Is It Worth It?

“Jump first and build your parachute on the way down” echoed in her head as a sense of dread mixed with a feeling of euphoria swirled through Mary’s body. Sipping her frozen coffee, she wondered if the last seventy-two hours had been worth it. Unguarded by the meticulous planning which usually accompanied every decision, she impulsively quit her unfulfilling job to move halfway across the country. Something about her life didn’t seem quite right, and although it was difficult to articulate exactly why that was, she wanted more out of life than the mediocrity that shadowed a career spent building other people’s dreams. She knew she was beyond the point of returning to her old life, even if her new life wasn’t fully apparent yet.

Driven by an insatiable need to be the best, Mary spent the majority of her life as an overachiever. Always doing more than was required, she expected that she would be rewarded with a promotion for all her hard work. Ten years with the company. Ten grueling years of sixty hour plus work weeks, barely earning enough to survive, and what did she get in place of putting her life on hold to work tirelessly for this company? She got to watch her promotion given to the boss’ nephew after just graduating college. Unable to see past her rage, she quit her job, packed everything she owned into her car, and left.

Caught in the whirlwind of her thoughts, Mary didn’t notice the man on the bike until he sped past her, a small leather-bound notebook lying in his wake. She called out to him, but he was going so fast that only his silhouette remained on the distant horizon. She picked up the notebook and opened the cover, speculating that she could find his contact information inside. Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat (fortune favors the bold) was written on the inside and several pages were torn from the front. She noticed that the book was filled with lists of curious entries. The first one read:

March 3, 2021, 7 PM, ORANGE

1111 Washington Avenue, 70118

Today was the Ides of March. Intrigue washed over her and continued to grow as she contemplated the meaning behind the entries in the book, noticing that the final entry was for a date five years into the future. She wondered what it could possibly mean and decided that the only way to get any answers would be to show up to the address later that evening. She reasoned that she should be able to at least return the book to the man who had dropped it, however puzzled she was as to why someone would bring something so precious with them to exercise.

The time finally came to journey to the address in the book. Excitement mixed with apprehension overcame Mary as she contemplated what she would find once she appeared. She speculated if she would find herself in danger, yet the curiosity she felt far outweighed any feelings of foreboding she may have been experiencing. She could hear her heart pounding in her chest as she turned off the car and walked towards the house, acknowledging that it would surely be awful if she were to be murdered for simply wanting to return a lost item to its rightful owner.

As she neared closer to the house, she noticed that a “For Sale” sign was posted in the front yard. When her knock on the door was echoed with a loud emptiness, it became apparent that the house was vacant. Unsure of what to do next, she sat down on the edge of the porch and waited for someone to arrive. When two hours had passed and she still sat alone, she understood that no one else was coming for the notebook or for anything else. She concurred that it must have been a fluke and perhaps that the notebook wasn’t as special as she had first hoped. Just as she was standing up to return to her car, a flash of orange caught her eye from across the porch.

“What on Earth could be the meaning of this?” Mary pondered as she timidly walked in the direction of the color, noticing as she got closer that an orange bag was hiding in the bushes. She observed a tag affixed to one of the handles with the words “A Gift” written on top. She opened the bag and found another note, which said, “The contents of this bag are a gift. I trust you to use these resources wisely.” Apprehensively moving the note to the side, her eyes widened as they caught glimpse of the abundance of cash sitting in the bottom of the bag. She had never seen so much money in her life. The note clearly stated that the contents of the bag were a gift, but for whom was it intended? She briefly weighed her options and decided to take the bag home with her to count the cash, deciding it would be safer in her possession than it would be if she left it outside for any vagrant to come along and steal.

Mary immediately counted the money as soon as she got home and it totaled $100,000 to the cent. Her heart swelled with possibility as she contemplated all the ways she would benefit from having such a large sum of money. She could pay off all her student loans and credit cards and still have plenty remaining to start her new life. Having this money would give her the time she needed to decide what it was that she truly wanted out of life. The expansiveness and freedom she felt soon evaporated when she remembered that the money probably wasn’t hers to keep. The next journal entry was for a week later. It would be irresponsible of her at best and criminal at worst to avoid any attempts to give the money back to its rightful owner. She decided not to spend the cash while she awaited the date of the next entry.

