Always Be Humble

The raindrops began to fall on the darkened city as David cursed under his breath at the unforgiving sky. He was already roaming the city on an empty stomach looking for a turn of good luck, or any luck at all. But the impending storm quickly on its way is the last thing he needed. As he scurried towards the alley he'd called home for close to 4 months, he spotted something on the ground. It was an object that appeared misplaced from its surroundings and certainly didn't belong on the dirty, dingy streets of New York. Whether it had been mistakenly dropped or purposely placed, David was cautious upon approach. As he neared the object he discovered it was a beautiful, black leather bound book. After a few glances left and right to determine whether anyone was watching, David quickly snatched the little black book from the ground and shoved it in his coat pocket as he continued towards his humble abode. As he made his way to his familiar alley the raindrops began to increase in size and frequency until they became torrents that soaked David and chilled him to his bones. He dove into his tarped shelter and immediately felt relief from the storm. He shivered and shook while lighting a worn, well burned down candle to offer some light and warmth. Things weren't always like this for David. But a series of unfortunate events brought him from a time he vaguely remembered being happy to shivering under a tarp draped behind a dumpster with the torrential downpour stirring up the awful smell of garbage. As the chill began to leave his body, he fished around in his coat pocket for his newly acquired item. He quickly flipped to the back page of the little black book and saw a gold emblazoned script. Perhaps it is the owners name, he thought. As he brought the little black book closer to the candle light he read the script aloud. It simply read "Always Be Humble". David smirked as he looked about his surroundings. With the wind whipping his shelter about and his stomach growling, it was hard NOT to be humble. As he flipped to the front of the little black book he began to read again. It appeared to be an address book of sorts. But this time the script put the chill right back into him as he read the first name and address. Sarah Blackburn-106 Sycamore Street Albany, New York. Suddenly the wind picked up and became more furious than anything David had ever seen. His small piece of the world in this dark, dirty alley began to spin as everything went from pitch black to blinding white. As his eyes began to adjust to the changes he couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was Sarah Blackburn. She was just as young and beautiful as David remembered at 18 years of age. She was leaning in to kiss a very nervous looking young man and once their loving embrace was complete, his jaw went to the floor. David realized the nervous looking young man was himself and he was witnessing his first kiss with Sarah. They'd been dating for a few weeks before this first kiss, but David had been utterly infatuated with Sarah since he first laid his eyes on her freshman year of high school. Suddenly, the world around David began to spin again as his stomach began to flip. When things finally became still, he looked around his new surroundings and discovered he was now in the back of a large chapel. All eyes were focused towards the front of the room and as he followed their gaze, he noticed a beautiful young couple being married. It was he and Sarah, now 22, in the happiest time of his life and it was a sight that warmed his soul. He had only vague memories of being this happy and he never wanted this moment to end. But as the final vows were spoken, everything around him began to spin once again. David didn't know how much more of this he could take or why this was happening, but he knew he just wanted it to end. When everything became still once more, he was now in a completely different setting. These new surroundings looked very familiar to David as his hand glided across an expensive looking mahogany desk. This was his old office where he'd spent so much time that it was like his second home. As he looked out at the beautiful view from the office through the crystal clear windows, the door to the office swung open as David was once again faced with a young version of himself. As he looked this version of himself up and down, he was astounded at what he saw. His 3 piece suit and well groomed hair was an image David held onto every night he went to sleep with an empty stomach in a cold, dark tent. This was a time in David's life where he had it all. He was 26 years old and had taken his online startup company straight to the top. He had toiled over a computer for years leading up to this and faced rejection and adversity, but it had rewarded him handsomely with more money and recognition than anything he could have ever imagined. As this former version of David sat at his desk, the phone rang. The conversation started off pleasant enough but began to take a turn quickly as David's face began to look visibly annoyed. "Sarah, I've got a lot on my plate and your incessant nagging is not helping" he said. The conversation continued for a short time before he yelled "fine, and don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out!" before throwing his phone across the room. Just then there was a knock on the door as a meek looking gentleman entered the room. "And what do you want?!" David yelled gruffly. "Well sir, my name is Scott...from accounting. I know you don't know me, but I've got a few ideas" the meek looking gentleman replied. The younger, cocky version of David stared at Scott in silence for what seemed like an eternity before the silence was broken. "Well Scott, I believe I pay you to run numbers, not come up with ideas. So if you'd like to keep your job I suggest you stay in your lane." Scott's head hung low as he exited the room closing the door behind him. Just as the door shut, the entire office began spinning and David found himself feeling queasy again as he was launched into another leg of a journey he had not requested to embark on. When his eyes adjusted this time, he was looking down on a very disheveled version of himself. The worry was thick on the brow of this version of David as he looked upon a coffee table covered in various envelopes and letters reading "FINAL NOTICE" and "BALANCE OVERDUE". David unfortunately remembered this time all to0 well as it was his very downfall that led to being homeless and penniless. Despite being surrounded by luxury in a massive mansion, David had lost half of his possessions in his divorce from Sarah and spent the remainder over-compensating after her departure. He now faced eviction from that very mansion and owed millions to various agencies, including the IRS. The mood was lifeless and dim in this beautiful mansion as this now 35 year old version of David sat in silence. Suddenly the expensive contents of the mansion began to tremble and shake and then shortly thereafter began to fly around the dismal room in which these two David's shared. By now, David was used to the routine as his vision went blindingly white. But when his eyes adjusted this time he could only see concrete as a searing pain began to course through his head. The concrete was a familiar sight as it was typically the first and last images he saw from his makeshift shelter every day he had been homeless for the last 4 months. "Wow, that was quite a spill you took. Are you alright?" he heard a voice say. As David turned over he was met by a helpful hand belonging to Scott. David was helped off the ground by Scott who was in a very expensive looking suit and as David gathered his thoughts, he realized he too was donning an equally expensive suit. But this time was unlike any of the other times David had just experienced as there was nothing about his surroundings that seemed familiar at all. David was snapped out of his dazed state once Scott spoke again. "So now that we know you're not dead, would you like to continue on with this meeting, partner? The car will be here any minute and you know how important this deal is for us" Scott said. Just then a black limo pulled up and the two entered the luxury automobile. As the driver escorted them to their destination David caught Scott staring at him out of the corner of his eye. "Are you sure you're okay? Maybe we should call Sarah and let her know about your little accident" Scott said looking concerned. "No, I'm fine" David replied. As the car made its way through a maze of towering buildings David realized there was a lumpy item inside his suit pocket. As he fished around in his pocket for the item, he revealed to be the leather bound little black book that had triggered his crazy journey. He flipped to the very back of the little black book to a certain page emblazoned with gold script. "Always Be Humble" is all the page said, but it meant so much more to him at this moment than ever before.