Long before religions, kingdoms and cities, the wealthiest woman on Earth found a nugget of gold at the bottom of a stream. She inspected it carefully – gasped. For sure, she was holding a piece of sun. How did it get here?

It was the first time humanity ever saw gold.

And there she was: a young woman with wild eyes and dirty hair, a bit naked, wearing the sun on her chest. What would the others say to such a miracle? After all, they were now the wealthiest tribe on Earth. People whispered. It’s shining! Look at her chest! Look at the sun! The wealthiest of woman of Earth smiled and started talking.

It was the first time they saw gold too. They couldn’t hear what she was saying. They couldn’t see where she was standing. How could they? She wasn’t one of them anymore. She had the necklace of a goddess. This commanded respect. So much respect.

No one talked to the woman: it was not appropriate. No one shared food with the woman: it was not appropriate. No one touched the woman: it was definitely not appropriate. Sometimes, people would briefly look at the necklace, before lowering their gaze. Not appropriate.

Of course, the wealthiest woman on Earth understood. She knew about respect. She understood what she was now: a sacred ghost, or maybe even the shadow of a god. She deserved this respect. Every day, she stood under the sun, without friends and without food, growing thinner and weaker, waiting for another miracle to happen. Or maybe for a god.

Eventually she got ill. Too much sun, not enough to eat. On her last day, she asked for the healer, but the healer refused to see her. He had too much respect for ghosts.

After she died, the tribe decided to return the gold to the sun. Everybody nodded, and agreed that they didn’t need any more ghosts or holy shadows in these parts. At this moment, one man stood up. Without a word, he took the necklace and slowly walked away.

The wealthiest man on Earth left, and didn’t ever think about coming back.