The Sinner

by K. Trap Jones

  Discussions were not nearly as exciting as the journey there.

  I was still uncertain as to the truth regarding my friend.

  I determined that his outburst was due to the notion

  We traveled that great distance and returned with nothing.

  When I looked through his eyes, it even made me upset,

  But I was not about to become disloyal to God;

  Desecrate such beautiful trees on sacred ground.

  I had made my living from the land that God created.

  I had to respect his wishes.

  I dared not think about what would have happen

  If I followed Belphegor’s wishes.

  I had time to contemplate such outcomes

  As the journey back to the farm was long.

  I imagined season after season of draught

  With no relief in sight;

  No water to flow through the new canals.

  I predicted powerful thunderstorms destroying the fields,

  Saturating my newly plowed lands.

  I even thought of a pack of savage wolves

  Tormenting my crops and feasting upon them as I slept.

  Next morning I arose from a peaceful slumber.

  I walked outside in amazement and disgust.

  Throughout the land was a massive new irrigation system

  Funneling water to the wheat fields.

  I walked over to the nearest canal and touched the wood.

  Although it was beautifully carved to perfection,

  I could not help but realize that it was

  Constructed from oak.

  My hand glided down the smooth wood as I walked alongside.

  My emotions were so entangled

  That I did not know what to think.

  It was literally amazing in all aspects of design.

  I soon became angry as my fingers

  Floated above the indentation of a lion’s head.

  As I savagely scoured the fields for Belphegor,

  I could not ignore what type of punishment

  God would unleash upon us and the farm.

  I had told Belphegor not to touch the trees;

  He had disobeyed me.

  He had broken the trust that took time to build.

  I had determined that I would first allow him to explain himself.

  I followed the canals to each of the fields.

  The more I was around the structure,

  The more I began to admire it.

  It was ideal in all aspects except the wood source.

  My chaotic search for my partner slowly decreased.

  It was replaced with the admiration and quality of the system.

  The craftsmanship was extraordinary;

  The joints of the canals were handled with expert carpentry.

  I began to question the notion of scared ground.

  Why would God deny us farmers such a high quality of wood?

  Surely, he could plant new trees.

  By the looks of the system,

  Belphegor probably only used a few of them.

  Are we not using the wood to replenish God’s land

  With the nutrients that he provides us?

  The idea that we were taken from the land

  In order to give back to the land

  Pacified my anger towards my partner.

  When all of my irritation had subsided,

  Belphegor suddenly appeared next to me.

  It was as if he was monitoring my anger level.

  I could not be upset with him

  After he constructed such a wonderful system

  That would greatly benefit the farm.

  As for the outcome with God,

  The trees were already destroyed,

  It would be a shame for the wood to go to waste.

  Over the next few days

  My fear of a backlash from God diminished.

  I even doubted my original idea of the oak valley being sacred.

  With no signs of turbulent storms, sun drenched droughts

  And tormenting wolves in the near future,

  I was never given proof that the trees were holy, so

  I drifted away from the concept.

  My worrying was replaced with acceptance

  My concern was replaced with influence.

  Days on the farm returned back to normal.

  They were filled to capacity with tasks and upkeep.

  The new irrigation proved invaluable and

  Improved the quality of the wheat.

  Belphegor and I worked from dawn to dusk and

  Even through the night on certain projects.

  I had never seen a work ethic that equaled mine

  From anyone before.

  I had always viewed others as weak and lazy

  Compared to myself.

  The farm was my life, a successful life

  Due to my commitment to work.

  Over time, Belphegor’s work capacity continued to grow.

  I was amazed at the amount of work that he could handle.

  Most times I was unsure how

  He actually accomplished the tasks with such speed.

  Each day he would take on more,

  Even crossed over to some of my tasks.

  I did not believe in personal angels,

  But in this instance I did.

  He did so much work

  That I was actually acquiring free time,

  However I did not know what to do with it,

  But it was still pleasant nonetheless.

  The amount of free time increased

  With the turn of every season.

  I was even able to oversleep.

  He never woke me as he believed that I needed my rest.

  The extra sleep felt good so I did not argue with him.

  As long as the tasks were being completed, I was happy to oblige.

  I do not know exactly when I noticed, but

  I could tell that my physical attributes were changing.

  For instance, my weight had increased substantially

  Along with a reduction in my overall stamina.

