Sometimes Andy wondered about those
mysterious Greek philosophers. They were always pondering one question: what is
the purpose of life? Andy wondered if they ever found an answer. He wondered if
anyone cared that he was still alive, and it had always scared him that no one
did. But what frightened him even more is that maybe, somewhere deep down
inside, death didn’t scare him… and maybe that was Andy’s problem. Maybe he
wanted to die.
“Hello,
Lexi! Nice to meet you.” A young, pretty looking girl shook hands with Andy’s
daughter Lexi, a bright smile lighting up her small round face. “My name is
Natalie Brown. Oh,” She turned to Andy. “You must be her father! I’m sure you
are very proud.”
Andy
awkwardly patted his daughter’s back. “Yes, very proud.” His old wrinkled face
feigned a smile before sitting down in a small red chair in the girl named
Natalie’s office.
“Well,
congratulations on winning the district spelling bee! I’m sure you’ve been
working very hard, haven’t you? For heaven’s sakes, and at only nine years old!”
Lexi was smiling ear to ear and seemed very pleased with herself. Andy was glad
she was happy.
“Okay,”
Natalie began. “so I am going to ask you a few questions. Then, in about two
days we’ll have you featured in the newspaper for everyone to see. Does that
sound okay? Great! Then let’s get started.”
The
interview only lasted about twenty minutes, all of which Andy spent with closed
eyes combing his fingers through his hair. Finally, as the interview began to
come to an end, his daughter shook him softly. “Daddy…?” Andy hadn’t forgotten
his promise to buy his daughter an ice-cream when the interview was all over.
Flustered, he handed Lexi a crumpled-up one dollar bill. “Thanks! I’ll just be
next door at the ice cream shop, okay?” Lexi jumped out of her seat and ran for
the door. That was the most excited Andy had seen her all day.
As Andy
began to stand up he heard a deep, heavy sigh that very much took him by
surprise. It was Natalie. “You…” Andy paused. “You alright?”
Natalie
slouched as Andy sat back down, staring into her deep blue eyes. “Oh, I’m
sorry. Yes. Well… I mean… not exactly. But it’s okay.” Natalie sighed again,
and Andy could tell something was definitely on her mind. Something she needed
to talk about. “It’s just that I don’t feel right. I’m not really where I want
to be right now, you know? The whole time I’ve been here all I’ve been doing is
editing this newspaper and writing these dumb little fifth-page articles. I’ve
always wanted to find a story that is front-page material, and so all this time
I’ve been looking for something inspiring. Sometimes I just get stressed out
about it all, but I stay hopeful that someday I’ll find that one story that my boss will think is
promotion worthy. Maybe then I’ll actually be a real writer.”
Andy
chuckled a little. He knew how she felt, and he often felt that way too. He
felt as if he didn’t measure up, like no one really even cared about him. For
so long he had kept his feelings inside and his stories to himself. But somehow
he felt like he could really trust Natalie. Somehow, things had just been
bottled up a little too long.
“I know
how you feel.” Andy spoke plainly, not very sympathetic, but simply trying to
be friendly.
Things
never got really bad for Andy Moore up until his wife died. In fact, today
marked the exact two year anniversary of her death. Two years ago Julie Moore,
his wife, died in a car accident. Her death had left him with two kids he didn’t
know what to do with. Neither of his kids really seemed to ever bond with him,
and something just always felt like it was missing; but he didn’t know what.
Luckily, Andy’s younger sister McKenna came to the rescue after Julie’s death
and moved in with his family. She watched the kids during the day and does what
a regular mom would do. You know, cook and clean, play games, and read and
stuff. She was really good to them and they always seemed to have lots of fun
with her.
Andy
talked on and on. He talked about how his wife used to laugh, and the way her
eyes would light up when she was happy. He thought back to their wedding day,
and remembered the time they used to spend together. He remembered their first
date, and how he slipped and fell in the mud while he was walking her home. And
now, here he was thinking of his wife on the day she died. He spoke all of this
to Natalie; he needed to get it off of his chest. As he spoke tears began to
fall from his eyes, until nothing could harness his pain. To make matters more
fun, today Andy explained that he had lost his job and didn’t know how he was
planning on providing for his family.
Natalie
suddenly didn’t feel so bad anymore. She felt this man’s pain, and apparently
so did his daughter Lexi who had just returned back from her little excursion.
Their eyes began to mimic waterfalls and all Natalie could think about was how
sorry she was for Andy. In comparison her once dull life now seemed almost
perfect. She suddenly felt so close to this man, though she had only met him about
45 minutes ago. Natalie simply wished that there was some way she could show
him some sort of comfort. If only there was a way to change his past, bring
back his wife. She only desired that she could speak but somehow all that
emerged from her lips were two small words.
“I’m
sorry.”
“No,
I’m sorry. Listen, I didn’t mean to ruin your day.” He paused to wipe a tear
from his big, puffy red eyes. “I just needed to get it out, you know?”
Natalie
totally understood. “Listen, if there is anything I can do to help… give me a
call.” She shoved one of her business cards toward Andy, who graciously
accepted.
“Thanks,
but I don’t think you’d want to. We live in this awkward little side of town up
behind Traverse Mountain. Only a few houses live back there, and it’s quite a
ways from the rest of the city—“
Natalie
interrupted with a newfound excitement. “Wait, do you live in Harvest Valley? I
live there too, on Ruby Way!” Andy was dumbfounded, and it proved evident on
his face.
“Wait, you do?” A slow smile began
to creep up Andy’s face, and he felt something he hadn’t felt in a very long
time.
He felt relief.
