Time moved slowly in the night desert. The Star poured the pitchers continuously into the oasis and the parched sand. A howling wind made the night scene haunting. The Fool thought of ghosts watching him from the darkness beyond the Star’s light. A shiver went up the Fool’s spine.
He heard whispering from somewhere in the darkness. The Star didn’t seem to mind it, but the Fool’s curiosity always got the best of him. He slowly walked towards the sound, not knowing if it was voices or just the wind.
The Fool saw the silhouettes of rock formations in front of him. The whispering seemed to be coming from behind these unidentifiable shapes. He could also hear the sound of glasses clinking against each other.
When he got closer, the Fool could see that he’d come to an old cemetery. The shapes were tombstones: old, worn away, and covered in dust. The indentions of the carved names and epitaphs illegible from corrosion over the eons.
A ghastly shape arose from behind the graves. It was humanoid, but having a hard time keeping its shape. It finally took a recognizably human form and the Fool saw that it was stuck full of seven swords. It was whispering.
I am the victim, the ghost whispered, and these are my betrayers’ knives.
There was anguish in the ghost’s face. If the wind would gust, the ghost’s shape would dissipate and then reform. It sounded like the wind was causing the ghost pain, judging by the hissing whispers the ghoul emitted.
I gave them too much of myself, the ghost went on, and if I hadn’t given them so much, I would still be alive like them.
But they took advantage of my weaknesses, the ghost concluded, and now I can only haunt this ancient, forgotten cemetery.
You are not forgotten, boomed a voice from beyond the gravestones. A large man was standing there in the shadow of night. The Fool could see that the man’s legs were a large gravestone.
I have been trapped here for longer than you began haunting this cursed place, the man went on. I have to endure your shame every night. This tortures me worse than that evil woman does.
The wind blew the ghost into nothing for a moment before it reappeared, screaming in excruciating pain.
I have been punished for trying to enact cruel revenge, the man observed, and the reason you are here is for not being cruel enough. What a pair we make.
The Fool saw that nothing could be done for these two cursed creatures. He wandered back to the oasis and the Star. She continued her chore and didn’t even acknowledge the Fool’s return. He could still hear the ghost’s whispers and the man’s grumbling drift in the wind.