a story

He was nervous about getting honey poured down his ear. His master, who had always been kindly, flew into a rage at his young slave's questioning. Like all masters, his duties in owning another human being had corrupted him. Like all masters who think themselves kindlier and more human, he became crueler than most.

He tied the young man to a stake in barn and ordered no one to feed him. The young man stayed there a thousand years while the outside world changed without his knowing. The barn filled with ash and he was buried, sustained only by his memories, until someone heard his story and thought to look for him.

He was gray an withered, but alive. His heart had shriveled to a tiny, black diamond, but it still beat. He was a treasure, for the slaves had inherited the world. But he was sad to the end of his days, because he still remembered how kind the master had once been. His master's soul had been destroyed by slavery, where his had survived.