Week 05 Story: And the Threads of Stories Go On

 And the Threads of Stories Go On

    The Goblin always left where he wanted to, and to the Sands of Many Stories did he go. In the sands were fine jewels. Each shined under the sun and glowed under the moon. Each facet presented to him another world, a story.

    He tapped the center, and the jewel opened up for him. Into the world, he was transported within the blink of an eye. The characters stopped and stared. Their bickering halted, their problems paused, and their ponderings ceased.

    They looked around the vast, luminous cavern. The walls sparkled and shined a bright yellow. The floor was bathed in a bright red, and the finest curtains made of warm light kept everyone from the cold of their dazzling prison.

    It was time again.

    The Goblin stood before them presently and waited until he was sure all their attention was on him. He held his arms wide and smiled. "There has been one to answer your riddles."

    They looked at him in stunned silence. Then, cheering resounding within the gem.

    "Tell us our answers," the women cried.

    "So we may be at peace with our lives," the men cried.

    "For some, that means you will remain dead as in your stories," the Goblin said. "Do you still wish to know?"

    They did.

    "For some, that means you will not marry the ones you love," the Goblin said. "Do you still wish to know?"

    They did.

    And he told each the answer to their riddle.

    "The brave man is to marry Moonlight," the Goblin said. There were no groans or shouts of anger, just sighs of relief. "Grace shall marry the master Swordsman." It was the same reaction. "The king was more deserving of Passion than the general."

    And so the Goblin recited the answers to all the riddles, save one.

    The last riddle of the Father and Son and Mother and Daughter. "Yours was not solved," he said. "Who would know the name of the relation between the children of a daughter marrying a man and the man's son marrying the daughter's mother."

    They all grew restless at the news.

    "So what happens now?" they all asked. "You said we were free, but their riddle has not been solved."

    The Goblin nodded and laughed. "I doubt anyone could solve that riddle, but the rest of yours have been. You may be free to go, but they must stay."

    There was a ripple of uneasy conversation within the beautiful prison. After some time of debate, they turned around to face the Goblin.

    "We won't go," they said. "We either all leave or none of us leave. And we have a question for you." The Goblin laughed and asked them to tell him. "If we all have gone away with our own minds and hearts, are we still the same characters held here for your amusement, or have we already escaped?"

    The Goblin paused and looked at them. He sat on the floor and put his head to thinking. This one would take him a long time. Time he now had thanks to King Three-Victories.

Author's Note: I wrote this as a sort of sequel to what happens after "Twenty-Two Goblins" ends in the Conclusion. As I was reading the stories, I wondered what happened to the characters within the riddle stories. I went with the thinking they were all trapped, doomed to relive their stories over and over whenever they were told. I wanted to also stump the Goblin who was so clever and tricky in the story. So I had the characters present him with a sort of Ship of Theseus paradox where they ask if they're still the same characters if they've changed so much. The characters and answers mentioned specifically are in the Bibliography. 

Bibliography

Brave, Wise, Clever from Indian folklore by Arthur W. Ryder

The Four Scientific Suitors from Indian folklore by Arthur W. Ryder

The General's Wife from Indian folklore by Arthur W. Ryder

Father and Son, Daughter and Mother from Indian folklore by Arthur W. Ryder

Conclusion from Indian folklore by Arthur W. Ryder

Image: Weaving on the loom. (Source: Pikist)