Once Forgotten but Twice Remembered.

Getting lost in his thoughts of grief, he leaned on his steering wheel and started to cry. His tears made him remember that he was alone in this great big world with no family, no close friends, and no dream to purpose his existence. For the last seven years, he had committed his life to an employer, and with a change of administration, his treasured work ended. He found himself fighting a losing battle hoping to obtain an approved unemployment claim, but the appeal was denied for the second time. If he misses one more payment, his family farmhouse will enter foreclosure, and immediate eviction will be his fate. They say a man not supposed to cry, but what exactly is he to do when the pressure of the world is crushing his will?

He sat there in his car, grieving for yesterday, just knowing that tomorrow was a vain hope. The man needed a miracle. He needed a way out of no way and today happened to be the day for such that miracle. Amid his sorrow, he saw a figure out the corner of his tear-stained eye looking upon him with a smile of fire beckoning for him to roll down the window.

"Hello Sir, I am sorry to disturb you, but I have been looking all over this town for help, and when I saw you drive up, I hoped you were here for me."

While reaching for a napkin to wipe his eyes, Lucas did not quite know what to think of this encounter; he remembered Aunt Shelia always said entertain the Angels. So he entertained, "What kind of help do you need, sir?"

"Well, let me introduce myself. My name is Stanley Stone. I am here from New York handling my Uncle Jacob Stone's estate he lived out in…."

"Mr. Stone lives out in Grand Lake. Your Uncle was a great man; he always treated me well when he came to pay his water bill every month."

" I guess he was great in his way, but let us say he did not display it the right way to those that should have mattered the most. I guess, after all, you might have mattered to him. In my honest opinion, he was utter trash, but there will be plenty of time for that one day. At any rate, I have been entrusted to facilitate the transfer of his estate. If you are interested and I hope you are. I need to get the house prepared for the transfer. Everything in there is pretty much trash. The job pays $3500 in cash if you are interested. Please say you are interested."

Lucas looked at Stanley, and with no hesitation, he blurted out, "Yes, sir, I can handle that for you it will be no problem at all."

"Perfect, here are the keys. You did say you know the way to the train wreck, right?"

"Yes, Sir, his house is the only yellow house on Grand Lake Loop."

Stanley nodded his head in approval and walked away to his red Range Rover for the cash. While he was away getting the money, Lucas thought about how Mr. Stone always had a good word of encouragement for him and faithfully tipped him fifty bucks for lunch every month. He found it hard to believe that was not the character of a monster. Stanley returned with a brown envelope in hand and said, "Well, Mister, umm, what is your name again?"

"My Name is Lucas Weatherly."

"Yes, that is right. Fancy that I met you today. Thank you so much for your help. As I said, everything in and on the property is trash. If you find anything you want, keep it. Although I do not think you will find anything worth two pennies in the whole place. Here take my business card. I opened a line of credit at the hardware store to cover cleaning supplies and whatnots. I got one more stop at some Schuster Funeral Parlor, and I can finally put this twilight zone far behind me. He wanted to be cremated, and his wish is my command. I just got to find the damn place."

"Get back on Main Street and hold it for 15 miles north and make a left at the fork of the highway. Go straightway, and you will not miss the Schuster Parlor. Big Slim and Ms. Ellis will get you squared away be sure to tell them I said hello. Be safe, sir, and I hope everything works out for you. Again thanks for this opportunity."

"You have impressed me. If you ever find yourself wanting to put this backwoods existence in your rearview mirror, give me a call. Remember this; Your destiny is only as big as you want it to be. Have a good day, Mr. Weatherly. Go live the vision."

The two men shook hands and departed to their respective places. In being careful of Angels, they too had each entertained and stood the gap of the angelic way.

In the last three months, Lucas had honestly forgotten what it felt like to be happy. When traveling through a storm, there are a couple of things to recognize (1) there is rain, (2) the Road gets slippery and hard to see. You, as the driver, have to determine how to react to the storm. Are you going to pull over to the side every time it rains and hope it passes over, or are you going to press forward towards the sunshine that you cannot see? Though Lucas might have slowed down and felt like he was at a standstill, today's hope helped him drive through the storm.

Lucas raced over to the Bank and made payments to both the notes on his car and the farmhouse. What was left was deposited into his checking account. Just as he turned to leave and journey to Mr. Stone's place, the Bank Manager Helen entered from the service door calling his name through her booming tone. "Lucas Weatherly, you are just the person I need to see."

Thinking she wanted to talk about the past due accounts and his nearly empty checking account, he said, "Ms. Helen, everything is current. There is no need to worry."

Her determination for him to enter her office despite what he said caused a pause in his spirit. She partly laughed at his response and insisted that he come to her office. "Sir, Come on to my office. We got other business to discuss."

He nervously entered the office and took the seat she offered. His mind traveled in a thousand different directions. "Lucas, hang tight. I will be back in a New York Minute." She returned to the office and placed a large safe deposit box on the desk.

While handing him the release form and a golden pen, she said, "This morning, I was paid a visit from attorney Stanley Stone. He made the Bank aware of a Will that has you listed as the Jacob Stone Estate's sole beneficiary. I think after today, you will have a few more things to smile about".

Lucas signed the form eagerly and handed it back to her. She excused herself, undoubtedly to allow him time to review the contents of the safe deposit box while she went to prepare him access to Mr. Jacob Stone's checking accounts.

Like new candy to a child, he knew not what to expect but what he saw was already tastier than even the best chocolate known to man. Twenty-dollar bills bundled in stacks of $500 totaling up to $20,000 paired with a mysterious appearing black book titled, "To my Once Forgotten but Twice Remembered Son Lucas."

---The End---