Test of Character

Ann, a 27-year-old redhead, poured a steaming cup of coffee and sipped. Today was the first day she had off in the past 10 days, and she was blissfully ready for a lazy day. She carried her mug to the living room and sank into her favorite lounger with a contented sigh.

Then the doorbell rang.

She at first shifted forward, but relaxed back into the chair, determining that it was likely one of her

steady flow of delivery packages from online retailers. She reached out and grabbed the remote, turning on the television for the morning news.

The doorbell rang again.

Ann groaned, dramatically rolling her eyes, heaved herself up and out of her chair. She made her way to the door and leaned in to peer through the peephole. No one was visible. She became instantly annoyed, reddening in the face and gritting her teeth. What kind of punks pull this kind of crap at 7 in the morning?! Ann thought.

She threw open the door, prepared to yell into the empty street and voice her frustration at whatever kids were messing with her. No one was there, but a small black notebook lie on the mat. Ann bent and picked it up. A notebook of some kind she discovered.

Her annoyance quickly gave way to curiosity. She brought the book back inside with her and closed the door. Instead of returning to her lounge chair, she took the notebook to the kitchen island and placed it atop the counter. She opened it.

The first page contained a hand-written note. It read:

Hello Ann.

She started, shock and concern injecting into her veins. She quickly realized that she did not have a reason for concern yet, but had just been startled to find her name in the book; given the strange circumstances of it’s delivery. She continued.

I trust this day finds you well. I know who you are at your core, Ann. You are a woman with a kind heart and a hard work-ethic. You value hard work, but also care for those who are not as fortunate as you. But does your care go beyond a heart’s cry and into action? Let us see. I have provided 20 thousand dollars in an envelope in your mailbox.

Ann started for the second time that morning. Her internal alarms were sounding now, and she was unsure if she wanted to continue reading. She considered calling the police, but curiosity got the better of her and she chose to find out more before making any decisions.

The cash is yours to keep, if you choose. Do with it what you will. I have plenty and do not mind if you choose to blow it on the most base of desires or give it all to charity. Use it as you will and I will wish you well. However, on the following pages, I have included 3 names of individuals in your local vicinity who could use a helping hand, as it were. Admittedly, I am a bored, rich old man who must do these absurd acts to find any sense of wonder or amusement these days. But as I said, I know you are a woman of pure heart and good character. Or so it would seem.

So it would seem? Ann felt offended by that statement. She prided herself on her involvement in her church and her community awareness. How dare a stranger who does not even know her insinuate that she were what she presented herself to be. She read on.

So, my dear Ann, take the money and run... Or use it to help the individuals I have selected. I leave with you with a question. Do you practice what you preach?

Wow, Ann thought, the gall of this guy! She chewed her lip in thought and began to consider the proposition. She raised the notebook and flipped to the second page. There was a name, and a description.

Day 1 Judy Bass

Judy Bass was the name written at the top of the page. A description followed:

My dearest Ann, let me introduce your first potential case. Her name, as you can see, is Judy Bass. She is 67, widowed, and her only son died 2 years ago in a car accident. She has been helped at times by the local church and other virtuous organizations. Yet those have reached their limit, or so they declare to Ms. Bass. She finds herself struggling financially and is significantly behind on her bills. She still has a mortgage, but is behind by 3500, and debts her husband left total about 5000 dollars. The poor woman is drowning and has nowhere to turn. I determined that you, Ann, were the perfect candidate to be her helping angel. Ms. Bass currently resides at 3281 North Pember Avenue. Proceed as you deem best. Lastly, there is but one rule. You are not to look ahead in this notebook. There are two more names, but each must be reviewed at the start of the day and the task completed or not within that same day. If you do otherwise, I will know.

Ann puzzled at that last bit of instruction. First of all, why the secrecy about the other two? And secondly, why did it matter if the stranger knew? Was that a veiled threat of some kind, or simply a statement? The potential for threat gave her renewed pause. The intrigue had caused her momentarily to forget that she was dealing with an unknown; a potentially dangerous and unhinged individual. For that matter, Ann mused, this may be all a joke. She had not yet went to check if the money was indeed in her mailbox. No time like the present, she determined.

