Manuscript of Epiphany

The endless silence that permeated through his living room sent a cold chill through Don's heart as he gazed upon the woman that he loved with an unyielding passion. Helen was his bride to be, the only woman who could ever have inspired such commitment from a man who had previously been known for his shallow and fleeting encounters. I've really done it this time, Don thought as he chuckled inside his mind. He knew that this would blow over, but he wished that he could navigate this minefield with Helen more skillfully. "I've got to go to work, Helen. I love you." Carefully, he made his way closer and kissed his fiance before he opened the front door and drove himself to work.

Don was an amazingly successful salesman, which made perfect sense due to his uncanny charm and ability to connect with people. He was popular with his colleagues, despite the jealousy that some harbored toward him, and destined for promotion. He entered the office and made his way to his desk, but not without the greetings of those he passed along the way. As he sat down and got ready to start his day, the boss walked by him and handed him an envelope with his name on it. Don opened the envelope and it contained a small typed message from the corporate office, thanking him for his record breaking sales performance, and a check for twenty thousand dollars. Cool, Don thought as he placed the envelope and its contents into his jacket pocket. It was certainly enough to pay for a month's worth of work, but not necessarily life altering.

Before Don knew it, lunchtime had come and since today was Friday, that meant the end of the day. As he left the office and entered his car, he pulled out his phone and as he started to scroll, an article caught his attention. Apparently, a private collector had begun a silent auction that morning for an original manuscript of one of Harrillay's published works. The Edgar Harrillay. It was not one of his famous works, by any means, but as a passionate enthusiast of classic literature, Don was completely elated.

The auction was taking place right there in the city, in fact he could be there in just over an hour. As Don drove through the congested lunch hour traffic, he could not help but dream about the possibility that he might come to possess such a treasure. The sheer excitement in his soul caused the drive to be nothing more than an afterthought once he arrived at the auction.

Don looked up at the auction information screen and saw that he had arrived at an ideal time. The auction for the manuscript was set to end in twenty minutes. So Don approached the front desk, registered his personal information, and put in a silent bid for twenty thousand dollars. He wasn't worried that he might overpay as long as he won and the thought of bidding more did not even occur to him. The amount of his bonus was the amount he was willing to spend. After what seemed like an eternity, the moment of truth had come. The auction had ended.

When the winning bid was announced, Don's heart sunk with the weight of disappointment and defeat. Someone had actually bid twenty five thousand dollars for the manuscript. He was not surprised, in fact at that moment he was wishing that he had been willing to bid more. After spending a few moments accepting his loss, Don arose from his seat and began to leave when he heard his name announced over the loud speaker.

Seriously? Did that other guy leave or something? Was he somehow disqualified? I can't believe I won; I'm going to own an original Harrillay manuscript.

As Don approached the collection location, he laid eyes on his prize: a manuscript, discolored by age and time and protected by a clear vinyl slip cover and certificate of authenticity. He could barely even contain himself as he provided his identification and information for the bank draft. After he filled out the rest of the paperwork, Don was free to go with the new pinnacle of his literary collection.

Don entered his car, turned on the engine, and began to drive away but the temptation to inspect the manuscript was too much. He slowly and carefully removed the manuscript from its cover, and began to skim over the words that it contained. Once he was satisfied with the first page, with the greatest possible care, turned to the second, the third, and so on.

The manuscript was more profound than Don had ever hoped it could be. Most of the pages had lines crossed out, passages written in the margins, and the arrows that Harrillay had drawn to put all the pieces together. In fact, he was so fascinated and absorbed into exploring the manuscript that he was almost to the middle before he realized that there was something affixed to the back of the last page. As Don carefully flipped the remaining pages over to inspect it, he saw a small, black notebook. Now he was really excited. This must have been his notebook.

Not daring to separate the notebook from the last page of the manuscript, Don carefully opened the notebook while leaving the front cover face down on the manuscript. The notebook was filled with random things, from brainstorming ideas to journal entries that he had made during the time he wrote the story. Near the middle of the notebook, an entry had caught Don's attention. He was writing about a woman.

Being a fan of Harrillay and his work, Don was well aware that the author had married four times. His curiosity piqued, he continued to read the entry. Most of the entry contained common day to day things and interactions, not anything profound or out of the ordinary. One line however was different. The author had sworn to someday discover the secret to a lasting marriage.

Don was intrigued and excited all at once. Now he must inspect every word of this notebook to see if Harrillay ever arrived at an epiphany concerning his many marriages. He checked the last page, and the next to last page, to see if he could cut to the chase, but both pages contained passages that did not mention a wife. So Don returned to where he had left off and read page after page. When he arrived at what was probably the twelfth page from the end, the author had written an entry on the topic of a lasting marriage addressed to "anyone who happens to be reading this." After introducing his topic, he only wrote a pair of very simple sentences on the matter.

Don't argue with your wife. You won't win. E.H.