A J F C O K

A J F C O K

Five letters that would change my life - forever.

Only, I did not know it then…

Now, you might say: “Five letters? I’m counting six!” … and, right you are! - in a way. I’ll get to that. But first lets go back a decade..

Only five days to Christmas, but I was not much in a mood for the Holidays. My favorite aunt and godmother, Mary, had died recently and I missed her terribly. She had a special way of making every day of life sparkle with wonder. I always considered her my very own “Mary Poppins”.

So, of course I yearned for her assuring presence, especially on that particular day. I was scheduled to present my pitch to secure financing to turn a long-standing dream of mine into reality…

On that day I had almost overslept after having worked like a mad woman on the application for an $ 18000 grant, which I hoped would help me launch my innovative project; an idea that would make a difference in many lives. My aunt had called it my “noble cause” and had strongly encouraged me to pursue this inspiration. That morning, I was going to make my pitch to the committee that decided where the grant money was going to go. I was hoping - with all my heart - they’d select my proposal.

On the way out the door I had changed purses in the last moment. Switching to my godmother’s favorite clutch, which she had gifted to me just before she died. “For Good Luck!”, she had said.

However, it soon would seem that my lucky charm was not going to aid me that day. Not only did I not get the grant awarded to my idea … Oh, they liked the idea alright - just not at that particular time. It also meant I was teetering financially along an abyss, since I had invested most of my own money into the project up to that moment. So much for a “Happy Holiday” that year. HO - HO - HO! To top it all off, I ended up stranded on the side of the road on my way home with the car engine making awful noises and the dash flashing like Christmas lights. HO … you get the idea.

I was fishing through the clutch - the “lucky” one I switched to on my way out the door, in search of my phone. When unfortunately half of the contents of the bag fell on the car floor. I told you, it was just such a day!

Among the contents I sweep up from the wet floor mat, I came across a little black notebook that I’d never noticed being in this bag. I tossed the book back in the purse and made my call to my car mechanic. A jolly sounding voice answered the call and promised to send a mechanic my way. True enough, an Asher Company Tow Truck soon arrived. The guy jumping down from the cab showed me a big encouraging smile and looked at the engine. Long story short, the car had to be towed to the garage, and the lady behind the service desk informed me that the repair was estimated to cost $ 2000. Unfortunately, she informed me that this was not something warranty would cover, all while beaming brightly at me. Not her fault, I suppose. I should not have been surprised, her name tag read: Joy! ….. HO - HO - HO?

Wonderful, now I was $ 20000 from where my highest hopes had started me this morning…

The service station was nice enough to offer me a courtesy ride back to my apartment. The driver, a very laid back man named Freddie, asked about my plans for the Holidays. He kept chatting on about his family. He said, his wife Carina always put a lot of love into the Season.

At this moment, I struggled to feel any such sentiments. … No, we are not HO-HO-ing this time!

When I came back to my apartment I emptied the “lucky bag” in a rather discouraged mood. Once again, I came across this little black book. After making a cup of tea to lift my spirits and warm my now chilled core, I sat down and took a closer look at my find.

It seemed mostly empty. Only the following entries under the respective letters which read as follows:

A Asher = Happy,

C Carina = Love,

F Freddie = Peace,

K Kaiden = Companion,

J Joy = Joy,

O $ 20000

I just about spilled my hot tea all over me, when I recognized the names and the number and their synchronicity for that particular day. You see, my godmother and I had a thing. We’d play a game we called: “Notice the Synchronicities of Life!” The game required constant vigilance about clues, especially in form of words and numbers that might offer meaningful insights to life’s puzzling moments. Once you start this game it becomes a lasting habit. Trust me!

As I was about to close the book, I noticed a note on the back inside cover. A message from my godmother to me that read:

“Dear Godchild, when you find your inner happiness, joy and peace - no matter what life seems to dish up, trust that you’ll also find your own true love, which is the best companion one can wish for! Love, M.”

It might sound odd, but I did not consider my recent find too unusual. You see, it fit right into the mysterious stuff my godmother was into. Plus, she had always had an optimistic outlook on things, even though she had gone through tough times in her life. I decided to take her advice and focus on the bright side of things. I still had my innovative idea, which would help others once I could launch it …

The very next day I found a letter in my mailbox from a Kaiden Trumen; a local lawyer, telling me that my godmother had left me an inheritence in form of a trust, in the amount of $ 20000 to invest into one of my “noble causes”!

Fast forward to today. In case you are wondering, my innovative idea did take off and is still growing while making a real difference in people’s lives. My dream turned reality, which I could not have done without the help of my grandmother and, of course, Kaiden. He turned out to be my true love and companion. We’ve been married now for 10 years and have been blessed with four lovely children: Asher, Joy, Freddie and Carina.

Also, I wanted to mention that while clearing things in the attic, I came across a box. I had never noticed it there before, but clearly it was addressed to me. When I opened it, I found it filled with black Moleskine diaries. Yes, you guessed right: my godmother’s! And, yes, they are filled with the most amazing sychronistic clues she had left for me… I’ll share them with you in my next short ‘fiction’ story.

Lastly, the outline for this story limited the number of words to a maximum of 2000. I used 1199 in this narration. Yes, you guessed right: More Clues! So stay tuned …

Author: Dorothea Langevin 3/2/2021

Disclaimer:

The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.

[https://en.wikipedia.org>wiki>All_persons_fictitious_ disclaimer