The Inheritance

“Finally, I’m home.” The young man that stated this stood in front of the burgundy red door of his apartment as though he was waiting for something to happen. However, after several minutes of standing the hallway, he decided to open the door. Despite the place being well furnished, the apartment felt cold and empty. Like a creature of habit, he went to the kitchen, opened the mocha brown cabinet next to the fridge, and grabbed a half drunken bottle of Hennessey. “Bottoms up.” With no hesitation, he finished the bottle in its entirety.

“That’s better.” He said as he staggered to his room. His maple brown eyes could barely stay open, but he managed to fall face first into his queen size bed. That was what Tanner’s life consisted of, working a dead in job he hated and getting drunk enough to sleep through the night.

Tanner did not recall when he fell asleep, but he did remember abruptly waking up from out his sleep as though he was submerging from water after a long period of time. He looked at his alarm on his right side; the time was 3:15 a.m. Suddenly his cell phone rung. The caller ID stated nursing home. Tanner answered the phone with a slight slur. “Hello?”

“Mr. Williams…” The sound like it belonged to a female. As the woman began to speak, Tanner began to feel an excruciating pain in his chest. It was if his body knew that he was going to hear some unfortunate news. His breathing became labored. His vision was fading in and out, and he knew it was not from the alcohol.

“Mr. Williams, did you hear what I said.” “Huh?” “Your Grandmother passed away this morning. We would like to discuss some options on what you should do next.” Annabel Williams was the last living relative that he had and now she was taken from him as well. “Now I truly am alone.” He uttered. “Sir?” “What are my options.” Tanner said as he tried to hold his tears.

A few weeks later, Tanner was standing in a church with just himself and Cream shade urn at attendance. Tanner was so focused on the Urn that he did not notice the young woman who walked beside him. Her black long hair was styled in dreads. Her skin was the shade of cinnamon, the same complexion as Tanner.

“I’m sorry for your lost.” She stated. “You know…” Tanner did not even bother to look at the woman as he spoke. “A lot of people say that, but do you know what I have utterly lost?”

“I’m not going to pretend that I do.” The woman answered. “Whenever you are ready, I will go over your grandmother’s wishes.” The young woman then walked away. “I’m sorry, grandma, I didn’t become the man you always wanted me to be. I have hatred in my heart. Why does it seem like God hates me?” Tanner stood in silence. He then looked up at the ceiling and laughed. “Like you were going to answer me anyway.” Tanner then headed in the direction of the woman that was near him earlier.

The room the two were in consisted of a simple rectangular black table where each of them sat at one end. “Hello, Mr. Williams, my name is Sandra, and I’m just going to go right into reading the will, if you don’t mind?” “Go for it.” Tanner replied.

“Well, sweetie, if you are hearing this then that means that I’m with you in a different way. I know you have had so much to deal with in this past year alone. Losing the love of your life…” “Do you have to read all of this? Can you get to the part where she states what she left for me?” Sandra nodded okay.

“To my beloved Grandson, I leave you 20,000 and this small black book.” Sandra handed Tanner the black leather book that was the same size as a Kindle Fire. “However, the money will be withheld from you until you do one thing. I want you to summit a story to be publish. Writing use to bring you such joy. Not only that, but it was also the one thing I knew that made you smile.”

Sandra stood up from her seat. “There you are Mr. Williams. Take care.” Tanner had not written anything in years and was now being asked to publish something. The 20,000-dollar incentive did not urge him to quickly complete the task; his financial situation was quite stable. However, he loved his grandma so much that he had no choice but to write a story.

Once home, Tanner set the little black book on his coffee table and grabbed his navy-blue HP laptop. “Alright, lets get to work.” Tanner opened Microsoft word and opened a new sheet. From there, Tanner sat with his computer on his lap, thinking about what to write about.

Before Tanner knew it, it was nighttime, and he did not right a single thing. “Why is this so hard? I used to write a story in less than an hour.”

“You were always tough on yourself.” Tanner turned around to see a 25-year-old woman sitting on his couch near the black book. The book was emitting a brilliant white glow. Her eyes were a greenish brown, and her black hair was short and curly.

“Am I dreaming?” Tanner asked in disbelief. The woman smiled. “Hey Cutie.” “Lisa….” Tears filled his eyes. “I have missed you so much. How is this possible?”

“This book grants the owner to live out their one true desire. Yours was to see me one last time. I just want to tell you that you need to forgive yourself.”

“I focused so much on writing my stories that I didn’t see the signs that you were sick. You needed me and all I cared about was perfecting my work.”

“I love you because of your stories. I used to read all your work, and I know just how talented you are. We don’t want you to squander that gift.”

“We?” Lisa pointed behind him. Tanner then spotted his grandmother. “As long as you write from the heart, it doesn’t matter the outcome.” The two women he loved then sat beside him. “You can do this, my love.” Lisa told him. His grandma nodded in agreement. Tanner smiled and began to write with a new drive and hunger he never had before.