"People of Amodi kingdom, I greet you all. I am Frederick, a son of the soil, and my mission here is to make our kingdom great and famous. Our fame shall spread like wild fire, and the world will bow in awe of the wonders that shall happen in this kingdom." The new chief said, and the crowd cheered.
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"First of all, we shall begin with a massive shock wave project. Project Skyreach will commence from this week. Able young men, with or without skills should join hands with me, and the women will support us with food for energy sustenance, and together we shall erect a skyscraper in the middle of our town." Frederick said, and the people cheered, and danced around with joy. To them, their Messiah had come.
Seven months later, the ground was tilled, and the foundation for the skyscraper had begun, but the villagers were already weary from stress. The women were looking older than their ages as they had to work on their farms alone without their husbands who spend day and night at the project site. Some women began to gather in groups to discuss this and lay their complaints to themselves.
"It's been four months since I last slept in the same room with my husband. He spends all his time with that Fredrick guy. I really don't understand why this building is important to them." The 1st woman complained.
"At least four months isn't a long time compared to mine. Ever since my husband and son got recruited, they don't come home anymore, and they don't help out at the farm too. I work the farm every day with my daughter, and still prepare food and take to the site for them. It is exhausting. I can't believe we were very happy when he talked about this project Skyreach thing." The 2nd woman said.
"But will the building really reach the sky?" The 3rd woman asked them.
"You'll have to ask the chief, but I think that's their goal." The 2nd woman replied.
Months turned into years, and the people of Amodi was slowly becoming a shadow of themselves. They wanted the project to close down, but Frederick was adamant. He believed that once he erected a skyscraper in the village, it will earn them more respect and recognition. Some workers quit, some got too sick to continue, but Frederick found a way to convince others to join in his quest.
Finally, the money saved up for the project finished, and the skyscraper wasn't done yet. Frederick took a loan from another kingdom as the chief of the village, and promised to pay back in two years because he believed that the project would've been finished by then, and when the world would come to see the marvelous sight, they would be able to get back the money they had invested on the project.
"Freddie, don't you think you're going too far for this project? I still can't wrap my head around why this is important. It's already a six-storey building, let's just roof it. It'll still be a sight to see." Micah, Fredrick's friend advised.
"People will mock us if we stop now. They'll call us incompetent, they'll say we are fools, and I won't stand and watch anyone insult this kingdom." Frederick argued.
"It's better to be called a fool when making a wise decision, than to be called a fool when truly being foolish. What happens when we can't pay back the loan that we took? We can end this now, and return the money to them. The people are already complaining, and the aftermath of an unpaid loan is never cool. Look at your people, and be the leader they want you to be. Care for them, and close this project." Micah said, but Frederick was adamant.
"I am caring for them, but they won't understand till this is done." He replied and walked away.
Some months later, Government vehicles pulled into the village, and announced that they were going to begin a road construction, so every other ongoing project should be put on hold. Frederick almost went mad when he heard this.
"Our project has nothing to do with your road construction. You can't tell us to stop now." Fredrick said to one of the men.
"You can continue your project after we're done. How will a skyscraper look on a non-tarred road? You should've thought of that before starting this project of yours, and I'll warn you, if you push us out of your land, we won't ever come back for this road construction." The officer said to him and walked away.
Frederick was devastated. It took 8 months for the road construction to finish, but there was little time on Fredrick's hands to finish the project and pay back his loan. Every day, he'd stand in front of the tall building, and think of how life would become if he failed to repay his debt.
Now everyone at the village said his project was a waste of time, calling it a boondoggle.
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