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The Story:
There are some spaces that you just remember. Your experience within them was so intense that you can recall the smells, sounds, and every detail you saw, right down to a misplaced string of fabric in the seat where you were sitting. Years ago, the air in that room was stale, but the memory of it is still fresh.
Every floorboard I stepped on and every floorboard that bordered it shifted and creaked under my steps. Each element of the room was showing signs of decay from its years of service. The entire building seemed ready to retire.
I took it all in, captivated by the architecture that had existed for three times as long as I had. An old man in a suit, who must’ve been in his 80’s, greeted me.
“You must be Joss.”
“Yes sir, Mr. Canther.”
I shook his hand with care, feeling like a normal squeeze might break it.
“Please, sit down,” he said as he motioned to the old couch.
I’ll never forget that couch—where I was sitting when my life changed. Really, it was a padded bench that was somehow even more uncomfortable than the pews at Mass.
The old attorney sat down with me.
“Joss, I… Sometimes my job is… Well, I have to keep secrets. By law, I have to.”
He pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at the sweat forming on his cheeks and forehead.
“Your father’s will is a bit more complex than you might think.”
“Complex? I don’t have siblings and my mother is deceased. How could it be complex?”
“Well… Are you married, Joss?”
“No.”
“Oh… Son, your father had more than one life.”
“What?”
He was struggling for an easy way to tell me what no one could ever prepare themselves to hear.
“Your father had another family, Joss. His other wife died of cancer nine years ago. They had one daughter, your sister. He left half his estate to each of you, but… She was killed in a car accident yesterday.”
I don’t know how long the silence lasted until I spoke.
“Uh… So, what now?”
“She had a ten year old daughter, Joss. You’re her closest relative, and she… She needs a home.”
That’s the day my life was forever changed… for the better.
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