Time

There they were sprawled out across the cramped table of the private bank room. Thomas paced about, reading the letter.

Tommy’s mind jumbled it all up, but for what he could capture, it said:

“Dear Tommy. If this letter finds you it means I’m gone… With my passing… The key you were given belongs to a lockbox… I've left four items behind in order for you to choose from… From the moment you open the box you have one hour to make your decision…”

It was the last line of the letter that Thomas read aloud again and again. It said, “But choose wisely for the consequences you will inherit may outweigh the sum of what you may choose.”

“What does that even mean?” said Thomas, as he crinkled the letter in his hand, his eyes widening in frustration.

His arms acted as if they were pinning the table to the floor as he reexamined the contents of the lockbox. A check for $20,000, a skeleton key to an unknown lock and a small black notebook.

He flipped the letter over again and saw a tiny inscription: ”You may retrieve the items from the lockbox, but once you do whatever you touch from then on is yours. Only one choice, kid.”

“Thanks uncle Harry,” said Tommy. “What a joke. Always some lesson...” He eyed the contents from the lockbox once more. “And you’re quite sure these were the only instructions?”

The shadow of a dark brood of a man loomed in the corner, just beyond the warmth of the single light hanging above the table. He nodded and checked his pocket watch.

“How much time do I have?” asked Tommy. He was at a loss for the man’s name, seeing as how a good bit of time had already passed.

“Thirty-seven minutes,” he replied.

“Ok, ok, ok,” Tommy said as he talked aloud. He felt the collar of his shirt, his tie choking him; the same way the last week carried the air of death. Even the dark man in the corner counting down the time haunted him. “Boy, it’s hot in here. Ok. I’ve got thirty-seven minutes…”

“Thirty-six,” said the man.

“Thirty-six minutes,” replied Tommy, “and I have to choose between a check for $20,000, a random key and this little black book?” Tommy had a thought. He flipped the paper over and looked for the line.

“There it is. Uncle says there’s four items to choose from but I only found three inside the lockbox.”

The man looked down at his watch and said, “Thirty-five minutes.”

“You’re no help,” said Tommy, as he shook his head. It was time to ignore… whoever he was and get back to the task at hand.

“Four items?” said Tommy. “I only see three but uncle says there are four.” He tightened his jaw and began to pace again. “Each item has a value but each also has a, what did he say, a consequence?” He eyed the worn paper and said, “Ah, yes. A consequence.”

“What if I choose neither?” asked Tommy. The man released the latch on his pocket watch but before he could speak Tommy said, “Time! Got it. I’m running out of time.”

“So, I can only touch one. Only choose one. If I take the check I’ll walk away with a sum of money. If I take the key I’ll have a key with no instruction. Then there’s the little black book. One that I can’t open to see what’s inside nor examine to see if it’s ever been written in cause once I touch it...”

“But what is the fourth item?” Tommy squinted his eyes and peered into the lockbox, but saw nothing.

Taking the paper, he read it again to himself, but he began to slowly read aloud when he got to the part that said, “You may retrieve the items from the lock box, but once you do whatever you touch from then on is yours.”

Tommy racked his brain, “What was it that uncle used to say? You may if you can but can you what may? What an idiot!”

“You may retrieve the items… you may retrieve the items… you may…? Is that the fourth item?”

“Twenty-eight minutes,” said the man.

“Are you telling me that if I had left all of this in the box I could have taken it all with me?”

“Twenty-seven…”

“Would you shut up!” yelled Tommy.

He turned his attention to the wall and said, of his uncle, “You were always playing games Harry. Damn you! You and your idiotic notions.”

Thomas cracked his neck and popped his fingers. He took in a deep breath. Rolled his eyes.

“Alright. If the lockbox was the fourth item then it’s been forfeited now since I can’t very well pick the others up without forfeiting the rest. So now it’s down to three options. The check. The key. The book.”

“What would I do with $20,000?” Tom looked around the room, letting his mind wander as he spoke aloud to himself. “I could pay off a few of my debts? Set aside a little for a rainy day? Aw, who am I kidding. I’d end up spending it on something frivolous.” He bit his lip, and then said, “But why shouldn’t I spoil myself? It’s not like uncle Harry ever went out of his way to bless me!”

He eyed the check. Then he moved on.

