The Jeweled Thief – Part 1

There was a man who lived with his mother on an island in the Greek seas. Six days of the week, he walked his donkey with goods piled on its back along the hillsides, up and down and back and forth over steep parts, to get round to the other side of the island where he sold vegetables and handmade wares crafted meticulously by his mother.

His vegetables were so popular. Most people brought their crops and grains in sacks, still covered in earth and insects, dumping them out for prospective buyers to peruse. But his were always brightly colored and shiny from careful washing, and he arrived earlier than most, arranging his offering in beautiful patterns of color, different from each day before, which especially delighted children, and captured the attention of all.

He was mostly silent, a nod here and there, but listened a lot. And, although he was known, no one really knew him.