She set the book back on the counter and proceeded toward the door. She quickly made her way outside and slowly pulled open the mailbox, unconsciously leaning back tentatively as if the small metal container might explode. When she did not immediately blow up, she peered inside, finding a manila envelope. She retrieved it and brought it back inside. Once safely in the private confines of her home, she opened the envelope and found that there was truly a stack of cash.

Her breathing quickened as she sat down at the laptop and began engaging in a brief search on Ms. Judy Bass. The details checked out, as much as was generally available in a basic search. The debts were not something she could confirm. She again chewed her lip in thought. She had often wanted some excitement to break the monotony. And she had often considered her faith and her community awareness to be key attributes of who she was.

Ann shrugged and set off. She did not know yet how she might accomplish the task, but she had made up her mind: she would.

Day 2 Jacob Potter

Ann awoke feeling satisfied. She had managed to arrange for a church located near Ms. Bass to be the source of the donation and ensured that the money would arrive to offer her much-needed support. She smiled broadly as she stretched, enjoying the inner satisfaction of helping her fellow humans.

She reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the notebook. She worked today, but would have to find a way to make this happen; because now that she had a taste of helping, she wanted it to continue.

She opened to page two.

My dearest Ann, hello again. I trust that this day finds you well and feeling full of heart having completed your first good deed. I am proud of you for following through. I knew you had it in you. So on to our second task. His name is Jacob Potter. The poor fellow is a drug addict...

Ann paused without proceeding and looked up, an unconscious look of distaste on her face. An addict? Why would she give money to an addict? That seemed to be counter-productive. She shook it off for the moment and read on.

The poor fellow is a drug addict who has been sober for 13 months now. He is doing quite well, but the deck is stacked against him, as is often the case with these poor souls. Given his record, he has struggled to find suitable work, which in turn means unsuitable housing, and ultimately means he is not given the rights to regain his children. The lovely dears are Mr. Potter’s heart and soul, and without them I fear he may return to drug abuse out of despair. I have done the legwork and determined that 10,000 dollars would adequately provide for Mr. Potter to secure what he would need to begin to rectify these many issues. Help him or don’t, the choice is yours.

Ann could not help the lingering feeling of distrust and hesitancy in helping this man, due to his problems. Yet she did want to help people, and that surely included people of all walks of life; not just kind old grannies down on their luck. She hated her reluctance, but determined she would push on. She headed off to work intent on finding a way to get the money to Mr. Potter by day’s end.

Day 3 Lewis Johnson

Ann had managed to fulfill her aid to Mr. Potter, and found that the effort was actually rewarding. She had observed from her car across the street as she watched him open the envelope, read the note, and then do a shocked little dance right there in the street. She could not help by smile recalling the scene.

She sat up in bed, ready to discover who the last hurting soul might be. She opened the notebook and flipped to page 3.

Ah, Ann, we have together arrived at the final beneficiary of your good will, if you choose. His name is Lewis Johnson. He is on trial for rape, but I have it on good authority that the poor man is being framed. He will need funds to retain a sufficient defense if he is to avoid being railroaded.

Ann grimaced. The selected people seemingly were progressively become more unpalatable. She wondered if that was by design, a test of sorts. Could she offer aid to a rapist? That seemed to go against everything she stood for. How could she trust the mysterious notebook benefactor and potentially help get a rapist back on the streets? She reasoned she may never know the truth, but that did not console her. She read on.

That is all I have for you on this one, Ann. The true test of your will. Help him or not, the choice is yours.

Ann sighed. What to do? She would think on it while at work. No need for an immediate choice, she reasoned. Being good was harder than she would have imagined just days before.

Day 4 Ann King

Ann woke and rubbed sleep from her eyes. She had slept more peacefully than she had in a long, long time. She glanced at her phone, seeing she had a voicemail. She listened, and her heart dropped. Kathy, her work companion was detailing the reality that the company was downsizing and getting rid of her entire department. Why now? She had just had 20,000 she could have used as a buffer!

The doorbell rang. She got out of bed and made her way to the door. She opened it, and no one was there. She glanced down at an envelope on the ground. Picking it up, she found a note and read.

Hello, you don’t know me. My name is Gus and suffice it to say I have been pointed in your direction and instructed to offer you much-needed aid. I don’t know what you are going through exactly, but was told this might help. Please accept it and use it as you need. Sincerely, Gus.

Ann smiled, took the envelope back inside, and closed the door.