  They were no more apparent

  Than when I tried to complete simple farming chores.

  I blamed it solely on the amount of free time I now had.

  I began to set aside tasks until the next day

  Which was rare for me.

  One should always finish the work of the present day

  As the next day would bring about its own amount.

  However, I now saw nothing wrong with postponing the work.

  I enjoyed my free time so much,

  I was not about to decrease it even for my personal beliefs.

  One morning after I had overslept,

  I peered out the window and

  Saw Belphegor busily working in the fields.

  My first thought was to go out and help,

  But I knew he could handle it, so I went back to sleep.

  That had occurred on many separate occasions and

  Was growing more abundant as the days went by.

  I failed to believe that I was becoming lazy,

  Instead settling on the excuse that I had worked so hard,

  I was entitled to the much needed rest.

  Next morning I decided to get back out on the farm.

  I awoke earlier than I had in a long time,

  Which was difficult to do.

  I greeted Belphegor at the edge of the first field where

  He was mending to one of the irrigation canals.

  He was shocked to see me up at that time and

  Even presented me with an attitude

  Similar to the one I received in the oak tree valley.

  I thought he would be happy that I was there to help;

  Instead he was more annoyed at the offer.

  He said that all of the tasks were in order

  That I could go back in and rest.

  He pushed so much that I
became upset.

  Even went so far as to say that the farm was mine and

  No one would tell me what to do.

  He responded with that same eerie silence he had done before.

  That contemplating silence;

  That stare that made me question him so long ago.

  I broke the silence by asking him what he wanted from me.

  He replied that he was just here to help and

  If I wanted him to leave then he would.

  His statement caught me off guard,

  Forced me to instantly coward.

  I stated that I did not want him to leave

  As the farm had never run so smoothly.

  We apologized to one another.

  He said that if I wanted to help

  That the tools in the shed needed cleansing.

  I accepted the task and headed off in that direction.

  As I walked, I could feel him staring at me.

  Why did I doubt him?

  He had done nothing wrong to me.

  He had only increased the production of my farm,

  Even allowed me some freedom,

  Which I really enjoyed.

  And still I questioned him, but why?

  There was something about his personality

  That changed for the worse

  When he was approached about his intentions.

  In the past, he would desire the ability to share tasks with me,

  He had recently begun to push me away.

  I thought he just likes to work alone.

  I could understand as I once desired the same thing.

  I entered the tool shed and looked around.

  As he had said, the dirty tools were abundant.

  At first the task seemed daunting and unexciting.

  I stood in the doorway with a feeling of anxiety as

  I gazed upon the massive chore at hand.

  I used to do the job with such love and care for my tools.

  The cleansing of them for the next day

  Was considered a relaxing chore for me.

  I did not consider it work as I enjoyed handling it.

  Now I stood there trying to avoid beginning.

  Part of me thought that if I walked away

  Belphegor would do the task,

  Probably at a quicker speed.

  Perhaps I still had a slither of work ethic left.

  With a deep sigh I reached for my first tool.

  It was painful to scrape the dried dirt from it.

  My facial gestures matched my decreasing desire to continue.

  I am unsure how the next events unfolded,

  But it would alter my life greatly.

  After finishing my first tool,

  I reached for another one on the floor

  When the shed began to tremble.

  The tools hanging from the walls

  Vibrated in a perfect rhythm and

  Soon began to become unhinged.

  I noticed that I could not retract my arm from the ground.

  I pulled at my arm, but something had it tightly secured.

  There was nothing visual there to hold me.

  I stared at my wrist and

  Saw the indentations of gripping fingers.

  I looked up and witnessed what I believe

  To have been a spirit with dark red eyes.

  It was leaning backwards while pulling my arm towards it.

  I immediately grabbed my arm with my other hand and

  Applied force the opposite way.

  During the struggle, the tools hanging from the wall fell

  With knives stabbing into the dirt in a close proximity to me.

  My held captive arm would shift closer to the falling tools.

  Some carving knives were in line to fall next.

  The sheer amount of them made me nervous.

  One by one the vibrations of the shed

  Enabled them to plummet towards me.

  With each knife that successfully avoided my arm,

  I breathed a sigh of relief.

  I was able to wrestle my own arm

  From its captor to evade all of the blades thus far.

  As I continued to try to break away

  From the clutches of the spirit,

  I heard a loud rattle above me.

