The End of Ego - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As quick as you can blink, Jan found herself in a huge outdoor market resplendent with brightly lit stalls and gaudily dressed hawkers who shouted out their wares.

“Guilt here! Lots of gooey, glorious guilt! Last for year’s this stuff will… fresh out of the past, ready to go.  Get your guilt here!

“Huzza, huzza, huzza! Hop on over here and take a look.  Today’s special is an enormous supersized bucket o’ shame, just shipped in this morning.  Extra-strength shame, guaranteed to make you avoid the truth, live a lie and hide your face.  For today only, you will get two buckets o’ shame for the price of one and as a bonus for signing up right now, a HUGE regret.”

Jan couldn’t believe her eyes!  All her favourites in one place?  What luck!  But the moment that thought bubble popped out of her brain, a message appeared from her operating system, warning her that this guilt and shame contained nasty viruses that would surely cause serious damage.  Then, the Guilt and Shame hucksters disappeared in a putrid puff of smoke. No more guilt or shame could be found anywhere in the market place.

“No worries,” said Ego, “There’s plenty of other cool stuff that you like.  See over there, that guy waving his cloven hoof at us?  Let’s see what he’s got for you.”

Jan, never one to miss a potential deal, scurried off to the biggest, most colourful and brightly lit stall in the market.  There was a wonderful smell coming from inside, and music so sweet that it almost moved her to tears. The "merchant" was a handsome devil with a sensual smile and limpid eyes that seemed to look into her heart.

“I know exactly what you are looking for my sweet,” he said in a deep, husky voice that made Jan’s heart pound faster. “Forget all about those fools who dabble in nonsense like guilt and shame. I have something so much more satisfying than that junk.  Take a look at this!”

With a snap of his fingers, there was a big bang, flashing lights, and what sounded like a choir of angels heralding the arrival of a most marvelous creature.“Madame, I present to you, GLADLEGS: Greed, Lust, Arrogance, Deception, Larceny, Envy, Gluttony, and Selfishness.” 

Gladlegs was a magnificent marionette strung together with golden wires. With a flick of his wrists, the merchant made the puppet dance a silly jig and then bow at Jan’s feet as though she was a royal princess. A crowd formed and applauded as Gladlegs performed one amazing trick after another.  So entranced were they, that no one noticed the pick pockets who were sliding big bill folds of Want into their pockets.  Everyone wanted to buy Gladlegs and the bidding war began.

“Wait!” cried Jan, as she dug around in her purse for her wallet. “I’ll give you everything I have for Gladlegs… how much do you want?”

The merchant exchanged a sneaky glance with Ego, and then shouted out to the crowd. “Sorry folks, there’s only one Gladlegs available today, and it’s going to Yochanan.” A huge wail of despair arose from the mob, but muttering and stomping their feet, they left the scene – leaving only Jan, Ego and the merchant.

“Nobody calls me Yochanan but the Master.  How did you know my name?” Jan started to have a sick feeling, a strong sense that something was very, very wrong.  Seeing her concern, the Merchant made Gladlegs do another trick – it seemed to be dancing on its own, jumping up high and then swooping down over the top of their heads. Then, Gladlegs landed on the merchant’s shoulder, winked at Jan and whispered, “You know you want me; I’m everything you ever dreamed of and more. Everyone will be in awe of you.  Everyone will think you’re so cool.  Everyone will say “There goes Jan – she’s so awesomely cool.”

With that, Jan pulled out the only form of currency in her possession: a debit card.  The Master had given it to her as part of her new program. “Here, take this. Max it out if you have to; but I must have Gladlegs!”  Warning bells were chiming, her stomach was lurching, sweat rolled down her back. All of this made Gladlegs laugh. The merchant plucked the debit card out of Jan’s hands and swiped it through a strange looking machine.  Everyone held their breath as they waited for the transaction to go through.