Its Weight in Gold

“Please stop!” he yells as he runs to the bus with sweat running down his forehead.

“Thank you for waiting for me” he said boarding the bus trying to catch his breath but glad knowing he just made it on time and on his way to visit his love.

The bus driver gives him a disapproval look while his new passenger digs into his pockets for the exact fare change. He takes a minute to collect the exact change and feeds the coins in the machine. The bus starts to move to get back on track and be on time for his next stop. But abrupt movement causes the passenger to drop one of the coins by accident. The sound of the coin dropping to the floor makes them both lock eyes for a moment.

“I will look for it!” he says feeling embarrassed.

“Please have a sit sir,” the bus driver barked with a sigh.

“Let me go find the coin to pay for my fare.”

The bus driver takes a second realizing his passengers’ predicament, but he is more compelled to consider the safety of his commuters.

“It is all right sir,” the bus driver whispers and gives him a smile.

But the passenger will not let this one go. He wants to pay his fare. The passenger remembers the general direction the coin dropped and rolled. He then proceeds to go look for it. He goes on his knees and looks under the seating and bingo. The coin he owes the driver is right there next to a black booklet. He pauses, looks around and then picks up the booklet and the coin laying next to it. He notices that the book is a bit heavier than it looks.

“Have a sit sir”! the driver yells looking at him through the rearview mirror.

He promptly takes a seat and starts to examine the booklet. He notices that the sheets inside the booklet are gold. Could this be real gold? he thought. It weighs as much as a can of beans weighs… maybe a bit less. He is no expert in the value of gold, but he relished the amount of money a book with this weight in gold can bring. He opens the booklet and notices that the golden sheets have beautiful calligraphed writing in them. Each letter is somehow etched on the sheets. He closes his eyes to try if he can understand what is written just by touching the pages. To his surprise, he understands perfectly and can visualize the words in detail.

Knowing that his bus ride to the hospital will take some time, he proceeds to read the pages. When I get to the hospital, I am going to show her this book! Maybe she will help me determine if this is real gold! He was happy anticipating showing her his priceless findings.

It did not take long before his eyes started flowing tears. He could see his reflection through the pages and tears dripping on the golden pages. After some time has passed, he dries his face, pulls the stop switch, pays his fare, thanks the bus driver, and exists the bus in front of the hospital. He now looks content and in peace knowing that whatever happens in the end is going to be okay. The wisdom he read in the golden pages has changed his outlook in life. After his visitation has ended, he realizes that he always had the time, support, and love of others to make changes in his life to propel himself to a better future. As he now walks to his home, he remembers the great time he had visiting his loved one and telling her what he learned from the golden book. He tells her he is grateful for all the wonderful years that he somehow could not see at the time. He tells her that it is okay to go and that she now lives in his heart.

He hopes someone else in need will find the golden booklet as he did.