All That Glitters

by David R. Bowne

The ocean disappeared. The throng of humanity on the beach watched in wonder as the saltwater slipped out of sight. Its absence revealed the undulating surface of sand that stretched for hundreds of yards. People approached the former seafloor with trepidation battling with curiosity.  A few souls moved a few feet on the still wet but drying sand, like children testing their limits, but most remained firmly on terra firma.  As they acclimated to the situation, to the reality of a new reality, one in which the very laws of nature were repealed, their attention shifted from the impossibility of what had happened to the practical notion of what now to do. Uncertainty coursed through the crowd. And then collectively, they noticed thousands of tiny sparkles in the dry seabed, stretching out as far as the eye could see. Their bewilderment grew. What could it be?

Then a voice from on high rang out. A man stood atop a dune, his voice amplified by a megaphone. He said unto them, “Hey, look at all that glittering out there in the sand. It must be gold. Isn’t that what we’ve always heard, that all that glitters is gold.”  Everyone turned to him. He continued, “Believe me. I know a lot about gold. I know more than anyone else. And I can guarantee that sand is just covered in it. You gotta go get that gold. You’ll all be rich!”

And the people’s attention shifted back towards the vast newly exposed field and considered again the shimmering sand in the sunlight. Each face filled with uncertainty, but also hope. Hope that wealth will soon be their own. And yet, uncertainty persisted.

The man spoke again, in a voice brimming with confidence, but also impatience. “What are you waiting for? Go take what is yours. Get that gold!”

But then another voice rang out, this one quieter, for she did not have a megaphone. She stood beside the man and yelled for everyone to hear. “Do not go out. The ocean will return and drown you all. A tsunami is coming!”

Yet the man with the megaphone replied with scorn. “Don’t believe her. She’s just trying to scare you. That’s all her type ever does. I bet she’s just trying to get all the gold for herself. You know I’m telling the truth. If you leave, I guarantee she’ll be out there, scooping up all that gold and laughing at you. I guarantee it! So don’t listen to her. She’s a con artist. It’s a scam!”

The woman doubled her efforts. “A tsunami definitely is coming. This is what happens – the ocean recedes and then comes roaring back. And it is not even gold. It is likely light reflecting off the nacreous layer of bivalves!”

The man laughed. “See, now’s she just making up words. First, tsunami, now naked rust.  She thinks you’re all so stupid that you’ll fall for her big words.”  He looked out across the crowd. “I’m not going to let it happen.” He started to move off his high ground. “Let’s march out and get that gold!”

And with those words, the people turned and ran towards the ocean. They ran as fast as they could in the damp sand, trudging their way through the suctioning surface. But still they ran, towards the glitter, towards their future prosperity.

The woman cried in dismay, but her cries were unheeded. Defeated, she did the only thing she could, she ran in the opposite direction, towards higher elevation. The man with the megaphone did not venture towards the sea. He quietly got into the back seat of a car and was driven away, away from his inspired followers.

And the people stood, knees deep in the sand, desperately searching for gold but only finding broken shards of clam shells with their mother-of-pearl glistening in the light. And then the ocean returned.  They had no hope of escape.

The woman stood crying atop a hill far above the shore. She watched in horror at the unfolding sight; of bodies being tossed and drowned by the tsunami crashing against the beach, destroying all in its path. The man joined her.

“How could you do this to them?” she screamed.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t do anything to them. They made their choice.”

“But you lied!”

“I didn’t lie. It was gold out there – all that glitters is gold.”

“That is nonsense.”

He shrugged again. “You believe what you want to believe, and I’ll believe the truth.” He turned to walk back to his car. “And now I’ve gotta go make some deals.” He smirked as he said, “I have a feeling a lot of property just hit the market.” He turned his back on the devastation and looked forward to the new opportunities it created.

She kept her eyes on the revolting scene in front of her, of devastation both completely preventable and equally inevitable.