Million Dollar Apple

An old man finally has the opportunity to do what he never thought he would be able to. But did this make him happy or sad?

Whenever young Timothy would go grocery shopping with his parents, he would see the same old man. He was one of the many cashiers, and like most of them, was not there because he wanted to be.

The man's only enjoyments were his morning and afternoon coffees, and of course, his precious cigarettes. He was a bitter old man who did not smile - ever - and did not say please or thank you, and scoffed and frowned more than one could count. Some wondered how and why he was able to keep his job. His wife passed away a few years ago - or had it been longer? - and he was short on money. They had a plan they wanted to follow to financial security, but all that kind of went to hell with her passing.

And so here the old man was, stuck; to survive he had to work his s****y job in this s****y world.

What a s****y world.

Timothy looked up to his mother, "mommy, why is that man always angry?"

His mother looked at her husband and then back at her son, "he must be having a bad day, sweetie".

The kid wondered how many bad days could one person have, as they left the grocery store.

One fateful day, as the reputable old man sent off another customer in the most dismal of fashions, a rich-looking man came up and put a single apple atop of the conveyor belt. As the old man saw this, he thought to himself what a f*****g moron. He almost opened his mouth before he thought better (to his own surprise). He simply read the price off the screen and the rich-looking man put stacks down in front of the man. He took the apple and walked by. He looked back at the cashier and took a bite of the apple as he walked toward the door. The old noticed a glimmering light about the other man as he bit the apple.

What the f**k was that about?

When the old man brushed off the odd trance he had appeared to catch, he noticed stacks adding up to a million dollars in front of him. Nobody saw it, at least he didn't think so. The grocery was pretty empty at that time. He put the money away; he would definitely take it home. He wouldn't have to work another day in his miserable, god-forsaken life.

When the old man arrived home, he appeared hysterical. What luck he thought, but what kind of man gets so lucky these days?

The old man began spending his money. He quit his job, went on many vacations, explored many things he never thought he'd have the chance to, enjoyed many pleasured he had long forgotten, women included. Life was incredible. What more could a man want at his age, after all? The man took it all in and had the time of his life.

As time went on, oddly enough, he began to feel empty. His happiness slowly depleted and it was difficult to keep up with all the things he was doing. He began to feel deprived and often asked himself what he was doing.

Years passed, and the man's luxurious wad of cash had been depleted; and he was poor again. The man didn't know what to do anymore with his life. He couldn't believe he had used all of that money. He had barely given it a second thought.

There was only one thing left for him to do.

When Timothy went grocery shopping with his fiancée that day, he thought he noticed a familiar face when he was paying. He thought of an old man he used to see when he was a child who always seemed grouchy and bitter. He shook his head as he looked back to see the cashier serving his next customer. 

There was no way it could have been the same man from back then, thought Timothy, this man was smiling.