“Lair of The Monster” – an allegory
Once upon a time, there lived a young man. Since childhood, he had heard stories of a dreadful monster who lived in a lair in the forest, and killed whoever ventured there.
Everybody else thought that the monster was invincible, but the young man dreamed of becoming a hero by killing the monster. So, one day, he packed his things and went to the lair to confront the monster. He looked around inside, but couldn’t find anybody. The monster must have gone out to hunt, he thought. Sensing an opportunity, he hid in the darkness and waited patiently for the monster’s return.
After some time, he heard footsteps. Looking in the direction, he saw a beast entering the tunnel. Assuming that it was the monster, the man attacked the beast, and killed it. But he was not sure if had killed the actual monster. So, the young man continued to wait. After some time, a large man entered, and he killed him too. But he was still not sure if he had killed the actual monster. Over time, he killed whoever entered the lair, man or beast. Every time, he thought that he has killed the real monster – but he was never sure.
Many years passed, and he had killed hundreds who had attempted to enter the lair. One day, a young boy entered the lair. The man, no longer young, tried to kill the boy. But the boy was quicker than him. He gravely wounded the man and dragged him out of the cave. The man heard the cheers which he had dreamed of since his childhood. Alas, the cheers were not for him – they were for the boy. People were cheering the boy for killing the man. As he closed his eyes, the man realized that the monster for whom he had been searching his whole life was nobody else but he, himself.
“Power is the lair that breeds monsters. Often, a new ruler enters the lair imagining himself to be a hero who is there to kill the monster. However, as time passes, he himself becomes the monster that needs to be killed.”
Excerpt From “Lair of the Monster”.
By Shon Mehta
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