The ruined merchant took to the forest. He subsisted on roots and slept in a cave. After a while his loneliness got the better of him, and he decided to die.
While digging his grave, his shovel struck something hard: a chest filled with gold coins. The man was startled.
boy with a hat 
I guess he won’t be killing himself anytime soon. Nice one
Do you think he will return to the city or keep on living in the forest?
Well, if i were him…i would stay in the forest, visiting the city from time to time…many city folks suddenly become relatives when money and gold coins are involved…life in the city takes a lot out of anyone
I would do the same. 🙂
Awesome. I’m a too-wordy writer who just rambles and rambles on. I’ve got serious respect for crafting a whole story in just a few words 🙂
I personally find it easier to write long stories than short ones.
What a wise decision to stay in the forest and only visit the city once in a while…I agree about your gift for being able to write thought-provoking stories with a limited amount of words…Kudos to you!!!!!! 🙂
Ummm. What would be the point of digging a grave? It’s not a grave until you fill it in (which you can’t do if you die) – it’s just a ditch. He’d be far better just curling up in his cave. he could seal that from the inside and die quite happily. Perhaps his ruination was visited upon him due to his inability to form a coherent plan!
Have you ever dug a grave? It’s something that you ought to try. It causes you to wrestle with reality.
Yes, I’m sure it does, but one would not dig one’s own grave – your’e effectively digging a ditch to lie down in. It isn’t a grave until it is covered over and given that you are going to die alone, who would cover you to complete the grave?
I suppose it’s only “an intended grave” before you’re actually dead in it, but that’s the point. Digging a ditch which you intent to be your grave causes you to think about the fact that you will be occupying it soon. Obviously, if you are alone on an island or something, nobody would fill it back up again. But it’s still a grave, albeit an open one.
Meh. He’s clearly not a planner. if he had of stayed in his cave he could have collapsed it from the inside and had, if not a grave, certainly a mausoleum.
digging the grave is rather digging in “yourself” after having taken a step aside: than finding another chance to take a new step forward?
for sure being in the forest is relaxing if you’re ruined on no matter what point of view 😉
Fortune chooses her guests.