Once upon a time, There was once a kingdom that allowed their kings to rule for only five years.
In those five years, the king could rule however he wanted with absolute power.
No one could ever go against his wishes or even question his own decisions.
And so, there was no opposition, no coup, and no election. No one could impeach or remove the king.
But there was only one single condition the King had to obey. Once the five-year term was over,
the king gets exiled away from the kingdom. They would bring him across the river to the
other side where no one dares to go; an area often referred to as “The Dark Wilderness.”
And so came the very first king. For his entire five years, he was enjoying
everything he had. No one questioned his decisions, mistakes, or sheer indolence.
But when his five years were finally over, the king was immediately escorted out across the river
to be exiled alone into the dark wilderness. Upon their arrival at his new destination, he realized
the reality of his terrible situation, but it was all too late… The 1st King was never seen again…
Then came the second king. Realizing what happened with the
previous king, he developed an intense fear. It stopped him from enjoying much of anything
as a King. He rarely came outside of his castle and did very little to help build the kingdom.
Finally, after five years, he was immediately escorted out of the castle
to be exiled into the dark wilderness. As they approached the shore of the dark
wilderness, he panicked when he looked out into the dark abyss of the haunted land.
Without warning, he suffered a heart attack and passed away on the spot.
Then came the third king. He decided to enjoy everything he could as ruler for his term and
worry later about his fateful end. After three years of living however he pleased, he spent
the rest of his time fretting and fearing. He, too, met the same fate as the previous kings.
Just like the other kings, that was the very last time anyone has seen him.
Then came the fourth king, who this time was wise and discerning.
He thought a lot about what had happened to the previous kings and
what he could learn from their mistakes. And so, during his entire five years of
being king, he ruled with fairness, care, and righteousness while at the same time,
learned to enjoy all the royal comforts. Everyone in the kingdom began to love him,
for they were pleased to see how much he cared for his people and went the extra mile to help
their economy grow with great prosperity. After five years, everyone in the kingdom
loved him. They opposed the idea of having him exiled. They pleaded with him to stay,
crying out so he won’t go into the dark wilderness like the other kings that never made it out.
Being filled with honor, he went ahead with the original condition of
the kingdom with being exiled. His people even had the boat,
which was to carry him to the other side of the river, decorated beautifully. On the way,
the boatman was surprised to see the peace in the king’s eyes and asked,
“Oh King, why are you so calm? All the others whom I took before you were so
miserable. Do you know what horror awaits you on the other side of this river?”
The King turned and looked at him with a cheerful grin and said,
“During my years of being king, I had prepared myself for this very day and sent people there to
clear the forest and invested time and resources to make way for a new place. And that place now
has a brand-new castle with a brand-new vibrant kingdom with people… waiting for my arrival.”