Kevin’s truck was speeding down the icy road as snow and wind whipped past. The highway was mostly empty. Kevin smiled as he looked at a picture of his wife, Laura, hanging from the rearview mirror. Christmas was fast approaching, and he was eager to get home. He had been away for nearly two months, traveling across the country, and was now returning with a special present for her. He reached into the glove compartment, peeked inside at the gold necklace nestled within, and smiled. He pressed down on the accelerator even harder.
When Kevin arrived at the truck stop, he parked and walked the rest of the way home. As he walked through the familiar streets, he noticed how things had changed. People were smiling, looking at the store windows adorned with mistletoe. Finally, he reached the door of his apartment and pressed the doorbell a few times before hiding behind the wall, eager to surprise Laura. But as time passed, no one came.
Confused and concerned, Kevin dug through his pockets for his keys and unlocked the door himself. “Hello? Is anyone home?” he called out. “I’m home! Surprise, my love!”
There was only silence. Dust had settled everywhere, indicating that Laura had not been home for a week or more. Kevin grew increasingly worried. He ran to the landline phone on the table, where he found a note. I’m sorry it didn’t work out, he read in his wife’s hand. I realized I deserved more. I met someone else and have found happiness. I wish you the same. Goodbye.
Kevin repeated the last word to himself several times before crumpling up the paper and throwing it against the wall. He spent several days drinking, his mind caught between dreams and reality. He even thought he saw Laura looking in through the window, smiling at him, which caused him to almost fall from the fourth floor as he climbed onto the windowsill.
It’s unclear how long he would have continued if it weren’t for his elderly neighbor, Mr. Feist, who had grown tired of the noise.
“Oh, it’s you, Mr. Feist,” Kevin yawned as he opened the door on Christmas morning.
“Well, I came to wish you a Merry Christmas,” he said, nonchalantly walking into the apartment. “I see you’ve been celebrating for a while now.”
“I’m tired of this,” Kevin said shamefacedly. “My wife left me, and I’ve been drinking. Care to join?”
Over whiskey, Kevin told him the chaotic story. “Was I not making good money?” he asked. “Hell yeah, I was. Did I take her to Spain? I sure did. Gifts? Tons. Maybe I did miss something. Maybe it’s because I’m an orphan. I grew up in an orphanage, but that’s not my fault.”
Mr. Feist took another glass. “That’s not it, Kevin,” he replied softly. “There are fickle women. They swear eternal love to you today, and tomorrow they’ll find someone better. She wasn’t the one for you if she left you. Why grieve for her? You should be glad such a burden has been lifted. God gave you this wonderful gift, life. Enjoy it.”
Kevin admitted the old man was right. “I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble. I won’t be here tonight. I’m leaving town.”
The conversation had a better effect on him than any medicine. On Christmas Eve, when families gathered in their cozy homes, Kevin was driving through the snowy highway in his truck, so eager to get away that he didn’t pay attention to the ice. The road was empty. To distract himself, he turned up the music. To the left, a bright firework shot up from behind the forest. Kevin considered this an answer to his own silent congratulations to the world and smiled.
Kevin returned from his trip two weeks later. On an early January morning, his truck was moving towards the city when he noticed the fuel was running low. Fortunately, a road sign warned of a nearby gas station. After getting out of the truck, Kevin ran to the building to pay for the fuel and warm up. As he reached the door, it swung open abruptly, and an alarmed man in only a T-shirt jumped out. It was the cashier.
“Sir! Glad you came!” the man exclaimed. “I need assistance!”
Kevin, who had been hit by the door, rubbed his forehead. “You nearly knocked my head off, and now you want help?”
As soon as Kevin entered the room, he saw a young woman lying on the floor, holding her stomach and screaming in pain.
“What the heck? Is she having a baby?” Kevin recoiled. “Why haven’t you called an ambulance?”
After Christine had calmed down, she began to share her story. Her husband, John, who bore a resemblance to Kevin, had passed away three months ago. He had been an entrepreneur and ran his own car service business. Everything was fine until John’s army friend, Mark, re-entered their lives. Mark had spent time in prison and faced difficulty finding employment. In an effort to help, John hired him as a mechanic. However, Mark grew resentful and wanted John to make him the manager. John refused.
“One day, he invited John to spend the weekend fishing,” Christine remembered, her face twisted in pain. “I was against it, but John believed Mark wouldn’t harm him. Later, I found out that John had drowned. Mark claimed he fell out of the boat and got tangled in the fishing gear. Everyone believed him. But John was a very good swimmer and always wore a life vest.”
Christine broke down in tears again. “By the way,” Kevin asked gently, “how did you end up at the gas station without your coat?”
Christine wiped away her tears. “After John’s death, Mark often came to visit. He persuaded me to marry him. I refused, but he kept coming back. Then one day, as I was returning from the store, Mark caught me and dragged me into his car. He drove me out of town. In the woods, the car broke down, and I tried to escape. He grabbed my jacket, but I struggled, and it remained in his arms. I don’t remember what happened after that. It seems I ran somewhere and then fell. I only woke up in your truck.”
Leave a Reply