work all the time," said the child as her nanny helped her up the car
"He'd only probably stop working if everything he touched turned into gold," replied the nanny jokingly "now don't think about it too much Mari. You're dad is working very hard for your future. He wants to give you everything"
"If Mari can make gold then would daddy stay home more?" Marigold asked hugging her teddy bear
"I don't know sweetheart, but I'm sure your daddy loves you very much" the lady replied hugging the toddler
Meanwhile Midas is still thinking of ways to grow his wealth and expand his company. His eyes trailed down to the assorted toys being assembled and manufactured. His mind went through ideas to expand and reach out to broader markets.
"hmm... what about a luxury line for collectors," he said to no one in particular "one made of gold. That should grab their attention"
"A toy line made out of gold? Won't that cost us more and sir that could be quite a gamble. There aren't a lot of collectors interested in new products as of late" said one of his advisers
"Well we can make it a limited edition line. One where there'd be none like it in the entire world," he replied
"There's still the problem of gold sir. Golden items cost extra and are a bit harder to make than the normal ones," reasoned the man
Midas heaved a sigh and sat down drumming his fingers on the desk trying to find his way out of a dead end. "We'll think of a way to get the public's attention" he said pensively as he turned to look at the assembly line searching for inspiration
Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours, and hours lead to the end of the day. Distraught, Midas went home still thinking of more ways to expand his empire and increase his wealth. His mind settling on the thought of his little Marigold and the bright future he could give her if he were richer than he already was.
"Excuse me young man but do you have some spare change?" said a voice. Midas turned around to find a man around his sixties reeking of alcohol
"uh yeah sure," he said hesitantly
"My phone died and I don't have change to use the telephone," the man slurred
"Here you go sir" he said with a small smile handing the stranger some change
"Bless you child," the man returned heading to a nearby public telephone
With that he ended his day and readied to repeat the cycle once more.