THE LIE.

Lily and Liam were twins. They would both be 21 years old, in two weeks time. According to the ancestry of their family, when they reached 21 years they would both receive 10,000 million pounds to purchase land for their future kingdom. There was only one, very strange, clause in the agreement. They must not be under five feet tall. Lily and Liam both passed this test with flying colours. Lily was a very shapely five foot seven, while Liam was a tall, very manly, six foot two. “ They raced down the winding staircase, both laughing uproariously, at some weird joke Liam had just made up. “Liam you are scandalous! What would Mama say if she heard you?” “She would probably ban me from going riding, but she isn’t here, is she?” Just then their Father walked in. “Good morning Father!” They both chimed. “Where are you two off to? Liam have you done your penmanship today, and also practiced your swordsmanship?” “Of course Father, I did it early today, so that lily and I could go riding.” His Father didn’t smile, perhaps he didn’t believe him. But he also had no reason to doubt him, or proof that he was lying. “All right, enjoy your ride, but make sure you’re back by seven for dinner, as we have some important guests arriving.” “Yes Father, we’ll make sure!” And with that they raced out the door, towards the stables. “ “Liam, how could you blatantly lie to Father? You haven’t done either of those things, you only just crawled out of bed because of the late hour you snuck in, last night!” “Yes, but he doesn’t know that! I have warned Nanny, if he ever finds out about my comings and goings, she and some others will lose their jobs and never work again in this town!” “What! You threatened Nanny! How could you? She has been in this family for many, many years, she is a family treasure!” “Don’t be so sentimental! She is just part of the staff and there are plenty more to take her place, any day!” Lily wasn’t happy with her Brother’s behaviour, or his way of thinking, but at the moment she just wanted to go riding, so she would worry about it later. “ Having saddled and mounted their favourite horses, they cantered out towards the family owned Thurgood Forest. As they trotted along in the leafy green cavern, the shafts of sunlight passed over them from a dappled green canopy above. The forest was cool and welcoming with birds singing from every tree-top. They stopped beside a small pristine, sparkling stream, and dismounted. As they sat beside the stream they spoke about their futures, and what each one expected to do with their inheritance. “What exactly does that strange clause mean, do you think?” Liam asked. “I’m not really sure, I guess they don’t want somebody short in charge!” Lily giggled. “No, there’s got to be more to it than that. The people that wrote those conditions, were deadly serious, they weren’t just playing around.” “Well anyway, we don’t have to worry about it, we’ve already passed the test!” “Yes, guess you’re right.” It was such a beautiful balmy day they both drifted off to sleep on the cool, soft grass. “ Liam woke first to the sound of his horse snuffling. It was starting to get dark. “Hey, wake up Lily! We had better get going it’s getting dark.” Lily woke with a start. “Oh no, now we are going to be late for dinner and Father will be in a terrible snit!” They headed for their horses but as Liam tried to put his foot in the stirrup, he missed and fell on the ground. “What the hell? Is someone playing a joke? That stirrup is way higher than usual!” “Don’t be silly Liam, just get on and hurry up!” And with that Lily cantered away. “I’ll see you at home!” She shouted as she disappeared around the bend. After several frustrating tries, Liam eventually got on his horse and took off after Lily. He caught up with her about a hundred yards from the family estate. “What is our excuse for being late? Let’s just say we went a bit further than we thought and didn’t realise how long it would take to get back.” “Why do you want to lie Liam, what’s wrong with telling them we fell asleep?” “No way! I’m not having people know I fell asleep beside the stream, with my sister!” “ Their Father berated them, but agreed it was easy to lose track of time if you rode too far. The important guests were the executors for the will which would grant the twins so much money in a few weeks time. They were happy to see that both the twins well exceeded the strange clause. When Liam asked about the clause, he was shut down with “It’s a long family tradition.” “ The next morning as Liam was getting dressed he noticed the sleeves of his shirt came half way down his hand. “That’s odd! I must have bought one a size too big. Not to worry it’ll be okay!” When he noticed his long pants were hanging down over his shoes it gave him a bit of a start, but he hitched