The Mayor

The mayor, a man whose belly preceded him into every room, stood before Faiz. "Sallah," he boomed, "the town treasury is missing a significant sum! We suspect thieves. You, with your renowned wisdom, must find the culprit!"

Faiz stroked his beard. "Indeed, a grave matter. Tell me, Mayor, when was the last time you

saw this... significant sum?"

The mayor puffed his chest. "Why, just yesterday, I counted it myself! A hefty pile of gold, it

was."

"And where, pray tell, did you perform this counting?"

"In my private chambers, of course! Where else would a man of my stature handle such

riches?"

Faiz nodded slowly. "Then, Mayor, I suggest you return to your chambers and count again. It is my experience that large sums of gold have a peculiar habit of hiding in plain sight, especially from those who, shall we say, possess a... substantial girth."

The mayor sputtered, his face turning the color of a ripe tomato. The crowd, barely

suppressing their laughter, dispersed as Faiz Sallah ambled away, leaving the mayor to

grapple with the possibility that the missing funds were not stolen, but merely obscured by

his own corpulence.

Elisabet Ronauli Sinambela