If You Only Knew

The day started like any other. I woke up starring at the ceiling, lying in bed waiting for my alarm to go off. I didn’t know it then, but this day wasn’t going to be just like all the rest. I began getting ready for the day and headed down to get my morning coffee. As I was heading down, I realized I hadn’t checked my mailbox in a few days. This was very unlike me, as checking for mail was one of the more exciting parts of my day. I had a ritual that before I open the mailbox and see what’s inside, I’d say “today is the day I get rich.” I’d always thought I was destined for a life of winning the lottery and doing whatever I wanted. I had this feeling my life was going to be greatly changed by a large sum of money one day. Obviously, this was a fantasy, and in the 27 years I had been alive nothing like this had ever happened. Nevertheless, I kept the dream alive when opening the mail… you just never know what might be inside.

I arrived at my mailbox, excited about the possibilities, but when I opened it, there was nothing. Not a single piece of mail, not even an annoying deal from a credit card company offering me 50,000 points if I opened an account, or the old tenant’s newspaper. Just another normal day in the life, I thought to myself, and headed back to my apartment to start work. As I arrived to my place, I noticed something on the floor outside my door. It was an envelope and on the back, someone had written “looks like I got your mail by accident.”

I took the letter inside and began opening it. To my chagrin, it was not money, but a handwritten note,

“Hello Lucas, you don’t know us, but we have been watching you. We are aware of the situation you are in and we would like to help. In the next couple of days, a package will arrive for you. What is inside could change your life for better or for worse. The choice will be up to you. You will receive more information then, but for now do nothing and tell no one of this note. – The Watchers”

My Immediate thought was that this was some elaborate prank that my friends had put together. It wouldn’t be the first time they went to great lengths just for a laugh, but I couldn’t get this feeling out of my gut that this was different. I figured two days isn’t a very long time to not say anything to anyone, and if it was my friends, I’m sure nothing would come or it would be something completely ridiculous, and I would know immediately that this was all a joke. So, I decided waiting was the best course of action and began writing the events of the day in my little black book.

“What is inside could change your life for better or for worse. The choice will be up to you.” These words kept playing through my mind. What could this possibly mean? A part of me was nervous about this, thinking that it could be something horrible. Would I become an accomplice to a crime or would I find out something crazy about my past? The other part of me was thinking it couldn’t possibly be anything that life changing. Who was I to get a letter like this that would lead to a great heist or extravagant escapade? My life was incredibly ordinary and this isn’t a movie, this is real life, I’m sure it’s nothing.

Two days had passed and I had not received another letter. It must have been my friends, I thought. What a strange prank and to have said nothing to me about it seems even more odd. It was about 4:30pm when there was a knock on my door. I quickly went to see who it was, but no one was there. On the floor, there was a black box. It had a glossy finish and my name was written neatly on top in cursive. I brought it into my apartment and set it on the table. For the first 30 minutes, I just starred at it. I thought, is this a bomb? The scene from the movie Seven with Brad Pitt played through my mind – “What’s in the Box?” – and I was too nervous to open it.

I finally mustered up the courage and began to cautiously open the box. When I lifted the flaps, it became clear this wasn’t a prank, this had to be real. I was staring at what looked to be $10,000 - $20,000. My heart almost stopped upon seeing it. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I picked it up and was rubbing it with my hands making sure it was real. I was so captivated with it that I almost didn’t notice the note inside the box. Up to this point, all I was thinking was, I’m still alive and now I’m rich. This was too good to be true.

I picked up the note and started to unfold it. Inside was similar handwriting to the previous note I had received.

“Hello Again, Lucas. I hope these last few days haven’t been too challenging for you. As you can see by now, we were serious about how this package could change your life. However, a decision does need to be made. You now have $20,000 at your disposal. What you do with it can change the life of one or the life of many, the choice is yours. All we can tell you is that either decision will have a life altering impact. Good luck. We will be watching.”

I couldn’t think straight. I was just starring at the money. If I looked away, it might disappear. I finally snapped out of it, grabbed the money and screamed for joy. This was amazing, I had been granted a reset and could take care of my debts and then some. I started thinking of all the things I could do with the money, that I almost forgot about what the message said – what you do with it can change one life or it can change many – it kept playing in my mind. What would happen if I kept it all to myself? Would there be a consequence? Do I really need all of it? Back and forth I went with this thought process. Obviously, The Watchers chose me for a reason, they wanted me to have the money and fix my problems. Or did they pick me because they thought I would help others who were worse off? There was a family across the hall who I knew could use it, why didn’t they choose them? Who was I to have received this?

This went on for days, I could barely sleep or eat. I was consumed with questions I would never get the answers to. I searched online for stories of people getting money randomly or for any reference to The Watchers, but couldn’t find anything. Was I the first person to have this happen to them? I knew a decision needed to be made, so I did what I thought was best. I mean, what would you do?

*Closes little black book and places it next to the mysterious package it came in* Thinking to myself, “Well what did he end up choosing? How can it just end like that,” In the background I heard the news on the TV, “Lucas Donovan of Washburn was found dead in his apartment today. His body laid on top of a large sum of money. Authorities say…” I couldn’t keep listening. Was it just a coincidence that the person in the news was also named Lucas and was found with a pile of cash? Right at that moment there was a knock on the door and an envelope slid into my apartment.