March 11, 2021, 7 PM, GREEN

888 Louisville Street, 70131

The eight days leading up to the next date felt like an eternity. Mary couldn’t help but daydream during that time about how different her life could be if the money was hers. She would finally have the time to pursue her passions. The days of struggling to survive and being paid way less than she deserved would be behind her for good. She could finally make herself the priority in her own life, having the confidence and security that could only be found in having a large amount of money at her disposal. No matter how limitless and free she was beginning to feel, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone would be looking for this money. It was certainly an accident that it had landed in her hands.

Mary wondered whether the owner of the money would be upset with her for taking it in the first place. Would he be angry and threaten violence? Would he be grateful and give me some of it as a reward? She stuffed the notebook inside the orange bag and walked towards the address of the second home. To her complete disbelief, she found another empty house with a “For Sale” sign in front. She knew this was not a coincidence. It didn’t take her long to spot the green bag hiding in the bushes along the side of the house. She went over to the bag to find another tag on the outside with the same words as before, “A Gift.” She opened the bag to find the same note as before. Underneath the note, there was another huge amount of cash. She questioned how this was possible as she waited for someone to show up. An hour passed and no one came, so she left with both the bags and went back to her apartment.

Mary counted the money to find that it totaled exactly $100,000 again. It was beginning to dawn on her that perhaps the bags were there for her to find. Who was this stranger leaving large amounts of money hidden at random houses throughout the city? Was this drug money? Had the man on the bicycle singled her out a week ago and purposely dropped the notebook at her feet as he flurried past? This was the kind of situation that people talked about all the time, but that never actually happened. After a night of restless sleep, she awoke the next morning knowing exactly what to do. She had to find the person leaving the cash and she had to find out why.

March 19, 2021, 7 PM, BLUE

555 Brockenbraugh Court, 70005

Mary hatched a plan to wait outside the house on the third entry all day, keeping watch for an individual carrying a blue bag. She discerned that it was unlikely that anyone would leave that much cash sitting outside for too long. The drop would have to be made on that day. She decided that she would wait to see who the person was before deciding to reveal herself. She drove to the house at daybreak on the fateful day and as she had learned to expect by that point, this house too was vacant and sported a “For Sale” sign in the front lawn. Minutes turned to hours and before she knew it, it was already evening. The whole day had vanished and not one single person had even gone near the house. She worried that she had misjudged the situation and that perhaps the drop was made the day before. She would still have to decide what to do with the money and whether or not she would keep it. Just as she was about to drive away, a silver Honda pulled into the driveway. An old man stepped out from the driver’s side, a blue bag tucked under his arm, and disappeared behind some bushes near the front door. A few seconds later, he emerged empty handed. Mary knew that she needed to speak with this man. She needed to know why.

Mary ran up to the man, clutching the black leather journal in her hands. His back was turned towards her as she yelled out to him, preparing to renter his car. His face softened and a smile appeared upon his face when he turned around and saw what she held in her hands. “Well, I guess you found me,” he said charmingly as he adjusted the glasses on his face. There was so much that she wanted to say to him and so many questions she wanted to ask. Yet finding herself in the presence of this sweet old man, the only word she could manage to utter was, “Why?”

The man let out a long sigh before speaking. “Over the years, I’ve been very successful and I’ve accumulated a substantial amount of money from the sale of my various companies. I was ruthless and unforgiving with myself and the demands I placed on my performance. It was never enough. I worked tirelessly to build my companies to the point where I could sell them for a huge profit. By then, the work was all I knew and all I had. My youth was gone, and I had missed out on every part of life which brings one true and lasting happiness. I now have more money than I could ever possibly spend and no one to share it with. I’ve often wondered if it was worth it, to give everything up in pursuit of building a legacy, only to find myself at the end of my life completely alone. A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to give my fortune to others so that they may have the opportunity to choose differently for themselves. That’s when I developed the plan to hide bags of cash every week at my various properties throughout the city.”

His story brought Mary to tears as she contemplated the past few weeks which had brought her to this moment. The old man disappeared again behind the bushes and came back holding the blue bag. Placing the bag into Mary’s hands, he looked into her eyes and said, “You are the tenth person I’ve met since I began this experiment a few years ago. I have no way of knowing for certain how many people have been touched by the book whom I haven’t met. I will continue leaving cash as per the entries in the book until I’m dead. It’s up to you how long you keep the book and what you’ll do with it after. My only hope is that you get to the end of your life knowing that it was worth it.”

The old man gave Mary a pat on the shoulder, got back into his car, and drove away. She never saw him again, though her life was forever changed by his generosity and by the one choice she made to quit her job and move ten hours away to pursue a dream she didn’t even know existed.