  The noise was so distinct that it quickly drew my attention.

  A large tree axe supported by two hinges

  Vibrating directly above me.

  I gave so much thought to the axe that

  I was losing the battle for my arm.

  I remember that tool in such detail.

  It was the only one that was perfectly shiny and clean.

  The first hinge holding the handle broke free

  Allowing for the axe to shift positions and swing downward.

  The spirit pulled even harder on my arm now,

  But I gained some spare energy that I fed into my resistance.

  My upper arm was becoming sore from the struggle,

  I felt my shoulder pull from its socket.

  My arm immediately went numb and

  I was unable to continue my full onslaught of its retrieval.

  The fear I had of the dangling axe

  Prompted me to support my held arm with my free one,

  But my resistance was dealt a devastating distraction.

  I could only fight my captor for so long.

  The spirit knew that and waited patiently

  While my stamina drained.

  I noticed that my captor only pulled my arm when I resisted.

  The knowledge wore me down.

  I knew I would not win the battle.

  I stopped providing any thought

  And power to the recapture of my limb.

  It revealed itself within my posture as

  I prepared myself for the inevitable.

  Instead of dwelling in the spirit itself,

  I tried to fixate on the axe,

  But the dirt and dust from the vibrating shed clouded my vision.

  The last hinge supporting the tool broke loose

  Supplying the axe full freedom to descend.

  I desperately prayed that the handle would fall first,

  The odds were not in my favor as

  The blade easily sliced through my arm near the wrist.

  Separation from the tension of being pulled

  Sent me falling backwards.

  The pain was unbearable and so intense that

  I did not even ponder the whereabouts of the spirit.

  I cried out loud for help and Belphegor came running.

  He supported me

  As I walked to my room.

  He cleansed my wound and

  Stayed with me until the pain subsided.

  I tried to explain the accident to him,

  He offered nothing more than a bewildered look

  When I mentioned about the spirit pulling my arm.

  I resided in bed for the next few days while

  Belphegor tended to all aspects of the farm.

  What I realized during my free time

  Was that he never required pay for his work.

  He never once asked about money

  Or his share of the profits.

  I was receiving all the money from the farm

  Without doing any of the work.

  Maybe the accident was a blessing;

  Maybe it was a sign that I did not need to work.

  I could reap the benefits of the farm

  Without exerting any effort.

  It was bound to happen,

  The thought of doing chores and tasks

  Left a disgusting taste in my mouth now.

  I had no work ethic anymore;

  No desire to tend to the farm.

  The ideas only increased

  While I laid there incapacitated

  From my recent misfortune.

  I had given up on my ideas.

  The thoughts only bothe
red me now;

  Disrupted my sleep.

  I imagined what kings must feel like,

  The ability to rule from their thrones

  Without having to exert energy.

  Maybe I could acquire more help on the farm,

  Rule my wheat kingdom from the comfort of my bed.

  I believed that it could happen.

  I would get to work on expanding my help the next day.

  Later that night,

  I awoke to Belphegor standing next to my bed.

  The sight startled me at first until I realized who it was.

  He said he had a question for me;

  He needed my full attention.

  I slumped up in my bed and

  Gave him what he asked for.

  I was so tired

  I may have even given him a rude look

  While I adjusted my eyes to the candle he was carrying.

  He stated that he was there to present me with a question,

  That he required an answer from me.

  I obliged as long as I did not have to get out of bed.

  He continued by asking me if I wanted my hand back.

  I was not anticipating such a question so

  I asked him to repeat himself.

  Instead he unveiled my severed hand from a cloth shirt

  And held it before me.

  My hand was in perfect condition and healthy in appearance.

  The sight baffled me

  To the point where I could not speak.

  He continued to say that he was the spirit who stole my hand.

  I laughed at the idea of him being the spirit,

  But I quickly changed my attitude when

  I witnessed his eyes starting to leak a red gassy substance.

  I asked him who he was.

  He responded that his name was indeed Belphegor,

  He was not here for the reasons that I believed.

  He said he was not here to help me nor tend to my farm.

  He said I had a choice to make.

  He held up my hand again and said that if I desired it,

  I could have my hand back along with my original work ethic.

  He said that if I chose my hand,

  I would not be able to rest nor have free time as long as I lived.

  The alternative was to keep my newfound injury;