King of an ant hill.

           I grew up in a small town of oh… two-hundred or so people, the surrounding areas were pretty much the same as well. Now in a small town you have social climbers much like in larger places, the people who are always looking to get on top of things. Only in a small town the top is not so high at all, declaring yourself ruler of my hometown (stem) is like claiming sovereignty over a dirt mount. The pride people have in their achievements could only be a testament to their overcoming personal weakness, certainly not a testament to their own ability. If it were out of a love for something they created or a love of their beginnings I could lend them some credibility but NO they are not kings of ant hills for selfish reasons. The birth of these Kings comes from the inability to follow another so that in order to be free of following another one will claim kingship of a small island and subject themselves to lesser lives, others are born leaders destined to rule great things but their courage failed and they settled for less. I cannot stand these people because the threat of becoming one of them is so high for me. The kings of stem are already beneath me, I am so over this town but there are other rulers of things far greater than stem. I am no greater than the ones whose lands stretch to the feet of hungry and hearts burned by misadventure or the ones whose kingdom is knowledge and wisdom or any of the greater rulers of this age. Standing on top a mound has the illusion of being on top of the world but when you venture out you see it was all false, all castle hills are like this each more grand than the last. There is no final destination, those greater than me are just as much at risk to become kings of ant hills as I. The temptation to reach a comfortable point and rest is so strong, all castles have their own treasures and they call us to take these with us. Burdened by what we call treasures we take weight from castle to castle till we can no longer make the next journey. I once found myself carrying so much weight and being so comfortable in my rule I nearly forgot how to find the road, but then in the dark I heard a faint whisper from a friend. Realizing my mistake I left all and fled for the road, a bit later and a few castles over I now keep a vigilant ear for the whispers from my master, as long as he calls I will follow him from castle to castle until there are no more castles to be found.