How Bitcoin Saved and Ruined My Life

It is polite to introduce oneself before starting the conversation. But I'm afraid I will give out more information than intended. If I have to tell my name, it would have to be a fake one. But I don't want to keep adding to the lies. Not again. The information given here is accurate to the best of my knowledge without affecting Ollie or I. Ollie. My saviour and my guardian angel. Ollie is the reason I'm alive today. There are some times I wish I had not met him. But I'm digressing. This is the story of how Ollie and Bitcoin saved me only to tear my heart to pieces.

I'm blind. I've been one since I was born. The doctors told my parents that no surgery or cornea transplant would bring me vision. That, I would be without eyesight for the rest of my life. My parents did not treat me any less, even though they had to take more care of me than they would an average child. My childhood was happy. I studied in a school for disabled children. I also started learning piano at the age of 5 years. Soon I was showing talent in it. I was learning faster than other children my age. My teacher recommended me for the grade exams. I finished all eight of them. Soon after, I joined the Bachelor's degree for music and passed with distinction. Life was good. Until the day my parents met with an accident and died. I was devastated. It happened all of a sudden, and I became a mess. The house we had stayed in was our ancestral home. After my parents' death, my uncle tricked me and stole it from me. He got my signature when I was at my most vulnerable and threw me out of my house. I parted with my grand piano, my home, my parents, and my old life. I came to the streets.

Streetlife was nothing I had imagined. It is worse for someone able. For a blind person, it is ten times worse. I struggled to keep my money safe from other homeless and drug-addicts. I wouldn't know where I would get my next meal. Getting by was tough. It was hard to judge people from the way they talked. Everyone was sweet initially, only to find that they took advantage of me and my disability. I would cry for hours at a time from hunger and cold. The only thing that gave me solace was the broken public piano they kept near the train station. I would play from noon till night until I couldn't bear the hunger anymore. It was near there that I met Ollie.

Ollie introduced himself as Oliver Smith. Ollie was unlike anyone I had met. He was different from others. He told me he had been observing me for some time and that he liked my playing. We got to talking. After some time, he said he had to catch the train and left me near the piano. The next day, he brought me breakfast and a cup of coffee. He said he arrived an hour earlier than his train time so that he could listen to me play. I was a little skeptical at first because of my history with strangers who were too nice. But I was having breakfast for the first time in months hence I didn't complain. I finished the coffee and food he brought me before I played the piano. I was in a cheerful mood because of a lack of hunger pangs; hence I played some boogie-woogie. After I finished, Ollie told me goodbye, kissed me on the cheek, and left. This happened for a few days. I was beginning to have faith in humanity again, only to find that my faith had turned into a love for Ollie.

I waited eagerly for the time when Ollie would arrive and played his favourite music. He started visiting me in the evenings too. Ollie would come, and then we would go to the nearby cafe to have tea. I still remember the first time he touched my hand. I was telling the story of how I got kicked out of my house. Recollecting my past left me in tears. He held my hand and comforted me. My heart was filling with warmth from a human's touch and kindness. It had been so long since someone was kind to me.

It went on for some time. I could sense my love growing stronger toward Ollie. My Ollie. But I was homeless, and I couldn't ask him to save me from this mess I was in. He might as well be feeling sympathy and not love. But then it happened. Ollie asked me to come with him. He was going to take me with him and save me from the ditch where I was living. My happiness knew no bounds. I was unsure if he was asking out of sympathy, so I proffered my love for him. I couldn't hold it any longer. He kissed and hugged me. He told me that if he had an option, I would be the woman with whom he would spend the rest of his life. I sensed sadness in his voice. He said he would explain when the time was right and asked me if I wanted to come with him. I agreed with a full heart.

Life was happy once again. Ollie and I spent a lot of time together. I came to know that Ollie had a rough childhood, unlike mine. He grew up in an orphanage in England. When he was of the right age, Ollie came out and started living alone ever since. He was a programmer and finance expert and made a living out of it. But Ollie wouldn't say anymore whenever I asked him more personal questions. He would always say that he couldn't explain now and would do it when the moment was right. I couldn't bear seeing him miserable so I would leave it at that.

I once again got to play the piano regularly. Ollie had bought me a grand piano. It must have cost him a fortune. He would ask me to play every day after coming from work. His favourite was Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven. He said it gave him peace and momentary relief from his work stress. It became a tradition we enjoyed together. I waited for his return so that I could give the man who saved me solace through music. It went on for a few years.

Ollie was very excited one day. He said he had been working on a finance solution for the past few years. Finally, Ollie was able to put the pieces together and solve it. He had the perfect solution to the problems with money that people used traditionally. It would be a revolution in the finance industry. I had never seen him excited in a long time, so naturally, I was happy for him. It was the best day of my life. He took me out for dinner to celebrate the occasion. I remember he discussed a few things about 'blockchain', 'double-spend', and 'cryptocurrency'; Since this was a secret project, he asked me for an alias name. He said it should be of a different origin. As I had learned some Japanese in my childhood, I proposed the name, 'Satoshi Nakamoto'; He liked it and said it had a nice ring to it. We ate and talked about other things for the rest of the night.

From then on, Ollie worked day and night. He corresponded with people from different countries and published his work as a research article. He named his solution 'Bitcoin'; His idea was starting to take momentum, and Ollie could see that. Only soon to know that Bitcoin would be best left undisturbed. Ollie had predicted its future, its potential, and its impact on the world. He had to me leave me too, to protect me from being associated with him. The repercussions would be too dangerous.

Ollie didn't come home for two nights. I had not known anyone apart from Ollie. I didn't know whom to contact since I did not know the people he worked with. I was devastated. On the third day, I received a call from a person. He said that he was a lawyer employed by Ollie in confidence and to check Ollie's iPod for a specific recording.

Below is the recording message Ollie left on his iPod. (I've changed my name for security purposes.)

"Please delete this recording after you hear it. Wilma, I have loved you from the moment I set eyes on you. Hearing your piano music among the humdrum of the train station was the best part of the day. It gave me a sense of peace in a world of chaos. I wanted you to come with me the moment I met you. But I wouldn't risk putting you in danger. I was aware of what I was working on and the impact it would have on the world. Still, I couldn't leave you on the streets, so I worked up the courage to ask you to come to live with me. You agreed, and I was the happiest I had been in some time. Hearing you play every day and being with you made me a better person. Your simplicity and innocence moved me. And that is why I had to leave you. I developed Bitcoin intending to solve the world's money problems. But it had become a monster even I couldn't have imagined. I would be investigated and would lead a life of no privacy till the end of my life. Even if I can handle that, I will not put you in the hands of governments, security agencies, the corporate world, and such. You are too pure for that. Please know that I had thought about it every day since I found the solution, and this is the best way out. Your daily needs will be taken care of. I have appointed a lawyer to take care of you and have left with him the 1 million Bitcoins I have mined so far. I'm predicting its value will grow exponentially one day. The lawyer doesn't know the exact details about Bitcoin but just that you are inheriting my money. Once you finish hearing this message, delete it permanently. And contact him. He will guide you on the same. As for me, I'm in a safe place, and no one can trace me. I'm waiting for the day to arrive when we can put this behind us and start our life together. Until then, you will be right here in my heart with me. I love you."

It has been ten years since Ollie left me. I deleted the recording right after that, and the lawyer has been helping me financially whenever I needed it. The 1 million Bitcoins Ollie left me are worth 50 billion USD as of today. Life is never the same without Ollie. Bitcoin turned out to be both a nurturer and a destroyer at the same time. At least in my case. As for me, I play the Moonlight Sonata every day, hoping for Ollie to return one day.