An Epilogue

Part 2 of 2

A tall man approached the desk in the dimly lit study. He saw the bottle of whiskey and the half-filled glass. He raised the glass to his nose and a letter caught his eye.

To my dearest relatives and friends,

What does a dead man say to his beloved? I have prepared a letter to highlight what I think is most important for you to hear.

I have lived a half-life. I have found that I lived with regret, and I lived in fear. I allowed opportunities to pass me by and I have failed to make good with the little I had. I feared that I was never good enough for anything, or anyone. Hence I remained unmarried. I remained stuck in a job that was only ever good enough to “pay the bills”.

I never planned my life to become like this. I grew up and I dreamt, as we all dream. I soared the skies in my personal aeroplane, and ate up the miles on the road in a flashy, red striped sports car. I owned the most glamorous piece of land and married the most gorgeous woman a man had ever seen. I was the centre of attention and held parties every weekend. I owned a successful business and travelled the world each day…

So I dreamt a dream that everyone dreams; a life of fame, fortune and friendships. My life turned out pretty damn s****y. I had my friends, but I always felt it was never enough. I had no wealth and I succeeded at nothing. I was only ever famous for embarrassing myself. So now I ask the question; would my life have been any better if I had the three F’s?

The answer, quite plainly, is no. Why?

A man who travels the world almost every day will most surely have wrinkles and look older very much sooner. And for a man who needs to host parties, and be the centre of attention, not looking very charming will drive him insane. Worse still, his poor wife will leave him for a younger man as soon as the first wrinkle appears. He may have all the money in the world, but he will never find happiness. No matter what he buys, or where he spends his money. The successful business will undoubtedly put pressure and add stress to his life. It comes with the territory �" no matter what business it is.

I will miss you all dearly. I do hope when I stand right at the back of the church, only good memories will be brought forth. You will all talk about the good and forget the bad I have done. Most of all, I hope that you all read this and learn the lesson.

It doesn’t matter who you are. No matter how rich, or powerful. We are all human. Everyone has problems and suffers along the way. We all fear what we fear and remain common in our doubts. Above all else, we are all the creation of God. And unto Him we shall return. He will look at us, equally, as we should be. Money will not buy you heaven neither will it bribe you out of Hells clutches. You will leave everything behind and stand bare in front of your master.

Work hard, play harder. Life is short. We are born with nothing and leave with nothing. Chase success in the hereafter.

Farewell my beloved

Yours always,

John Marco Biggs

The detective stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes. He summoned the young police officer at the doorway, “Get this to his family.”

Somewhere, in the dark corner of the study, John’s soul lingered and watched. He smiled, as the letter brought tears to the detective’s eyes. He couldn’t help but feel that finally, he had not been afraid to do something good. John closed his eyes, and rested in peace.