Chapter Two
An Address to the Family by Mr. Tolen
"As you all know, we are very poor. When other people in our class or standard of living see us as a family, they call us an average-income-earning family. Yet, we own our house, which is beautiful; it even has a garden where we grow vegetables and fruits that provide us with food. At the moment, I have lost my job, which makes us live at a subsistence level.
However, my good friend Mr. Pantane from the gas factory said there was a vacancy for a chief security officer in a company close to the gas factory. He had decided that he would go over there to make enquiries and also submit my resume as the job required.
"Oh dear, I pray you are given the job, so we could get money for little Mary's food, diapers, and school fees for Charley, Pete, and Jenny this session," Mrs. Tolen interjected with exhilaration.
"Providence will help us. As soon as I get the job, the children's tuition fees and Mary's upkeep would be adequately taken care of. I was told the salary is twice of what I used to receive when I was in my former company," Mr. Tolen replied.
The family was enraptured by the piece of news. Charley and Pete gyrated around the room as they kept their fingers crossed in anticipation of the new job that would give the family a financial facelift. Mr. Tolen continued with his interrupted address:
"I know we have made so much effort to raise the standard of our family's livelihood, but on many occasions, I have failed. I strongly believe that this family will be rich someday soon.
Whether I am alive or not, I want you all to be hard working and never give up in your struggles. Be always courageous and have faith that in all difficult or challenging circumstances, you will prevail at the end of the day. Work hard and I promise you, we will certainly make it to our destination. Certainly, we will become rich.
"He paused for a moment when he recalled the adventures certain people took to the land of gold in quest of riches, fame, fortune, and glory. He continued, "I know of a place where many have gone to search for unbelievable wealth.
"The whole family stared at him in amazement."It is an unimaginable place; I heard a group of boys talking about the place yesterday while I was having drinks with my good friend, Mr. Pantane.
I was sure he did not take note of the young men who were engulfed in the discussion about the mysterious land of gold. I heard them saying the land of gold is a secret and only a few people know about the place. But, according to them, stories have been told about a witch called Benizer who knew all the secrets about the land of gold. Before she died, she had told those who were close to her about this land. And it had been designed and constructed from solid gold, it had amazingly great statues made of images from monsters and strange creatures and venomous serpents.
They said anyone who entered this land of gold would never escape; these serpents would torment or even kill them. Indeed, it was an adorable place full of beauty and enchantment that appealed to anyone who saw it. In fact, many who did see the land of gold were sort of hypnotized by the beauty and gripped by the temptation to enter into it.
Passing through the massive gates that shone from the reflection of the sun that made the whole land glow with brightness that attracted the beholders' desire to enter into it, was an indescribable experience. I know we are going to be rich certainly. But I would never advise any of you to go into the land of gold for the acquisition of fame or wealth. I would rather advise we all work hard and earn a decent income and adopt a very simple lifestyle. This is the only idiosyncrasy that can keep us from the temptation of venturing into the land of gold. Indeed the gold in the land, according to the story, is real and raw. But the temptation to go there must be resisted, because it is a danger zone.
Many had gone there and got missing.""Papa,where is the land located?" Pete suddenly asked. Everyone suddenly turned their gaze to him. Mr. Tolen stood in awe and quickly said in reply: "well, I heard the young men mention a place called the city of Kalkulta, and it was supposed to be near Zinatano, our beautiful city."
Pete quickly turned and looked directly at his elder brother Charley who had been totally carried away by the curiosity about the place called Kalkulta, because he too had heard his classmates talk about the mysteries of this place. Pete had equally heard his friends in school talking about the beautiful place called the land of gold. As the two boys looked at each other, they laughed and giggled. Jenny immediately asked Charley and Pete what made them laugh.
In reply, they both said they knew the place; that it was in those woods and forest on the way to Kulkulta! Jenny held her hands over her mouth as someone would when he or she hears something that makes him or her surprised. About an hour later, after taking his bath, Mr. Tolen dressed up and bid the family goodbye and went to the company to inquire about the said vacant job. He equally resolved to pay the utility bill which he forgot to pay the previous day. When he got to the company, he handed over his resume to the receptionist and told him he was there as a result of the vacant post of security officer.