Stories of Kindness from Around the World

The Guy Next Door


--by parsaakbar, posted

Sometimes life's most important lessons are learned from the guy next door.

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his ambitious future, and nothing could stop him.

The phone rang one day.  It was his mom, who told him, "Jack, Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday."

Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

"Jack, did you hear me?"  "Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.

"Well, he didn't forget you.  Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told his son.  "Yeah, I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.

"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.  "He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important ... Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown.

Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no
children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture ... Jack stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked. "The box is gone," he said.  "What box?" Mom asked.

"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it. "Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died.  Returning home from work one day, Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office
within the next three days," the note read.

Early the next day, Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr.Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped
open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope.

Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.  "Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box.

There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:  "Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."

"The thing he valued most was ... my time," Jack said to himself as he held the watch for a few minutes.

He then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.  "I need some time to spend with my son," he said.

"Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!"

Readers Comments

Olivia Ridge wrote: Beautiful story! <3
marybeth wrote: Absolutely love your story and feel blessed to have read it. Taking these few minutes from my day has just reminded me what is truly important in life. Thank you.
Cindy wrote: Hard not to cry. Beautiful story, thank you.
laurelshull wrote: Time, it is the greatest gift you have to give. My husband knows this. He is no longer on this plane and he had this story on his email and i took time to read it and now i'm going to go spend time with him. Time is more valuable than any of us knows.
Linda wrote: The was a very awesome story. I had tears in my eyes as i read this story. Very heart felt. This story touches my heart. I related this story to life itself. I wish my son would spend a little more time with me. Life is so short. Sometime we all get so busy and caught up in life and time has away of catching up and slipping by us. Spending just a little time with parents, grandparents, can mean the world to them. Then you create so many memories. Then you have no regrets when that time comes to go home. We all get caught up in everyday life. Just don't forget the the ones we love. Life can become short.
AnnieJ wrote: What a great message. And you're a great writer! :d
SANDRA wrote: Beautiful and heartfelt
Siri wrote: Wow! We never know what matters the most! No gift of time is ever too small! I must remember this always!
Ynco wrote: Thank you again Parsaakbar !

What I got out of your beautiful story is that I can not control time, it's just passing by. But I can do anything with my memories and action's. I can do what serves me most. I can not change the past, but I can make a difference now.
A very dear lesson to me, I appreciate it so much.
Warm greetings Ynco
anwahs wrote: Few people realize how important a few minutes of their time can be to other people. Really, if you consider how much time we waste everyday it's a shame when so little can mean so much to someone else. Thanks for a beautiful story.

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