them up higher and went downstairs. “ As they sat at the breakfast table their Father asked about their lessons again. Liam lied as usual, saying he was keeping up with his schedule and his teachers were very happy. Knowing that none of them were likely to tell on him. Lily’s face went red as she watched him sit there and blatently lie to their Father. She had a terrible thought that it may just come back to bite him one day. “ Lily and Liam took a coach into town to do some shopping and catch up with old friends. “I’m going to the Inn to see David, I’ll catch up with you later Lily.” It wasn’t what he was supposed to be doing, but she couldn’t stop her strong-willed brother. Lily spent a couple of hours shopping then visited her best friend Betty. They sat and chatted while they caught up on all the gossip and enjoyed a cup of tea and scones. Betty asked where Liam was, but Lily just said visiting friends. “ Lily caught up with Liam a little later. He was wandering around the street in a daze, so she caught him by the arm and headed to the Library. As they sat there in the quiet, she looked at Liam, he was an unkempt mess and she could smell drugs on his breath. “What am I going to do with you Liam? If Father ever finds out about how you have been going on, he’ll take you out of his will.” “Don’t worry about me Sis, we only have a few weeks left and I can leave that dam estate and have my own place!” “ Lily noticed something a bit strange about Liam, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. It wasn’t until they were on their way back home and she was sitting next to him. When she realised what had happened she almost fainted. “Are you okay Lily, you are very pale. Remember, you promised not to say anything to anyone about today, or I will find a way to discredit you from ever getting a young man in this town.” Lily blushed at the thought of what Liam had threatened her with. But she was more worried about what she had just found out. Liam was shrinking! As he sat beside her in the carriage his shoulder was right beside hers, not several inches above her as it usually was. “You look very dishevelled Liam, you had better take the back stairs when we get home, in case Father sees you.” “ Unknown to anyone else Liam had been making the staff alter all his clothes to fit him, believing he was losing weight from taking drugs. The next morning as he got dressed he stood in front of the mirror to adjust his tie. What he saw made the hairs stand up on his arms. He was looking at a small school-boy. Liam stepped backward, slipped, and landed on his behind. “Oh my God what is happening to me? I must be still asleep! That can’t be me in the mirror, I’m having delusions from the drugs!” “ Lily heard the thump. She raced to his door and knocked. “Are you okay Liam? There was no answer. She slowly turned the handle and opened the door. Liam was standing in front of the mirror, well at least she thought it was Liam. But this boy was the size of a 12 year old, and wearing Liam’s clothes. “Liam what has happened to you? Why are you so small?” “ Just then their Father arrived. He took one look at Liam and knew exactly what had happened. He turned and went downstairs, picked up the phone and rang the executors. “I am sorry you will have to cross Liam off, he will not receive his money from the will, but Lily has passed the test with flying colours.” When he turned around Liam was standing looking at him. “What has happened to me Father? Why have you taken me off the will? Why am I shrinking?” “I am very sorry Liam, but it is all of your own doing. Every time you lie you will get shorter, and now you are too short to pass the clause in the will. That is the reason that clause is there. This family will not continue with a liar leading it into the future. As you are my only son, this is the end of the line for our family.” “ Liam’s Father never spoke to him ever again. After Lily had accepted the money from the will and bought herself a beautiful new estate, she let Liam live there until he got a job and landed on his feet again. After his 21 st Birthday he began to grow again and eventually reached his normal height. Liam’s Father died a broken old man, and never mentioned his only son ever again. Lily felt a little sorry for her Brother but knew what he had done to his life, was of his own making. “ Liam became a model citizen, helping others to get ahead. He married a lovely girl and became Mayor for many years, and lived out his life happily as one of the villagers. He always kept in touch with his sister in her large estate with her brood of seven children, and was very happy for the rest of his life. “ Liam never ever told a lie after the day he looked in the mirror, and taught his children not to lie, with the warning, “Or you may start to shrink!”