Short Story

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Short story

John was a businessman who was in debt and found no solution for paying it back. He lost his credibility as the business was running in loss. Creditors denied to give him more loan which removed the hope of paying to suppliers. He was hopeless and went to a beach for getting some air. John kept on thinking for any solution that could save his company from going bankrupt. At that moment John had a flashback of his university life when he failed his all papers. That was the most dramatic situation in his life because his father had told him if he fails he will never come home. He was visualizing the scenes by relating it to his current situation. He was looking for something but failed to come with any idea.

Sitting on the bench, John’s heart was pounding and he was in deep thought when he heard someone saying “Hello! Is everything fine?” John suddenly gains consciousness and realized he was in past. The stranger again asked him "Is something troubling you?" On this, John explained everything and shared his feelings. John stated, “I feel like everything has finished. There is no hope”. The stranger replied, "I can help you". The man wrote a cheque and handed it to John. He mentioned, "you can take it and return to me after a year if you could pay". Saying this he left and John read that a big amount of $500,000 was written by Liam Stein, one of the rich men of the USA.

At the moment John realized that he could pay back his debt and improve his credibility. But after giving a thought he had a flashback from his teens when his father gave him a lesson "never take debt from someone in hard times. Just believe in your self". John decided that he would not use the money, instead keep it safe as a motivation for achieving his goals. He renewed optimism, thought different ideas and finally negotiated deals with extended terms of payment. Several big sales were closed, expenditures were cut, his car was sold and some staff was terminated. After a few months he was out of debt and his business started making money.

After one year John had earned sufficient revenue that he had paid off his debts. He decided to return the cheque to that man. John had another flashback as he recalled his meeting with that man. The next day he went to the same place as agreed on their previous meeting. It was strange for John to see that a nurse was running after that man and caught him. She told John that the man escaped from the rest home and was schizophrenic. He makes stories and tells people that he is Liam. John was really shocked to know that the cheque he had been keeping was of no worth and it had been the only source of his motivation. He again had a flashback of the moment when his father advised him about never taking the cheque.

John stood there stunned because he never doubted the reality of that man. He came to the conclusion that money doesn’t matter if one has self-confidence and believe. It was not the money or the cheque that saved him but it was his faith on self. His optimism and courage allowed him to take a bold decision leading him to his success.