The Life of Bill

Bad Deals

I'm not sure what people saw in me, but I have a knack for pleasing them.

I don't mean to and I barely do anything, but oftentimes people never really hate me.

At times I feel like they trust me too much that they can just blurt out their secrets and they wouldn't care if I heard.

I guess there was some sort of magic to my existence.

There was one time I got invited into a person of importance's in town. They were talking of big things.

"We should make a plan to get people to talk about all the good things about us and all the bad things about them," said this important person.

I wasn't aware who they were talking about, but I kept listening.

They were talking about the previous chief in command of the whole town who's still trying to impose projects and policies on the townsfolk.

Their conversation was frightening.

People recognized these important people as very kind, loving, and trustworthy, but little did they know there's an evil side to those bright smiles.

The deception scared me and as usual, there was nothing I could do.

"We are a powerful group," said the important person. "We finally got the sympathy of the people. We finally got the trust. Now is the time to strike! Strike while the iron is hot! That chief would never know what's coming for him."

It was unbelievable. How could they deceive the public? Their warm facade was as cold as ice deep down!

I finally began to remember this chief. Oh, yes, I have been with him before for a short while. The chief was nothing sort of evil.

When I saw the chief, they were just like parents scolding their kids when they do wrong things. They were also business people who would put in all the work, spend and invest first, and wait for the profits to enter once everything had been established.

After all, big plans, big dreams, and big decisions come with higher risks. And higher risks yield higher returns.

I should know.

And this chief never talked ill about the people, but why were the important people speaking so badly about this person?

"The money and the power will be ours. We have our associates to takeover when we're old and fragile. No worries about that. While we're making the people hate the chief, we'll continue taking all their gold and we'll reign like kings."

I couldn't stop hearing what they were saying. It was all so awful. It was not what I wanted to be a part of at all.

"And you," said the important person to me, "you will help make the people love us more."

I wanted to break free and run away but I couldn't.

How I wish I could.