The most astonishing thing about this room, however, was that it was filled end to end with paper boxes. There were so many of the unmarked containers that it seemed impossible that they could all be full. Ganesh, curious as ever, picked up a box and tore it open. Inside he found gold. Gold everything. Gold goblets, gold plates, gold silverware, gold necklaces, bracelets, and arm bands, gold clothes, gold rings, and pretty much every item you could imagine made in gold. There were also pearls and jewels and other precious stones, as well as many other things that looked incredibly valuable.
Ganesh picked up a golden goblet and a golden spoon, and then replaced the box where he found it. He was in awe of the vast amount of treasure that was in the gigantic room, and he figured that the contents of this room were more valuable than all of his brother’s wealth. Ganesh headed back towards the iron door with goblet and spoon in hand, and he once again commanded the door to open. Stepping back out into the real world, he quickly headed home with his golden treasures tucked under his shirt.
From that day onward, Ganesh began to live the life of the wealthy. The first thing he did was give his family a nice, filling home-cooked meal with food bought from the market. After debating what else to do with his cash, he eventually decided that he should help others like himself. He gave money to homeless shelters and hand-delivered food to starving families. After a while, however, the money that the spoon and goblet brought him began to run out. Ganesh had to plan a return trip to the Bazenji Bazaar. He went to his brother, who was very suspicious of the sudden surge of money that his brother had got, and he asked him for a burlap sack. Ganesh had run out of money and could not afford one for himself. His brother obliged, but his suspicion of Ganesh’s overnight success grew.
The next day, Ganesh returned to the alleyway where the Bazaar was located, and to his relief, it was still there. After saying the magic words, Ganesh headed inside with his burlap sack. He went to the same box that he had been at before, and only took a couple of items with him, even though he had a large bag this time. He didn’t want to appear greedy to whoever ran this place. After he had taken just enough to get him by with the charities for a little while, he headed back towards the door and opened it.
Ganesh fearlessly walked back out into the alleyway and headed towards home. After he was about fifteen feet away from the door, the twelve thugs suddenly came around the corner behind him. The lead one pointed and yelled something at his eleven friends, and all twelve rushed towards Ganesh. He was so afraid that he could do nothing but stand stock still and shiver. What could one man do against twelve?
“Who are you?” the lead thug asked. “And why are you here?”
Thinking on his feet, Ganesh replied, “I was simply exploring this alleyway. Is there anything against that?”
“No, I suppose not.” The thug said suspiciously, “but this is our territory. I do not want to see your face here again.”
“I understand perfectly, my good sir. You won’t see me again.”
With that, Ganesh rushed out of the alleyway and started heading home. He didn’t even look to see if the twelve men were watching him. If he ever wanted to enter the Bazenji Bazaar again, he would have to be very cautious indeed. Time passed, and Madhav got more and more suspicious of his brother’s actions. When Ganesh’s money ran out again, he began to brainstorm a new way to get to the Bazaar without being seen. First, he asked his brother for the bag again. Madhav kindly offers to bring the bag over to Ganesh’s house. Thinking this strange, Ganesh patiently waits at his house for the bag. Madhav brings the bag, and does not tell his brother that he has covered the bottom of the bag in a clear adhesive substance. Madhav wants to know what his brother does with this bag, and he is driven to finding out the secret to Ganesh’s success.
Ganesh takes the bag and makes his way to the Bazaar at sundown. He is incredibly cautious, as he has been watching the twelve and learning their patterns for days now. He realized that they like to raid the Bazaar at midnight, and that is why Ganesh traveled at sundown instead of at night. Finally reaching the Bazaar, he whispers the code words and enters carefully. After checking to make sure that the twelve were not inside the Bazaar, he takes only a few more golden items. Satisfied and a little cocky that he did not get caught, Ganesh sauntered back out into the alley.
“There he is! I told you that he was stealing from us!” the lead thug yelled as the twelve came out of a side alley and caught sight of Ganesh. “Get him!”
Ganesh instinctively panicked and ran like a gazelle away from the twelve. He blasted back into the main street and powered his legs to run as fast as the wind. The twelve thieves were right behind him, and Ganesh took a cue from the action movies by grabbing a cart of fruit and shoving it down behind him. The twelve thieves had to stop and maneuver around the commotion that Ganesh caused, and Ganesh managed to get back to his home safe and sound. He went into his room and emptied the gold into his special hiding place, and suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder. Frozen solid, Ganesh knew that the hand probably belonged to one of the twelve. He was relieved to hear his brother’s voice instead.
“Let me see your bag, brother.” Madhav said with a grumble in his voice.
“W-why would you want to see your bag? It’s empty.” Ganesh said in a trembling tone.
“That matters little. Give me your bag.”
Ganesh handed over the bag, and Madhav looked inside of it.
“Ah-hah! I knew that you were hiding something from me.” Madhav pulled a single gold fork out of the bag and waved it in his brother’s face. “Where is the rest of the gold you had in this bag? Where did you get these valuable items?”
“The fork was the only thing I found. I was…picking up trash on the street when I found it.” Ganesh could not keep a straight face while he told the blatant lie. Madhav caught on to his bluff instantly.
“You did not just find this trinket in the street. TELL me where you got this from.”
Under pressure, Ganesh cracked and told his brother the truth. He told him about the Bazaar, where it was, and how to open it. He told him the riches that were inside, and what it had done for him in the past couple of weeks. The verdant light of greed filled Madhav’s eyes, and he immediately headed towards where Ganesh said the Bazaar was. The only thing that Ganesh forgot to tell his brother was about the twelve thieves. The grandfather clock in Ganesh’s house chimed midnight as Madhav left the room.
Going along the route that his brother Ganesh told him, Madhav quickly arrived at the neon sign for the Bazenji Bazaar. Unfortunately, however, he had almost forgotten the name of the place. The sign remedied that problem immediately, and he opened the door with the secret words. The same calm, quiet elevator music poured out of the room, and Madhav smiled. This music reminded him of the environment in his own office building. It was a tune that exemplified the life of the wealthy. He strode inside unafraid, and he saw the riches that were ripe for the picking inside the Bazaar. With none of the humbleness that Ganesh had, Madhav took the most valuable items and filled his entire bag. With this money, he would be able to buy many more wonderful material things. When he went to leave the Bazaar, however, he could not remember the name of it, and there was no sign inside to help him out.
“Benji, Benji, open up!” he cried, but the door would not open. “Benji, Benji, open up!” Still the door would not open for him. The name Bazenji had completely left the recesses of his mind, and he sat down on the white ground, his newfound riches now completely worthless. He began to think about how worthless it all was, how his brother might just have been right to give the money to charities. Material possessions were such a part of his daily life, however, that he could not seem to exist in any other way.
“BENJI, BENJI, OPEN UP!” he yelled, and suddenly, the door opened.
He had not opened the door, however. It had been opened from the outside. The twelve thieves ran in, having heard Madhav’s yell, and the lead thug immediately pulled a very large and intimidating knife on Madhav.
“So, peasant, we have finally caught you. After stealing from us twice, we have cornered you this third time. You made a grave mistake, coming here twice in one night. Now you will pay the price.”
“What?!” Madhav screamed. His brother hadn’t told him about this. “I have not stolen from you twice. It was my brother! My twin brother!”
“Like we are fools enough to believe that story. Now, men, let us dispatch this dirty peasant thief.”
And just like that, the large knife swung towards Madhav’s neck, and an instant later his life ended. The ruddy stain of blood washed over the once-pristine white floor, and Madhav’s severed head dropped to the floor with a thump.
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