The next morning dawned with an air of anticipation, as I rose from bed that morning. As I stepped out to inspect the instrument of death I had ordered my artisans to construct, I could not be more pleased.
Seventy-five feet high, and terribly imposing. It was perfect. Just what I desired to ensure that that wretched mongrel would face everlasting humiliation, at the point of death, in death, and even after death.
Satisfied with the work that had been done overnight, the first phase was complete. Now it was time for the second phase.
To meet the king and make the suggestion to him.
***
The palace halls echoed with the rustle of servants preparing for the day’s events as usual. The regular movement on a regular day.
As I made my way through the halls, enjoying the boost my ego received with each respectful bow from the servants, my heart thumped with excitement and a sense of self-assuredness was nicely nestled in my bosom as I strode purposefully towards the king’s courtyard, with sweet visions of the gallows and Mordecai’s dangling corpse dancing in my mind.
The grandeur of the courtyard engulfed me as I approached the ornate doors, their golden filigree a testament to the power that rules over 127 provinces, from India to Ethiopia. Indeed, the king has great power and might.
Which makes it all the more special that I am his most trusted advisor. You must understand, to be able to influence a man with rulership over so many provinces only means you are as powerful as that man. Or even more powerful, in fact. Else it would not have been so easy to have that decree to destroy all the Jews signed in his name and sealed with his signet ring. Indeed, in that moment as I entered the courtyard and stood around, I realized…
… I was even more powerful than I ever thought I was…
“Sire, the king will see you now.”
My internal thoughts were disrupted by that servant that had entered the courtyard.
How dare he interrupt my delightful thoughts! Had he not been bowing respectfully, I would have had him punished for rudely speaking to me. But of course, that show of submission was enough to have me reconsider.
I simply nodded curtly and brusquely brushed by him into the king’s bed-chamber, where my master was seated.
King Ahasuerus. A man of regal greatness. A king of great worth and splendor. Ruler to many. Mighty and not to be defied.
I humbly bowed and saluted, “O king, may you live forever!”
The king nodded, the straightest and most solemn of looks on his face. “Haman, I am most pleased to see you here this early. I seek your wise counsel on a matter that has troubled me all night.”
So the king wanted advice? Very well, I would give it to him, then I would make my request.
“Speak, O king, for your servant listens, ready to aid you in whatever cause you seek,” I replied.
The king’s gaze remained inscrutable, and a pause hung in the air for a number of seconds. Then, with a measured tone, Ahasuerus asked the question.
“Haman, what should be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?”
A thrill of anticipation coursed through my veins as I heard that. This was going to be a better day than I had initially envisaged! How could I have known that the king would give me a chance at limitless honour before I asked for the death of the man that vexed my soul greatly? Especially after my little epiphany that made me realize just how great I truly am.
This was my moment—the opportunity to seize!
Before I sought to have that insubordinate vermin terminated, it was time to vocalize the accolades that I knew were destined for me.
“Well, my king,” I began proudly, my chest swelling with self-importance, “for the man whom the king delights to honor, let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let him robe the man whom the king delights to honor, and let him lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!'”
The king sat back, seemingly deep in thought, while I remained in my stance, excited by the weight of my words as I awaited the king’s approval, followed by the grand ceremony.
Oh, what a joyful day it was set to become! For the time had come for Ahasuerus to bestow upon me the honor I so richly deserved.
I waited patiently for the king to speak.
A few moments later, and King Ahasuerus stared at me, a strange gleam flickering in his eyes.
“Make haste, Haman,” he commanded, his voice loud and unwavering as always. “Take the robes and the horse, as you have said…”
The joy in my soul slightly dissuaded when I heard that. Why would I be the one to take the robes and the horse when I was to be honoured?
“…and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.”
The colour drained from my face as the gravity of the king’s words hit me squarely in the face.
The horror! The absolute horror! The honor I had so confidently detailed was not meant for me, but for Mordecai—the very man I sought to see hanging from the gallows!
Stunned, I stood frozen in the grandeur of the throne room, my carefully crafted dreams of honour and glory evaporating instantly.
How could this shocking twist have occurred? Now what was meant to be a day of glory was turning out the other way around.
Astounding.
***
“Behold the man whom the king delights to honor!”
Each moment I proclaimed those words as I led the regally clad Mordecai on the royal horse through the bustling streets, every syllable felt like a lash upon my pride, and my heart sank with every step I took.
The once-mighty advisor, now reduced to a servant’s role. Such a shame!
The square was overflowing with onlookers that morning, and their eyes were wide in disbelief at the spectacle before them. Whispers spread like wildfire, and the once-proud Haman became a figure of mockery among many who were not even fit to spit at my feet.
Oh, the utter humiliation!
The man supposed to die a most humiliating end at my command was now the man I had draped in royal attire the king wore and was leading on a horse the king once rode. The grandeur of the robes, the majesty of the horse—they were not meant for me, but for my enemy.
A cruel twist of fate that had turned the tables on me and cut me deeper than any physical wound.
Oh, the shame! The utter shame!
The worst day of my life…
Lol, that must have been the craziest plot twist to ever hit him! He had no idea the kind of person he was aiming at…
