Ten thousand men came together and built the first city. They started with a wall, then built a gate, and finally formed houses from the ground. They were proud of their city. Years passed, battles were won, and the city still stood. The people were filled with pride for their city. 

The king of the city became greedy. He taxed the people to poverty and death. He made a castle of gold and piled up treasures in his safe. The king even made a holiday called Possession Day. Everyone was kicked out of the city for the day, while the king could go into any house he wanted and take anything he pleased. When the people were let back into the city they came back to their empty houses—everything was gone.

On one Possession Day, the king found himself searching through a chest for valuables. One of the king’s officers came running into the room.

“Your majesty, we have found an imposter!”

“Bring him to me,” the king commanded.

The boy was young, about six, with tears dripping down his cheeks. His clothes were rotting and he smelled like he had never bathed.

“Sir, we found him hiding in the room next door,” said one of the officers.

The king looked at the boy, said nothing, and continued to search the chest. He was not going to waste his time dealing with a peasant boy—he only had the afternoon left to search for valuables.

A soft voice broke the silence.

“Sir?” asked the boy, still in custody of the guards.

“What?” the king barked back.

“Please, sir, my family has no food left to eat.”

Now the king never gave anything back. If someone even questioned the king, that person would be killed. The king rose up, turned around and hit the boy. Poof! The boy vanished. The guards were shocked. The boy’s old clothes lay in a pile on the ground.

After a long ride home, the king was still puzzled.

Who was that boy? the king wondered. 

When he opened his safe, fire burst out of it. Flames licked the ceiling and the king fell on his back. From out of the flaming inferno, a figure appeared; it was the boy, but he was clean. He walked out to the king, who was trembling on the ground, and stood above him. The king covered his face in fear.

The boy held a small triangle in his hand. While the king was covering his eyes, the boy jammed the triangle inside the king’s heart.

“Ahhh!” yelled the king, “My heart!”

The boy explained what he had done.

“I’m giving you something that will be passed down to everyone to ever walk on this Earth. I have put something in your heart. If you do anything wrong again, the triangle will move. Your heart will sting and you will feel pain for the evil you do.”

After the boy had finished speaking, he vanished. The king stood up. He walked to his window and looked over the city. He felt the triangle move in his heart. He felt the sharp corners dig into it. The king had finally felt ashamed and guilty for the first time in his life. He couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Give it all back. Nothing here is mine.”

The city saw that the king was changed. They didn’t know what happened to him, but they were still excited to have their things back. It didn’t take long before the people started to feel their own triangles.