In a remote country village, situated in a river valley with fertile fields and gentle hills, there lived a boy named Maxim, known for his sharp tongue and bullying ways at the village school.

He was raised by his father, a hardworking farmer, Maxim learnt to focus only on himself. His father, stubborn and busy with the farm, had no patience for a son uninterested in toiling the fields or assisting with the duties of feeding and caring for the animals. Maxim grew up making demands for all his needs, never asking, and caring little for others.

As years passed, Maxim became a man, inheriting his father’s farm. But the village remembered his youthful cruelty. Those he once tormented now avoided him, their hearts closed to his needs. Maxim, unchanged, demanded help without gratitude. He haggled fiercely, accusing the baker of overcharging for bread, claiming the tailor’s clothes were poorly made, and insisting the carpenter’s furniture was shoddy. He never thanked those who helped him, only criticized.

In time, the village turned its back on him. The plumber, once a schoolmate, was “too busy” to fix Maxim’s leaking pipes, leaving his home damp and mouldy. The carpenter, another former classmate, had “too many jobs” to mend Maxim’s broken cart, stranding him without transport. The builder, recalling Maxim’s insults, had no spare time available, when a storm toppled his barn wall. The blacksmith refused to shoe his horses, claiming urgent orders elsewhere. Even the market vendors stopped buying his crops, wary of his reputation for arguing over fair prices.

Maxim’s farm began to crumble. His insistence on paying low wages and harsh treatment drove workers away. The fields grew wild, the livestock wandered, and the fences rotted. Unable to maintain the farm, Maxim was forced to sell the land. He moved into a small, drafty cottage on the farm’s edge, alone and forgotten. The village, once vibrant around him, now passed him by without a glance. His world of demands had built walls higher than any he could repair.

𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙡: 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙬𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨. 𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣, 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙨. 𝙉𝙚𝙜𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙥 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.