Dream

Sky sat at her table staring at the screen on her laptop feeling numb. Another bill just one of many that she had no idea how she was going to pay this month. She had just barely made the rent at the end of last month and now a new month of bills were looming right in front of her.

At forty-one with four children and no degree or longtime work experience, she barely just got by. She worked just about any and every honest job she could to make ends meet. She would find a decent paying job that gave her hope of better supporting her family and then be it her health issues or another unforgiving circumstance, she would find herself seeking gainful employment once again.

Life had been difficult for her for the past few years as she and her husband of many years separated. He had been the breadwinner for the entirety of their marriage supported the family with his hard work and years of experience. The marriage ended as both were unhappy and realized how unhealthy the marriage was for both them and their children. Though she receives a fair amount of child support, it is not enough to pay all the bills.

Sky found herself joining millions of others in the workforce with an optimistic attitude and a lot of hope within herself to be able to support herself and her children. She understood it would not be easy but she knew she was capable. Millions of people all over the world were living the same way. If they could do it so could she. Or so she thought.

She never imagined that three years later she would still be struggling to just keep a roof over their heads and utilities on. She had begun feeling detached from the world and her situation. Rather than worry she just existed and only thought of the day or hour ahead to get through each day.

As she sat emotionless staring at the screen showing the latest amount due for her electric she wondered what she could do to come up with the money. She had just lost a promising job after a long battle to try and keep it, due to her fainting on the job. She knew she had become a liability the moment it happened and fought for two months to keep her position but losing in the end.

Now as she stared at the screen she is wondering what employment she can find to pay her bills. She knew her rent would be late yet again and there was a good possibility she would be served an eviction notice in the near future with the way things were going. She had made a decision. The next morning she would go to the local temporary employment agency to seek employment for now. Though not permanent it would provide her income for now to pay the bills.

The next morning Sky got her children off to school and with determination headed to the employment agency. When she arrived she parked her car and made sure she had all the required documents and identification she would need once she entered the office. As she stepped from her car and closed the door she kicked something on the ground that had been laying on the ground. It appeared to be a little black book with gold letters on the front of it that read ADDRESS BOOK. She looked around for other people to see if perhaps someone near by had dropped it. When she seen there was not a soul nearby she picked up the book and began to open it to look for a name or number to identify the owner of the book. Upon opening the front cover there was no name or address. It was blank. In fact every page appeared to be blank. It seemed the book was new and nothing had been written in it. As she turned each page in the hoped of finding anything written to identify the owner she came across a thin piece of paper. The paper was in the middle of the book and after looking closer she realized it was a cashiers check. The amount of the check was twenty thousand dollars! Her hands began to shake and she looked for a name on the check, once again nothing. It was blank! Sky could hardly believe that someone would drop a book with a twenty thousand dollar cashiers check left in it with no identification of any kind. She began to feel nervous and scanned the area around her closer. Wondering if it was a prank of some kind or some kind of dirty money from something illegal. Who finds a twenty thousand dollar check?

She began to turn the each page again slowly in the hopes of finding identification of some sort. As she started turning the last few pages she finally seen writing! At least, something to identify the owner of this book and check. As she read her legs grew weak and she dropped to the ground in disbelief. It read "I pray this book and check finds the right person as I know there are many in the world with great need. Please take this money and use it to help alleviate some of your burdens." Sky with tears in her eyes could not believe what she read as she read and re-read it time and time again. Her mind raced and did not want to believe this was truly happening. It was probably some sick joke some kids pulled and printed a fake cashiers check. In her mind there was no way someone would do such a thing.

Sky gathered herself together and got inside her car. The employment agency long forgotten at this point. She sat in her car wondering what she should do. Should she go to the police and turn it in? Should she just take it home and think about it? Should she take it to the bank and find out if it was real? So many thoughts were swirling around in her mind.

After a lot of thought she decided to take it to the bank first to verify if it was real or not. She set off to the bank and once again parked her car. She worried if it was fake she would make a fool of herself but she wanted to know. As she went inside and stood in line waiting for an available teller she felt nervous and thought about what she would say once one was available. As she thought about it a teller became available and it was her turn to approach the window. When she got to the window and the teller greeted her she politely said hello and informed the teller she had a check she would like to deposit. She quickly filled it out in her name and submitted it with her identification to the teller. The teller took it and scanned it looking up in surprise at Sky. Though nervous Sky looked her in the eye with a smile acting as if this were a normal deposit for her. The teller then ran the check through the scanner and after a moment asked Sky if she would like to withdraw some of it before depositing it in her account. Sky became speechless as the teller looked at her with patience waiting for a response. Realizing she had not answered she told her to please deposit the whole amount into the account. Once the transaction was complete Sky went back to her car. She drove straight home and sat at her table in shock. Is this real? Did she really just find and deposit a twenty thousand dollar check in her account?

She sat in awe thinking about all the bills she could pay for the year. She could pay her rent for the year and all of her utilities. Have her car repaired and purchase much needed items for her children and home. Tears poured down her face with the relief that she now had time to gain employment and save money. She would be able to provide for her family and have a warm place to sleep every night with no worries. She silently thanked the unidentified person of the little black book, as he/she had changed her life. She found she was able to smile her first genuine smile in a very long time. She knew she would be okay and that she and her children would be able to prosper and grow with this opportunity.

Happy and with a puffy face Sky opened her eyes and became aware she had fallen asleep while staring at the screen on her laptop. Staring back at her was the amount due for her electric for the month. She slowly realized she had fallen asleep and had a wonderful dream of finding a life changing little black book. Though she was sad that it was only a dream she smiled to herself and with new hope prayed and wished someone somewhere out there in the world finds a little black book.