The Inheritance

A loud knock woke me up. I walked to see who it was; my best friend, Mike, of thirty years, holding a package left behind by the mailman. I grabbed my mail. It was too early. I didn't want to see anyone today, "Don't touch my mail." Mike just ignored me, headed to the kitchen to grab a mocha in the fridge.

I opened the mail. There was a letter from my father. A letter, twenty thousand dollars, a black notebook, and his college Alpha Omega ring. I have not heard from my father in thirty years. He passed away while I was in the service. The letter was heartfelt. My father was always writing things down. I had no clue what was in there; except, the only time he wrote something in there was after the divorce. The letter asked me to choose between the money or the black notebook. I had to give the money away if I chose the notebook. I wanted to know my father so much; his feelings and thoughts are in that book which meant more than the money. So, I handed the money to Mike.

Mike's surprised look, "What the hell is this? You holding out on me?" I explained to him about the letter. He chuckled, "You should have taken the money. There's nothing in that book but history. I can pay off a few bills, an investment or two with this." Mike left.

I put the college ring on and spent the day off reading the black book. I've learned so much about him. Not once he even talked about his past. I didn't know he was in World War II. He knew about my mother's infidelity; though, I wanted to tell him so bad. He surfed and fish all day in his younger years. He loved me; I didn't need to read it. I've always wanted to hear it from him. Now he's buried on the opposite side of the world inside a paper box paid for by a church I was baptized at. I finally got to the last page. I took a breather.

I walked to the window looking down at the busy city life. I wish my father could have been here to know how far I've come. I have a family, trained in the martial arts, served as a United States Navy Corpsman, finally went to college, and trying to make a difference in the world. I wanted him so much to be here and be part of my life. I went back to read the last page.

He was telling me about the ring. It has a long history. It was passed down to him from his father and so on. I looked at the ring again. It looked like an Alpha Omega college ring; except, there were numbers sketched inside the band. It looked like a bank account number with longitude and latitude. I googled it and the result led back to a central bank in the Philippines. I figure all central banks are connected. I looked and sketched the account numbers into my memory. I figure I give it a try and walk to a central bank in town.

I walked into a central bank and asked for a manager. He led me to his office. I gave him my name and the account number. There was a long pause from him; he finally asked, "Sir, how much do you want to withdraw?" I didn't know what to say. I was curious how much was in the deposit. He was telling me that my account number is the oldest in existence and there was no amount entered. I didn't understand and pressed the issue, "How can you ask me how much I want to withdraw when there's no amount entered?"

He got up and closed all the windows. He sat down and finally informed me, "The reason there is no amount entered in your account because your account has a symbol of infinite. I've been informed about such an account, but I never thought I would see it." I was curious, "Am I the only holder of this account?" He paused and finally said, "Yes". I slowly caressed the ring with my thumb. I was happy and worried. This was more than a ring.

I smiled, "Need a card. Let's start with a million in the card."