It was one o'clock on the dot, the same day as that phone call when the doorbell for Samuel's flat rang. Sensing that it could be that Sally lady, he had changed his clothes into something more presentable, give or take a few small things. After all, Samuel's health wasn't perfect and that did affect his physical appearance.
Samuel quickly opened the door and arrived face to face with a tall, young gentleman.
"Samuel Dodds?" asked the man, "My name's Roger Pools, I work for a company that deals with estates."
"Ah yes! I've been expecting you, well, I thought that it would be Sally." said Samuel.
"You mean my sister?" asked Roger, "No, she deals with all of the admin work in the main office, I do the calling round things."
Samuel let out a small sigh of half relief and half disappointment. "Come on in."
Roger entered Samuel's flat and worked towards the kitchen table, setting his briefcase down on the vacant chair. Samuel stared at that briefcase which looked fit to burst.
"I take it I have to sign a lot of things?" questioned Samuel.
Roger looked up, "No, only one thing."
Samuel felt his face frown, "Then dear me, what is in that briefcase?"
Roger laughed, "It's all of the research into your ancestral background. Everything which makes up you."
Samuel smiled pleasantly, "I see. The makings of all of your hard work into finding out my family. Well I never."
It was a busy thirty minutes as Roger lead Samuel on a journey into History and past lives of the men and women that no longer walked alive on Earth. It felt like travelling in a time machine and seeing places and people for the first time ever, many years down the line since they last lived.
"Final thing, I need you to confirm your birth date." said Roger, "And from this sheet, we have the seventh of June 1985. Correct?"
Samuel felt sweats running to his face, "Yes, I'm nearly thirty."
"Excellent, could you sign here please Mr Dodds?" asked Roger.
Taking a black fountain pen, Samuel created his signature slowly as his body started to twitch, not with excitement but with realisation that he was now the owner of a country house.
"Thank you," smiled Roger, "I will now leave you with the relevant documents. I wish you a good day!"
Samuel smiled and lead Roger to the door, "Fascinating stuff about my past! Thanks for your help."
"Anytime!" beamed Roger, "Goodbye!"
"Goodbye!" replied Samuel as he closed the flat door in relief.
Slowly, he sank to the floor and pressed his back against the door, a cool breeze blew in through the postbox but his body was sweating considerably. There was a lot of information for his brain to take in and the heat on his body was making him feel weird.
"My good friends ought to know about this!" said Samuel out loud, "Will they be jealous of me?"
Late afternoon dawned in the downtown district of the city as Samuel weaved his way past shoppers, tourists and street performers. His mission was to get to his favourite cafe before it closed for the day. The temptation of coffee and cookies had got to his thoughts so much that Samuel had to reach out and go. Go to Hardy's Cafe and savour them till the time hit six.
Opening the door to the cafe, the aroma of coffee hit Samuel's nostrils and made the insides of his mouth water. On an eventful day like this, coffee was a perfect remedy. And Hardy's Cafe was the best in town or so he thought. It was a popular spot and located right opposite the city park where tourists went for picnics and photos.
"Afternoon Sam!" greeted the Cafe manager, "The usual I take it?"
"Yes, a strong one," said Samuel, "I need it badly."
The Cafe door burst open again and walking in were Samuel's two best friends from High School: Max and Jake. Max was the taller one in the group and worked in an office in the downtown district of the city. Jake on the other hand lived five miles out of town on a farm which had been in his family for generations.
All of them had met and grouped up together in High School but they weren't part of a clique or group. They were just themselves and tried to follow the rules.
The three of them greeted each other warmly before sitting down in the corner of the Cafe, away from the main serving counter.
"No offence Sam, but you look really strange." exclaimed Max.
"That feels a little bit offensive to me but yes, you are correct." replied Samuel as he stared at the cookies in the glass jar.
"Forget cookies!" noticed Jake, "Have you met a girl?"
Samuel laughed, "No my friends, it's something to do with family background."
The chat halted for a short pause as their hot drinks plus chocolate cookies were served to them.
"Like I was saying..." began Samuel.
"Holy cow! Don't tell me you have a long lost brother or something?" asked Max.
"Or sister!" added Jake.
Samuel shook his head, "No no, nothing of the sort. I had a call at eight in the morning about an inheritance..."
As precaution, Samuel's tone of voice dropped to a whisper as his friends listened to the tale of the events that morning.
"Only a house?" asked Max, "What about money and all that jazz?"
Samuel shrugged his shoulders, "I did hope that some money would come my way but no, only a house in the middle of a village."
"Are you going there soon?" asked Jake as he brushed his fingers through his brown mopped hair.
"Within the next couple of days hopefully." added Samuel as he sipped his coffee.
As the time ticked on by, the chatter started to get more and more gossipy about things going on between various family members and work. Samuel had been made redundant sometime ago and finding a replacement job hadn't been easy for him. Max and Jake had been brilliant trying to help find some form of work but the interviews never really went to plan. Only time would tell until Samuel found some sort of job to help pay the rent.
"It was lovely seeing you all again," said Samuel as he walked towards the front of the Cafe, "Wish me luck!"
Max and Jake chorused, "Good luck!"
As Samuel walked towards home, he felt worried about the coming days. They were going to feel strange but also interesting. It was a look into some form of ancestral mystery and the chance to open up his past.
He knew deep down that turning back and ignoring all this was not an option. Whatever the house and the village community had in store for him, he was going to face it head on, like it or not.
Outside the apartment block, Samuel looked up towards the sky with an odd tear in his eye.
"Mum, dad, you never told me these things and now, I have no idea what to expect," thought Samuel, "But I am not angry with you, one day, the truth was going to come out. Think of me as I think of you."
A butterfly flew past his shoulder and landed on a flower nearby, Samuel knew that his mother loved butterflies.
"Thanks mum." smiled Samuel as he walked into the building.
ns 15.158.61.47da2
