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Edward stood staring out of his kitchen window, hypnotized by the thick blanket of fresh snow brought by the first winter storm of the season. The quietness of the morning broken by the random cracking sounds of branches falling to the ground due to the weight of the snow. As he takes his first deep breathe of the day he is treated with a calming sensation of gratitude and the warming fragrance a fresh pot of coffee. It’s a welcomed restful Wednesday morning as by now he would have already been on his way into town to open up the office and greeted by Jane Fonzo, his hardest working employee. Though due to the current weather situation he sent out a message the previous day to his family of employees telling them to take the next couple days to enjoy some rest. He knew that majority of his staff including himself would not be able to make into work due to mother nature’s chilling effects. So why shouldn’t everyone be able to take a few days off?

He was grateful for some time to rest as everyone in his office had been working day and night on several new projects the past month that would help boost his two year old agencies standing. Edward poured the freshly brewed coffee into his favorite mug and made his way up to his favorite place in his home, the loft. Edward had put much thought into his study to provide him with a space to unleash his creativity. There’s a cluttered work table that ran along the railing that overlooked the fireplace below. He positioned a large reclining chair in the corner of the room and surrounded it by several bookshelves ,the smallest complimented by an antique record player sitting on top while the shelves below were well stocked with an immense collection of records. The loft is illuminated by several lamps and a custom light fixture hung from the ceiling that was gifted to him by an Aunt. As he sets his coffee down on a nearby nightstand he took a moment to appreciate the dancing effect of the steam before he began to skim through his collection of records. He was looking for something to set a mood for his morning of rest and adventures soon to be brought to him by a book that was yet to be chosen. With a twist on his heels he turns away from setting the record to play, ‘Frank Sinatra’s Some Nice Things I’ve Missed’, he grabs his coffee mug from the stand for a sip and begins to sift through his collection of books looking for something to spark his imagination. As his fingers brush against the spines of his collection he comes across a forgotten gem. It’s a weathered book containing a plethora of ideas,stories, accomplishments and failures all from the mind of a unknown “mad” man. He takes another sip of coffee from his mug as he opens the book to the first page he begins to read the name written on the back of the cover the sound of “I’m Gonna Make It all The Way” playing from the record player begins to fade away and a memory of his first encounter with the book floods into his mind.

It was the beginning of fall two years prior, he was on a journey through a land foreign to him, Canada. He was taking a spontaneous two week long trip through the country with no real plan in sight other than to be as present as he could in every moment as he visited as many national parks he could on his way to his main end destination. The reasoning for this last minute decision was because he was going through a very rough transition in life. It almost makes you want to agree that bad thing happen in three. He had just broken up with his girlfriend of 4 years, just been let go from his job due to department closures and the final straw was he had just learned of the passing of his beloved Aunt Melissa. Edward knew he needed some time to himself so that he could find a way to process the overwhelming amount of emotions he was currently experiencing and the countless more he was bound to have. Luckily he had a well running truck, a comfortable amount in his savings account, his Aunt Melissa’s address and a new camera waiting to show Edward just what unknown moments it could help him capture.

It was his 8th day into his 14 day excursion and Edward stumbled upon an appealing country store on his way to Jasper national park, a true god sent as he had the sudden urge to use the restroom. As he walked though the door a bell hanging from a string rang as the door opened and closed underneath it. He was greeted by a set of radiant smiles from an older couple, by quick assumption maybe a decade or two older than himself, the man was stocking a cooler of glass coke bottles and a woman seated behind the counter working on a crossword puzzle book. He walked up to the woman and asked if there was a public restroom available, she eagerly pointed and stated overly descriptive directions to the restroom “the back right corner of the store, the first door on the left. The second is for storage and third is the office.”

After his brief visit to the restroom he was now browsing the aisles for a new treat to try ,he had come to choose an Aero bar, bag of local maple wood smoked jerky and a bag of Cheetos. He then walked over to the coolers where the gentleman was working and asked if he wouldn’t mind allowing him to grab a sprite and lemonade, his aunts favorite soda duo when mixed together. The gentleman was happy to grab the sodas for Edward as he began to strike up a conversation with Edward, sharing a quick history of the store and surrounding area, as he was finishing up his stocking duties he asked Edward about his story. Edward feeling at ease with the gentleman, who introduced himself as Dave and his wife as Eleanor, began to give him the run down of his reasons for the spontaneous travels. As he began to share Dave led him up to the counter to join his wife as she put down her puzzle book. They sat there quietly paying close attention to every word Edward spoke the couple showing faces of empathy, love and understanding. As Edward shared his story he was taken back once he realized that he had tears coming to his eyes, only to catch his attention when he felt them drip from his cheeks. He abruptly stopped his story as he felt that he had began to ramble on with everything that had been weighing him down. He was quick to apologize to the couple who were just as quickly to return with confirmations of “there is nothing to be sorry for, we all have our own moments to live through.”

As Edward dried his tears with the sleeve of his jacket Dave bent down under the register and came back up with a book, the book. Dave proceeded to tell Edward that for some reason he felt the need to share this book with him. As Edward lifted the chilled leather bound book Dave explained that this book was filled with stories ranging from love, hate, loss, accomplishments and failures. Confused by how a book can have so much written in it Edward asked how could that be possible. Dave gave a warm smile as he pointed to Edwards head and heart he said “it’s filled by these and they are constantly experiencing something new.” With a puzzled look on his face Edward opened the book and was taken back by the handwritten words and dates written above each entry. It was a journal the earliest entry dating back 96 years prior, almost a century ago.

Dave proceeded to explain to Edward that some time ago he met an older woman named Maria during a similar rough turning point in his life. Dave told Edward of how Maria had given him her journal as she explained to him that she found her own salvation in written words that she had started to write down memories, feelings, experiences and ideas. Dave made a few comments on struggles he’s gone through in life and how some were followed by an accomplishments of some level. He then bent down back behind the counter to retrieved two similar books one worn and one pristine. As he placed the pristine book into Edwards hands on top of the first weathered book Dave told him “I want you to take Maria’s book so that you too may enjoy and learn from it as I have. I also want you to have your own blank book so that you can write down everything that comes to mind. Every good moment as well as every bad moment should be remembered because they were moments you were given the opportunity to experience and grow from. Write down your dreams and goals. Write down your fear and worries. Write it all down so that in the process you may create your own story on paper as well in life.”

As the memory fades and the music takes its place Edward places the weather book back into its place. He proceeds to his cluttered table where he finds his personal gifted book from beneath a pile random sketches. The pages where filled with his ups and downs, the conversations between angels and demons, as well as his dreams and accomplishments. In that little black book was his step by step plan of starting his own business bookmarked by a copy of a $20k inheritance check from his Aunt Melissas estate. There was so many new experiences to write about. As he reach for a pen he inhaled deeply As he closed his eyes. With an exhale he opened his eyes and smiled because he knew he was creating his story.