Over the course of the next few
months the Moore family became very good friends with their new neighbor Natalie
Brown. On Saturdays, when she had work off, she would come over to Andy’s house
just to play with his kids. Sometimes, Natalie would even bring dinner to their
house just to be nice. They would go on walks together, play catch with Andy’s
little boy in the back yard, and make crafts together. Every Sunday, Andy’s
younger sister would throw a barbeque in their backyard and invite Natalie.
Natalie grew to be almost a part of their family, and she fit very well there.
It was nice to have a friend, and the entire family seemed to become lighter
and happier. Andy saw it in their eyes.
One particular Sunday, after having
had at least two hamburgers a piece, the group sat in a circle in their
freshly-mowed summertime lawn. They had decided that they would tell stories,
and Natalie was a very good storyteller.
“But, in the end, the brave little Pinky
survived the evil witch and restored peace throughout the entire kingdom.” The
children laughed cheerfully, and the entire group seemed to love the story. Bright,
beautiful smiles proved evident on each person’s face and as it seemed, right
then and there, everything was completely perfect.
“We should act it out!” Jake,
Andy’s son, quickly picked up a nearby branch and said with an unprompted
enthusiasm, “This branch can be a sword, and you can be the witch, Lexi! And
then I can stab you with it to get the ring!”
“Whoooaaa!” Everyone seemed to say at once,
especially Lexi who didn't seem to horribly fond of the idea.
“I think your daddy has a story
to tell, and you guys are going to love it.” Andy's sister McKenna said. Andy
seemed hesitant, though Natalie wasn't quite sure why.
As McKenna tried to pry Andy's story out of his heart,
she tore apart his smile. “Oh, come on! It's just a story, and it's kind of
fun. If you don't tell it then I will.”
Natalie
remained silent while Andy and McKenna exchanged glances. “Fine.” He said.
“Here goes.” He cleared his throat as everyone got comfortable. Natalie was
excited for this one; she loved stories. If only she knew how this story would change
her life forever.
Andy told of an old man by the name of
“Andrew,” who lived a very sad life. All his life Andrew tried to make others
happy. He thought that no one should have to be as miserable as he was. Each
and every day Andrew would do one small act of kindness for someone else. He
left quarters in gumball machines to make kids' days. He left five dollar bills
on the ground for the people that didn't have their own. He bought homeless
people blankets and food, and every once in a while went to work at the soup
kitchen. He donated to charities anonymously, and bought the groceries of the
people in line in front of him at the store. He spent his whole life in such a
way so as to bring happiness to others. It made Andrew feel good to help
people, and he did it for his own well-being and enjoyment.
As
Andy spoke on, Natalie's eyes only became wider and wider. This story was
amazing... like, front page material. She sat in awe, unable to move or speak.
Andy ended his story with one small piece of advice Natalie would never forget.
He told of a line he had been taught as a young boy, which read: 'Everything
will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.'
After
a moment of heavy silence Lexi said, “I liked Natalie's story better, dad.”
“Yeah,
me too. Let's go act it out, Lexi!” Jake said, picking up his branch and
chasing his younger sister away.
Silence
rang through the air as Natalie's head swam with questions. Finally, her young
face lit up with excitement. Her heart suddenly began to race and her face
revealed the biggest smile in the world. “This is just the story I've been
looking for! It's inspiring, it's secret, and it could totally make the front
page! This story could change my life... get me promoted. I can just see it
now: 'How to Make Someone's Day; Advice That Can Save You When Drowning in
Life--”
“No.”
Andy and McKenna said at once, fixed and demanding. In one second they went
from being perfectly fine to being stern and angry. What did Natalie say wrong?
“When
someone trusts you with something, you don't just go telling the whole world.”
McKenna said without any hint of sympathy in her voice.
“There
is a reason this story is secret. I don't want praise for this,” Andy began. “I
just want to make a difference. This isn't something to share; and I am very
serious Natalie.”
But
what did she care? This is just what she'd been searching for her entire life
and it could make all her dreams finally come true. So their story would get
out, big whoop. So would Lexi's story about winning the spelling bee! And
Natalie would substitute Andy's name so no one would know it was him. It really
wouldn't be a big deal, and it could make such a difference in other people's
lives! No harm no foul right?
She
soon left the Moore's house, and didn't return for over two months after the
story was published. That same morning she had removed the newspaper from the
front lawn of Andy’s house, and had assumed that he’d never found out that she
had put his story in the paper. Her article had ended up making the front page,
checking off number two on Natalie’s bucket list. Even more important was the
check that symbolized her accomplishment of number one: to be promoted to a
writer. And after all her dreams had come true, she finally got over herself
and decided it was time to apologize to Andy.
Natalie
drove by his house once a day for about a week, and each time she got her hopes
up she chickened out. But one particular day there was an odd amount of cars in
front of Andy’s house, and she assumed that McKenna was getting married or Andy
had saved another person’s life or something. What she later found was that she
was so horribly wrong. And so horribly
late.
Natalie decided she was just going
to man up and get it over with. Besides, she didn’t want to miss out on what
was probably a great party. But when Natalie stepped inside the house there was
no brightness, or cheering, or laughter. All she could see was black. Everyone
was dressed in black, the house was decorated in black, and black tablecloths
covered the tables. And it seemed odd that everywhere she looked there were a
bunch of pictures of Andy.
Oh no, she thought.
“It was a car crash, just like
Julie.” McKenna said, sobbing.
And in the center of the room stood
a big picture of Andy and his wife, with their backs toward the camera, walking
away together. And underneath that was a large plaque that read:
Everything
will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.
But for Andy it was okay, he was
with his wife again.
But for Andy, it was the end.
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