A Moral Dilemma

I feel like I’m in a spy movie! Let me see who might have just walked away from this. Oh, my Lord! This is great! I cannot imagine who would have put this down and forgotten about it. I know I should not have looked inside, but I am curious like that. Who would have imagined that this would be what I found! Where do I go from here to get this back to its owner? Oh, think for a minute…is anyone watching me? I hope no one thinks that I’m stealing this. This could make all my problems disappear.

Ok, what would a spy do in this situation? I could check for fingerprints. No! I don’t have a spy kit or the chemicals to do that. I’ll sit here for a while to see if someone comes back for it. Got me some coffee and I’ll just sit here like I’m on a stakeout. Yeah, that’s it, a stakeout! Whew, I ran too fast, I spilled my coffee on it! Darn, I hope I can clean it off. Well, that’s not too bad. Ok, I’m ready for my stakeout. I hope it doesn’t take too long; I must be at class in a few hours. Guess, I will just have to wear what I have on. I watch too much TV.

Ok, Ok! I think I see someone looking for something…nope, they’re picking up coins off the ground. Oh, there’s another person looking around. Nah, they were coming to meet someone else. Aww, looks like their glad to see one another. Ok. Focus. Two hours have gone by and still no one has come by to look for this. I’m just going to look at it one more time just in case I have to give it up. Oh Lord, what I could do with this!

This is a gold mine! At least for me it is. The wealth of it, the joy that it would bring to so many people. I can’t keep this. It’s not right, it’s not mine. Hmm, what is this? There’s a piece of paper in here with an address and instructions on how to return to the owner if lost. Who in their right mind would want to return it if it was lost? Lost means gone, kaput, outta-here! You snooze you lose. No one in their right mind would give this back. Think of what I could do with this. Still, if it were mine, I’d hope and pray someone would do the right thing and return it to me. Well just call me Crazy. Here I go.

So glad I put gas in my car; it’s a long way to this place. I should have looked at the address before I began driving. GPS please don’t fail me now. I have no idea where I am going, or really, why I’m going. I should just take this and get what I can for me. No one has ever done anything nice for me. Why should I care? Not sure, but something tells me the owner needs this more than I do.

Good! I’m here. I hope I don’t get shot at. This is funny, one day I’ll be able to tell someone about this and they’ll say, you were crazy. But here goes. I’ve knocked twice and no one answered. Does that mean this is mine? One more knock and… “Oh hi! I found this today and there’s a note inside…” "Yes, I know, I put it there. Come inside.” I just felt like I needed to return this to the rightful owner. I almost kept it - it’s too good to be true. “I understand”, said the owner. “I’m glad you didn’t”. I would have been in serious distress if it had not been returned to me. You see, I’m a writer, and that precious small black book contains my next story, hopefully, a best-seller”! I would agree with you. I found it riveting. I imagined selling it to someone to see if I could jump-start my career. But it seemed so personal, like a love story. “It is! It’s my love story. It is about my love for writing and my endless romance with telling good stories."

Wow! How cool is that! Well, I can’t stay, but I am glad I was able to get it back to you. “You didn’t tell me your name young lady”. My name is Cora. I hope to be a writer one day too. “I know”, that is why I left this next to you, to see what you would do if faced with a moral dilemma. You rose to the challenge. And just in case you did not, we had someone else ready to greet you and claim the book. Instead, you went above and beyond what the average person would have done, and for that, I want to give you something.” You don’t need to give me anything! "I know, but I want to. Here, please accept your very own little black book from me, a gift to say thank you. It's great for keeping notes! I hope you get what you need to help you succeed. Oh, one more thing: if you want to be a writer, just write! I have read some of your submissions and you’ve got this”. Why thank you. Wait, what do you mean you've read some of my...? "I'm sorry Cora, I must go now. Drive safely, take care. "

Well, huh, that was interesting. Nice person, but strange. Not sure what that last statement was about, but I've got to get to school now. Darn, I was supposed to go home and get my backpack. Oh well, I guess I’ll use this little black book for the day. Why does this feel so heavy? What the! Nooooo! Stop playing! Are you for real! This note says:

“Thank you, Cora, for returning what is invaluable to me. It would have been heartbreaking to lose this story. It means the world to me. And in all candidness, I have been grading your papers at school, working as an assistant to your professor. I select one student each year to present a scholarship to if their writing is intriguing and interesting to me, and, only after they complete a mystery challenge. This year you were selected as the primary candidate to issue a challenge to. Your writing skills remind me of my own when I first began my career. You also, thankfully, completed the challenge we assigned to you. Keep up the good work! The enclosed $20,000.00 check is a scholarship from my foundation, for you. You are our chosen recipient this year. Take care and keep writing!”

YES! YES! YES! THANK YOU GOD! I NEEDED THIS! Oh my God! I didn’t even ask for a name.

The End

February 26, 2021