La Balanza (The Scale)

I am the Scale, the honest balance that weighs every transaction. The merchant brings his goods; I tell their true worth. I do not trust the merchant's word — I weigh for myself. The Steelyard sets the rate; I execute the weighing. Every coin, every grain, every measure passes through my pans. I am the guardian of fairness: neither buyer nor seller cheats while I hold the beam.

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A merchant from Marrakech once tried to tip my pan with a hidden weight — a discount he had not declared, a fee he had swallowed. I felt the tilt. The beam shook. The notary's seal would not press; the transaction refused to close. He came to me at dawn, begging. I told him: I weigh what the Watermill records, not what you whisper. He adjusted his ledger. The sale completed by noon. The Scale has no mercy, but it has justice.