Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: GAMBLE (04/14/16)
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TITLE: The Higher Power | Previous Challenge Entry
By LeslieJean Anderson
04/20/16 -
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Anita glared at her class of college freshmen as they filed slowly out the door, muttering to each other. Nearly all of them were hunched over their iPhones. They were so casual about their assignments.
With a deep sigh, Anita picked up her books and papers, stuffing them into her briefcase. It wasn’t all that long ago that she was a student too, working her way through this same university on a scholarship. She blazed through each day, meeting every deadline. She would joke that her best papers were written in the bathroom and at stop lights.
When Anita got home, her husband Dan was chopping vegetables in the kitchen of their tiny apartment.
“How was class, honey?”
Anita groaned as she heaved her briefcase onto the kitchen table. She silently gave thanks that her husband loved to cook. After quitting his job as a journalist, he went to school to become a chef. To Anita’s great relief, he loved practicing his new skills at home.
Giving him a peck on the cheek, she popped a cherry tomato into her mouth.
“Same as always – they don’t follow directions, and their papers are always late. They are supposed to be adults!”
“Your Mom called. She needs something. And speaking of irresponsible adults, there is a letter in the hallway. I suspect it has something to do with your father.”
Anita froze. She had not seen him since she was six. Her mother claimed that he was an alcoholic and had been in trouble with the law when he’d left the family. But with God’s help, they’d managed alone until Anita got married. Their Pastor gave her away, but she’d been angry that she didn’t have a father at the wedding.
With shaking hands, Anita retrieved the letter and sat down at the kitchen table, ripping open the envelope. A check for $1 million dollars dropped out, along with two letters. Shocked, she picked up the check and handed it to Dan.
“Uh-oh,” muttered Dan as he scanned the check. He picked up the typewritten letter. It was from a life insurance company.
“Is it all legit?” Anita asked, searching her husband’s face. Dan nodded.
Anita opened the second letter, which was handwritten.
“Dear Anita,” she read aloud. “When you read this letter, I will have passed away of natural causes. No need to grieve, because in your heart I probably died when you were a little girl. I don’t blame you for that. So no guilt trips, ok? But you are an adult now and you deserve to know the truth.”
“It is true that I was a sick man for many years. I was caught in a downward spiral of alcohol and gambling. The gambling led to trouble with some dangerous thugs and I was afraid they would hurt you or your mother. So I left home to protect you both.”
“Eventually I went to jail. But that was the best thing that could have happened to me. I dried out there, and began attending AA meetings. In those meetings I learned about the disease of alcoholism and how to recover – one day at a time.”
“I also learned that there is a God – we called Him our Higher Power. But when I began going to Bible studies, Jesus Christ became my Higher Power. He redeemed me! That was ten years ago. A year later I was released, and I got a job as a janitor at the same university where you studied. Now you are a teacher there.”
“I suspected that damage to my liver would shorten my life, so I took out a life insurance policy. I used most of my earnings to pay the premiums. When I saw you zipping around the campus as a student, I would pray for you. Until recently, I would sometimes peek into your classroom when you taught. My heart would swell with pride and love. My little girl – a professor.”
“I am writing this letter from Hospice. God brings me AA friends every day and I am not afraid. I praise God that I will be with Him soon and that you and your mother will finally benefit from my life. I wanted to do something to make your lives better. I hope it’s not too late.”
“Your loving father.”
742 words
This is a work of fiction.
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Good job with the topic.
Blessings~