The night lights of Chicago shown
far below James Huevo’s penthouse suite. It was a beautiful view, on that could
hardly be topped anywhere in the city. James spent many an hour staring out
over the city contemplating his life. James hadn’t always lived in such a fancy
apartment so high about his favorite city; he grew up in the slums and as a kid
spent most of his time wandering the streets. His father had left before he was
born and his mother worked hard but barely made ends meet.
On his 18th birthday
everything changed. James hadn’t expected any sort of gift; his mother didn’t
have the money to spare. To his surprise, upon arriving home after work, he
found a note and a birthday card on the kitchen table. It said “I had to go in
and work the late shift tonight James. I’m sorry we couldn’t celebrate your
birthday together. There is chocolate cake on the counter and I hope you like
your present. Just maybe you will get lucky. Love you lots- Mom”
James opened the card and found a
lotto ticket inside. Smiling at his mom’s thoughtfulness, he tucked the ticket
away and cut the cake.
The next day it was all over the
news: a winning lotto ticket had been sold at a gas station just blocks from
the Huevo’s home. After checking his numbers on the TV screen James sat in
shock. The birthday ticket had won him over 3 million dollars.
Ten
years had passed and James was now an extremely successful stock broker. He had
invested his winnings well and nearly doubled his money. James had never
expected to live the high life but now knew nothing but. He had a fancy car, a luxurious
pent house apartment, and a stock portfolio to last him a very long time. Happy
with his life James lay down on his feather bed and went to sleep.
RRRRRIIINGGG………… RIIINNNNG……………
RRIIIINNNG………
The telephone on his bedside table
jarred James awake. Glancing at the clock he realized it was already nine in
the morning; he had overslept.
“Hello?” James said with a yawn.
“Hello sir, this is Madison. We have
a problem sir.” It was the voice of his assistant on the other end.
“Problem? What kind of problem?” He
asked.
“The bank called. There was a
breach of security last night. Sir. Someone stole 10 million dollars from the
bank, all electronically. They took everything, investments, stocks, and cash.
Sir. It’s all gone.”
There was a silence for a moment as
James sat there stunned. “Madison, you mean to tell me I’m broke?”
Her voice was pained. “Yes, I’m
sorry sir.”
James hung up aghast. His life was over.
He had nothing. He couldn’t even afford to support his aging mother let alone
the lifestyle he had become accustom too. He stood in front of the clear glass
pane and looked down at the city, his city, or at least it had been his until
now.
Frantically, no thought in his mind
but his own pain James grabbed the 50 pound weight for his bench press machine
and hurled it out the window. The glass
shattered and left a gaping hole in the living room. He stood on the edge, looked
out, and jumped.
The obituary in the paper said James
Huevo had jumped 20 stories from his apartment window was pronounced dead on
the screen.
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