The Giver

Today began like any other. Alex awakened to the sound of his alarm blaring in his ears. “Time to make the donuts,” he muttered to himself.

Swinging his feet over the right side of his bed into his awaiting slippers, he sat up and stretched, then shuffled to the bathroom more asleep than awake. “Ouch!” he exclaimed as he bumped into the tiny table that stood faithfully next to the bathroom doorway. “Darn you, table”. Alex rubbed his foot and kept moving into the bathroom.

“Another day, another dollar”. Alex had been a little less motivated lately to hurry off to his place of employment. He was a bus driver in his beloved city of Cleveland, Ohio. He enjoyed his job when he was first hired over 2 and 1/2 years ago. Meeting new people and seeing new places often were the bright spots in his day. Here lately, however, the job had lost its luster.

After ‘paying the water bill’, Alex began to wash his hands. He studied his face in the mirror. “ Maybe I should shave. That’s it. I’ll shave. I’ll feel better with a clean face. What do you think Joe?” Joe was Alex’s 3 year old Bernice Mountain dog. Joe wagged his tail in agreement and let out a tiny bark. Alex began to shave his face, studying his own features. His eyes were dark brown with tiny flecks of gold, but looked more tired than anything else this morning. His chiseled jaw line was now covered with overnight scruff. He had just gotten a line up, so his hair looked great. He ran his calloused hands across his chin and began to shave.

Although he made a pretty good living as a driver, in the recent years his financial troubles had began to multiply. As he shuffled through his daily thoughts, he remembered the tiny mountain of bills on top of his desk. “Gotta get those sorted soon”, he thought to himself while finishing up his shave.

After a quick shower and giving Joe his breakfast, Alex started getting dressed for work, just like he always did. His movements mimicked the harmony of a symphony, strategically melodic. “There. All finished. How do I look Joe?” Joe stared at Alex and cocked his head to the side. “Baroof!” Joe seemed to be pleased. Alex chuckled. “I’ll see you later buddy. No wild parties while I’m gone”.

Alex locked his front door and started down the stairs to his 2009 black Chevy pickup. After getting in and checking his mirrors, he was ready to take off. He turned the key but nothing happened. “You have GOT to be kidding me!” Alex was very time conscious so he always left out in enough time to catch one of the buses just in case something like this ever happened. Shaking his head in exasperation, he hopped back out of his truck, threw his bag on his shoulder, kicked the front tire and took off running towards the closest bus stop.

Lucky for him, a bus was pulling up just as he reached the stop. “Good morning Alex”, exclaimed an older gentleman by the name of Mr. Sparks. “Good morning, sir. How are you today?” Mr. Sparks was a regular rider Alex saw almost everyday. A rather sharply dressed gentleman, he rode with Alex all across the city weekly. Alex never really paid much attention to Mr. Sparks’ departure points. He was just glad to have someone nice to talk to on those long rides across the city.

“Funny seeing you on THIS side of the bus” Mr. Sparks said. “Yeah, my truck decided not to start today. I certainly hope this isn’t a precursor to how the rest of my day goes”, Alex replied. Their conversation continued as the bus made its way through the cluttered city streets. Alex could see the station up ahead so he bid farewell to Mr. Sparks. “I’ll see you a little later sir. Have a great one”, Alex said. Right as he was moving past Mr. Sparks, the bus came to an abrupt stop, causing Alex to almost fall completely on top of Mr. Sparks. “Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry sir! Are you alright!?” Alex stood to his feet and began to check Mr. Sparks for any injuries. “I’m just fine, son. You go ahead now and don’t be late. All is well.” Mr. Sparks had fixed his gaze on Alex in such a way that it made him feel a little strange. “ Oh...ok sir. I’ll see you later”, Alex replied.

Alex hopped off the bus and ran into the bus station to clock in. After the rough morning he was having, he decided to grab a cup of coffee from the Moca Lava coffee shop inside the depot. “That will be $3.50 sir”. The cashier waited as Alex rifled through his bag looking for his wallet. “Just one second ma’am. I seemed to have misplaced my wallet.” Alex stepped to the side and began to intently search his bag. He started pulling items out and setting them down on the table. “I KNOW I put it in here. Keys. Lip balm. Watch. Notebook. Charger. Phone. Hand sanitizer. Route book. No wallet. “NO WALLET!!!??? Oh NO!!! Ok. Ok. Ok. Let me slow down here.” Alex took a deep breath and sat down. “Keys, lip balm, watch, notebook... notebook?? Who’s notebook is this!?” Alex placed the black, leather bound notebook on his lap and continued to search for his wallet. “HERE IT IS”, he yelled a little louder than he intended. “Sorry. I found my wallet”. Alex placed his belongings back into his pack. He held onto the notebook as he paid for his coffee and walked to his position in the garage.

