Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: GENEROUS (10/14/21)
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TITLE: The Perfect Gift | Previous Challenge Entry
By Tracy Nunes
10/21/21 -
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For some, it was the sweets he especially craved. His retired secretary was certain that dark chocolate-filled were his favorite. His great-nephew believed peanut butter was number one on his list.
Golfing buddies carried secret boxes of expensive Cuban cigars. Edmund’s doctor expressly forbade them. His pals knew he would find a way.
His partners in the law firm that he famously founded before being named ambassador to the UN, and then Secretary-General, brought Edmund first-editions of renowned law mysteries. A legal thriller was just the thing.
Dignitaries from around the world gave valuable artifacts from their regions with gold-plated inscriptions of adulation, giving Edmund his due congratulations for the extraordinary work he had done in their provinces. He was known well for his compassionate determination to alleviate the suffering of the poor and forgotten.
Neighbors for decades, who had first-hand experience with his humor, came with paperback joke books filled with corny puns. Edmund’s father had been a Pun Crafter Extraordinaire and he’d retained a love for silly eye-rollers that he often shared at parties after his retirement. In part, because he loved them but also because he had so loved his father.
They all came, each with a memory of Edmund’s effect on their life. In their eyes, his was a life well and generously lived. Their gifts reflected their experiences with him and their gratitude for knowing him.
One day, not long after his terminal diagnosis, to his delight, Edmund received a forwarded letter from his law firm. His senior year logic teacher, Mr. Banim, wrote that he remembered Edmund fondly and asked to visit. Recollections of the crudely funny teacher, himself just out of university at the time, made Edmund chuckle. Though an effective teacher, Mr. Banim was more like a friend, even getting in trouble for having a few pints with them after weekend rugby matches, of which Mr. Banim was a key player. He was a “man’s man” they would say, and the boys all wanted to be like him. Edmund gladly accepted his request to visit.
On a Saturday morning, Mr. Banim arrived. A servant led him to Edmund’s room. To preserve his pride, Edmund made great efforts to be dressed and out of bed, sitting in the nook that overlooked the gardens.
When Mr. Banim entered, Edmund had a moment of shock, not recognizing his former hero. Of course, decades had passed, but the cocky swagger and proud tilt of his head were gone. Mr. Banim reached out his hand as he approached his old friend.
“Eddie, it’s so very good to see you, my friend.”
Gone was the jocular voice that rallied his rugby mates or called for another round at the pub. In its place was a gentle twinkle in his eyes and a voice that would soothe a kitten. Edmund accepted his hand realizing instantly that his friend had not lost much of his renowned strength. The grip of a gladiator held his own. Not painful, but firm. A strange lump rose in his throat; his eyes shone with unexpected emotion.
“Mr. Banim, I can’t believe it’s actually you,” he said, barely above a whisper.
“You can call me Frank now, Eddie.”
That struck them both funny and they laughed aloud. In it, a hint of Frank’s former bravado. They talked for hours.
Finally, Edmund asked, “What brings you here, my friend?”
Frank looked over at the collection of gifts in Edmund’s room. Putting his hands out flat before him, he said, “Silver and gold have I none, but what I do have, I give you.”
Edmund was confused, but listened quietly as Frank began a story that started a few years after Edmund graduated. A motorcycle accident, a time in the hospital, and a time in rehab for addiction to pain pills. Frank came face to face with his sin.
But when he turned a page to Edmund’s sin, the venerated statesman sat up straighter and made a case for all the good he had done for the world…and angrily asked Frank to leave.
At the door, Frank turned and said,
“All your righteousness is as filthy rags; you are already terminal in your transgressions. But God made Him who knew no sin, to become the righteousness of God in us. Believe, Eddie.”
At that, he sadly turned away.
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However I thought it ended a bit abruptly, nevertheless keep writing.