7 Sins | Greed

The poor man lacks many things; the miser lacks them all. Publius Siro.

— The next object is... The Storm over the Sea of Galilee! A beautiful painting painted by Rembrandt in 1633!

Arian watched that work, waited for the moment when they would shout the amount to get it, but he knew there was no hurry, anyway there was nothing in the world that his money couldn't buy and that painting had to be his.

— We start the auction at $400 million!

— Five hundred!

A first bid was heard from a dark area of that auditorium. Apparently he wasn't the only one interested in that work, but he wasn't worried.

— Five hundred to the man in the scarlet tuxedo! Let's see, who gives more?!

— Five hundred and twenty!

— Oh! What lovely offers! Will anyone exceed this amount?!

Arian watched from the upper balcony with a very boring look. He leaned his elbow on the couch and with his hand held the weight of his head while yawning with boredom.

— Nine hundred million!

— Oh…

The audience was silent and the curious glances of those present were looking for where the exuberant offer had come from.

— No need to ask questions! Sold to the young man in the private box!

Applause was heard all over the place and after a silence people began to leave the auditorium. It was obvious that everyone was interested in that painting. Many of them were even historians and owners of renowned museums who, not being able to recover the painting by legal means, decided to go into the clandestine auctions to get these objects back at any price.

— Come on, Fran, I'm bored. Ask the escorts to remove the painting for me, I want it safe and sound in the gallery.

— Yes, boss.

Everything on the streets seemed boring to Arian. Since he began his journey as a collector of objects he had managed to produce an immeasurable amount of money, but how to blame him, since he was young, anything he wanted he got it any way he could. He had become a master of barter and passionate about pleasing his innermost desires.

— How many items did we get today, Fran?

— A total of fifty-two if we count Rembrandt's painting, sir.

— Perfect…

Looking out of the car window his thoughts were reduced to nothing as he paid attention to the figure coming out of the alley. With a smile as sweet as honey and a mahogany dress that highlighted her exceptional skin color she wobbled dancing in beautiful leather heels.

— Wonderful... stop it Fran... give me a second.

Without thinking, he got out of the car and headed for that woman. It was a discovery never seen before for him. I had to invite her to his gallery and make her feel comfortable.

— Hey! Hey! Miss!

— Miss? How flattering... What do you want?

— I was wondering if you'd like to walk me home tonight.

— My services are exclusive. Do you think you can afford it?

— Of course....

Arian peeps a wad of bills out of her right pocket and the beautiful prostitute stings one eye before following him to his vehicle.

— Fran, please, take us home.

— Yes, sir.

In the back seat of the car, Arian looked at every part of that woman's body. Her hair, her curves, her figure, her smooth skin and beautiful lips, was the venus de milo made person.

— With whom do I have the pleasure tonight?

— Arian. Arian Tesnad. At your service.

He took the woman's hand and kissed her gently, then she blushed and smiled back in sorrow as a reward.

— You're such a gentleman....

— It's customary. Look, we're almost there.

Outside the window you could see a huge house covered with marble walls. The woman looked on in amazement and in her mind imagined the amount of money the man could have at his side to keep all that up.

— It's amazing how....

A blow paralyzed her sharply and her vision became blurred until she was completely unconscious.

— Bring her to the lounge, Fran. I want her to enjoy the collection. I'll go ahead.

The doors of the house opened and Arian entered at a fast pace. Already inside the great mansion he prepared everything to receive that lady. Her stay in the gallery had to be perfect and I was looking forward to receiving her with a big surprise.

— What...? Where am I?

When she woke up, the beautiful woman was in a white room, very bright and full of perfectly arranged and classified objects in that place. In front of him a painting made room on a white wall.

— It's beautiful, isn't it?

— Yes…

— I bought it tonight, it cost a lot of money but it had to belong to my collection.

— I think it's Rembrandt's....

— Beautiful and smart.

— I studied a little arts before I went into this world.

— And now I want you to be an art in my collection.

— Ha ha ha... that's funny.

Arian stared at her. It was a beautiful discovery.

— Otto, you can start anytime you want.

Arian left the room and five men entered the room with various apparatuses; bandages, wax, hot water and a few large containers containing a hot, viscous liquid inside that began to make the woman nervous.

— I think I should go now.

It wasn't until that moment that he realized something he hadn't noticed, his leg, had a purple plastic tape that marked "HU-008".

— What is this? Get away!

— Miss, keep still.

The men surrounded her and took her by arms and legs, then lifted her up and took her to a kind of glass tabernacle in the room. Suddenly they stripped her of all her clothes and threw them inside, then closed the upper deck.

— Let me out of here! Let me out of here!

The woman struggled and hit the dense glass of the tabernacle, but nothing happened, it was more and more difficult for her to breathe and the subjects were putting a series of tubes through the sides of the tabernacle into several holes.

— This will only hurt a little, miss....

— Let me go! I can't breathe!

The tension was beginning to mount and his heart was pounding in the face of the situation.

— Begin.

From another room Arian watched the whole process and gave the order to start. The men were pumping the liquid from the containers through the tubes and a substance much like candle wax began to flood the inside of that glass box.

— It's burning! Help! Help! Help!

The woman's skin was burning with that liquid, she for her part sought to stay as far away from him, curving her back upwards and holding herself only with her feet and hands that were already starting to turn scarlet red.

— Empty water....

On the other side of the tubes, quantities of cold water were introduced and mixed with the liquid to form hardened layers inside the glass. The woman, who was still struggling and groaning in pain, was horrified and saw that her arms and legs were still, but she was grateful that all that had stopped and she felt a little relief when she felt the cold water on her skin.

— Carry on.

Another wave of that liquid entered the container and again the screams and burns became part of the crystalline cloister.

— Help! It burns! It burns!

The process continued again and again and again until silence was the only thing that was present.

— Perfect. Perfect.

The men were cleaning up all that space and were beginning to take that equipment away. In the background a man polished a figure two meters wide by two and a half meters high. Arian, with his hands in his pockets, approached to watch the work and his eyes gleamed with joy at such an exceptional work.

— It's almost ready, boss.

— When they're done, add it to the collection. I'm gonna go for a walk. I see empty that space in the background, maybe there'll be some new auction in this town.

— Yes, boss.

The polishing was finished, the worker placed some details on the body of the gigantic work and then asked the helpers to move it to the north wing of the gallery. She was majestic, her figure, her curves, a venus. Around him, seven other figures of beautiful women and men kept him company. It was a collection of exceptional works. The lights of the gallery went out and in the darkness a faint, barely perceptible lament echoed, it was an impassive cry that twisted in pain and would spend the rest of his life there, being part of a satirical collection of human beauty. Being part of that man's desire to possess as much as he wanted in this world.