As he walked and sipped, he pulled the black book up to his line of sight. “I don’t know where this book came from. This isn’t mine but it looks oddly familiar.” As he mulled over the mysterious book, he began boarding his bus and setting his things in order so he could start his route. Just then he was startled by the loud yelling of his supervisor, Steven. “Yo! Alex! You gotta get out there man! You’re late!” Steven yelled and continued to yell as Alex set his things in the driver’s compartment and signaled to pull off.

“Alex!” A familiar female voice echoed through the noisy garage. Alex slowed to a stop and opened his doors. Cynthia was running towards his bus. Alex smiled because Cynthia was gorgeous and he couldn’t tell her but he was REALLY glad to see her. Now out of breath, Cynthia hops onto his bus. “Thank you so much, man! If you hadn’t stopped, I would have been late for SURE!” Cynthia sat diagonal from the drivers seat so Alex could see her face as he continued to drive.

“No problem”, Alex smiled as the warmth of infatuation washed over him. He had to snap out of it but he liked Cynthia like a fat kid liked cake.

Cynthia started talking and before he knew it, she was at her destination and he was on his first break. “Wow, that was quick. I guess I’ll see you later huh?” Cynthia looked up at Alex as she stepped backwards off his bus. “Absolutely. I look forward to it. Be careful out there.” Alex waved as Cynthia disappeared from his sight.

As Alex got out of the seat, he muttered to himself, “ that girl KNOW she fine!” He then took a seat where she had been sitting, black notebook in hand. “Now let’s check this thing out”. His curiosity had mounted to almost frenzy level as he drove to his first break point.

As Alex settled in for his break, he took a closer look at the book he held in his hands. The smell of the black, genuine leather cover and binding reminded Alex of his father’s work boots. His eyes widened as he noticed the golden lettering on the front which read: ‘The Giver’.

Alex opened the book and the first thing he noticed was the immaculate handwriting on its lined pages. He was so enamored with the exquisite penmanship, that he’d almost forgotten to read what was written.

“The book you hold in your hand is a chronicle of part of your life.” Alex became extremely nervous as he continued to read: “ You have been chosen by the Givers, of which I am one, to receive a gift- one that we believe you deserve because of your demeanor and your helpfulness to strangers. In this book you will find a check- made out to you in the sum of $20,000.00. Feel free to do with it as you please. You are a great man, Alex. Your kindness and hospitality haven’t gone unnoticed. This token is yours free and clear.”

Alex’s jaw dropped in disbelief but sure enough, as he continued turning the pages, out slipped the check made out to “Mr. Alex J. Butler” in the sum of $20,000.00.

Alex, still in shock, continued to read over the contents of this book. He noticed the itemize lists of things he’d done in the community and for some of the people who rode his buses over the course of his career.

While attempting to gain his composure, his mind hung on two things: 1. Where had this book come from and 2. What was he going to do with his new-found wealth?

After finishing his shift, Alex arrived home. Still amazed by the happenings of the day, he almost didn’t notice the mess Joe had made in the living room. “JOE!” Alex exclaimed with his hand on his forehead. He took a seat on his couch and rested his head, looking up at the ceiling. “20,000.00”, he muttered. “I can get that truck fixed. Or heck- buy a new one! Wow. Wow wow WOW.” Joe came over and laid his head on Alex’s knee. As Alex continued to think, his thoughts were interrupted by the loud ringing of his phone. “Hello?” Alex realized he didn’t recognize the number, but the voice sounded vaguely familiar.

“Mr. Butler, you’ve been chosen by The Giver- a conglomerate of wealthy individuals who, for the betterment of the human race, seek out persons such as yourself to whom they bestow goods and fortune in an attempt to make the world a better place.

It is with great pleasure now that I also offer you an opportunity to double what’s been given to you and eventually put yourself in the position to help someone else the way we’ve helped you,” the voice continued.

Alex sat up, bewildered. Before he could ask a question, the male voice on the phone continued, “The investment opportunity is an absolute guarantee to increase what you’ve been given. It’s all up to you now.”

Alex listened to the air pass between the phone lines for a couple seconds. His head was spinning. He was almost speechless but before he could catch himself he uttered, “I’ll do it!”

What would this mean for him? What did this mean for his community?

Find out in the next chapter!

THANK YOU 🙏🏾