Leaning close to the table, to inspect the key, he said, “What in the world do you belong to, I wonder? A chest? A house? Another lockbox? Uncle used to carry an old set of keys like that, so this has to be one of them. But what on earth could you belong to? Maybe something that’s worth more than $20,000?”

“Then there’s you! The little black book.”

“Nineteen minutes.”

Tommy glared at the man, but then he turned around and leaned against the frame of the door. He spoke to it secretly and quietly, “What dark secrets might you be holding, my dear? Are you a check book? Financial records? Sensitive notes?”

“What could I hope to gain from either of you?” Thomas eyed the check and said, “A bit of financial independence.” He moved and stood in front of the key and said, “A bit of mystery.” Then he looked at the little book and said, “A bit of history.”

The word history rolled around in Tommy’s brain. “History,” he said aloud. “Uncle.”

Uncle Harry took Tommy in some years ago after the fatal accident involving the boy’s mother and father. He never officially adopted Thomas, but the two had an understanding and Tommy lacked for nothing.

Having already left Tommy a small lump sum of money that was tied up in trusts and private corporations, the boy's future was certain; but as always Harry left a lesson to be learned. The dark man handed Tommy a key and the letter, showed him to the car and drove him to the First Century Bank of Corbin.

“Twelve minutes.”

Tears welled up in Tommy’s eyes as he thought about uncle Harry. “You fool of a man. I told you not to press yourself but that just wasn’t your style.” Thomas composed himself and said aloud, “This would be pocket money. Private money for me to use whenever and however I like. The key probably gives access to some secret corridor on the grounds. But this book.” Tommy reached for the book but paused a breath away from it. “This book would be the last thing that I’d have that was connected to you…”

Thomas’ knees hit the floor. Tears fell from his eyes. Tears that hadn’t had a chance to fall for some time. Uncle Harry’s funeral was a blur, just like his parents'.

“Ten minutes. Make up your mind.”

Tommy used the table to help himself back up.

He wiped the tears from his eyes. Looked down on the table and smiled. He grabbed the little black book and held it tightly to his heart.

The man stood to his feet. “So, you’ve decided then?”

“I have.”

“Good. Wait for me out there while I gather the rest.”

Thomas walked out of the room and found a quiet seat in the hall. He rubbed the leather binding with his thumb as he stared at the small black book in his hand. He thumbed it open to the first page. His eyes glazed over as the book fell from his hand to the ground.

Tommy was overrun with equal parts shock and anger. He stared at the floor, where the book had been in his hand, realizing the depth of his foolishness.

When the man exited the room, he had the lockbox tucked under one arm. He walked up to Thomas and said, “We better be off.”

Tommy stood up and walked towards the exit. The man bent down and picked up the little black book. He said, “Don’t forget this.”

“Keep it,” said Tommy as he slowly walked away and out of the bank.

The man’s eyes grew as he looked down at the first page. It said, “You idiot. You gave up $20,000 for a notebook?”

“Poor fella.” But his eyes widened even more when he turned the page.

The writing continued on the next page and read, “You may be an idiot Tommy, but you did exactly what I thought you’d do.

“You decided to keep a piece of me around instead of going for more stuff. That’s why I love you kid. And it’s why I left you everything. I love you son! I know it’s too late, but folded up in the back of this book are the adoption papers I signed a few weeks ago. I know it doesn’t mean too much now that I’m gone… but we both knew what it meant when the doctor told me I only had a few weeks to live. So, I want you to live on as my name's sake. To take care of all of it. Use the $20,000 to cover any other fees the lawyer throws at you. I used him to tie up all of those trusts and what not. He knows you’re coming and knows what to do to help you out.

“Take the key. The estate is yours. My key ring has been left in my bathroom, but this key is a master to all the grounds. Enjoy it! Live it up!

“If you are reading this, and kid I sure hope you are, you probably noticed that there was only three things in the box when I said it was four. The fourth item was the adoption papers. You probably thought it was the lockbox. It’s nothing. The papers are the most important part. They’ll unlock all the doors you’ve got ahead of you. With my name at the end of yours you’ll be left as the major shareholder of the company, owner of my estate and heir to all the other stuff I accumulated over the years.

“All the details are on the following pages. Just get it to the lawyer. He will take care of it. I may have run out of time son, but I’ve tried to save as much as I can for you.

“I love you son. I’m proud of you!”

The man was at a loss. He looked up and Thomas was gone. Meanwhile he was holding the little black book with the lockbox still tucked under his arm.