Mr. Jones' Story

Everything started on a raining night in France of October 1, 1945. Mr. Jones was looking from a window at his apartment. People were happy and celebrating because the war was over. Everyone was smiling and laughing but Mr. Jones, tears kept coming down from his eyes.

The story began on a sunny, summer of 1913. Him and his wife were living in a mansion on the suburbs of Paris. The green grass was reflecting the light of the sun. The flowers and trees were growing under the light of it as well. 

There was a massive building, the exterior of the mansion was covered with white marbles. The stairs had the same material with veins of grey. It was like dark clouds on the sunny day in the sky. There were couple of wide and tall columns. Interior floors were dark oak woods which were covered by Persian burgundy carpets. Here was Martha, Mr. Jones’ wife, sitting on a wooden chair bouncing back and forth at the balcony reading a novel.

Mr. Jones pulled over on the driveway, there was a 1911 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. Martha smiled and greeted him. “Good afternoon, Joseph, how do you do?” Asked Martha.  He smiled and kissed his wife responded “Excellent! Today we hired a youngster as the new accountant. He seems enthusiastic. How is your day going so far?” 

“It’s been wonderful, the food is ready. I will call the boys and girls to get ready for the lunch.” She answered. They had four kids, two girls and two boys. Julia, Juliet, Joel, and Jean. There was a German Shepherd in the house, she was a sweetheart, everyone enjoyed her company.

His business was expanding, and their lives were going amazingly. Until the July 28, 1914. The War began and the businesses were shut down, men were forced to go to the battlefield. They were at the home listening to the radio to see what is occurring the Europe. They were anxious and it seemed there were nowhere to escape.

Joseph and his family gathered together. “I think you all need to go to Sweden, it is much safer in there.” He offered. Manthra looked at him with teary eyes and said “It’s quite challenging decision to make, however, I suppose that’s best for the kids.”

After a long and hard time of saying goodbye. They finally headed to the train station. Joseph had locked the gates, hop on the taxi, then headed to the war.

It was a long and scary four years. Although Joseph and Martha hadn’t seen each other, they stayed in touch. All the prayers came true and Joseph came back on the winter of 1919 to Sweden. He was happy to see his family again, he got the chance to start being happy after all those years.

They stayed in a farmland, it was a big land with a lot of trees. The kids were happy and helping their parent to harvest. The wooden house was beautiful, it wasn’t elegant but it was cozy. There was a fireplace in the corner which the kids chopped the woods and started fire to keep the house warm.

It was happy years for them. Joseph and Martha decided to sell the land and decided to move to Poland. He started to planning to buy farms and start a business to sell fresh vegetables and fruits while working with his family. One night, as they were sitting around the table having suppers. He mentioned “There are still all the houses and businesses in France. It is the best time for me to go back and sell all of them. Come back with more money to expand the business.” 

“It is not a bad idea. We can start some local stores to be able to sell the product directly.” Responded Martha. All of them agreed. He had headed to the France on August 21, 1939. As soon as he took off the train, he took a taxi to his old mansion. As he got there, good memories started to coming into his mind. The exterior was no longer white, it was light gray. The interior wasn’t the house of love anymore. It was buried under the dust, the bugs were running around.

He found his old coach which was covered by thin layer of covers. He took it off and sat on it. Remembred meeting his beloved wife, in the banquet. Making love turned his ordinary night into a special night. He smiled, and looked at the kitchen. The furniture reminded him of his early morning breakfast with the boys and girls. Screaming and running around the house. Good memories was flowing into his mind.

He had grathered all the documents and papers. He went to the broker with a lawyer. Mr. Craft, the broker, offered them cigars and cognac. The calendar was exposing the date. It was September 2, 1939 at half passed 10 in the morning (10:30). 

After half an hour (30 minutes), the radio started to broadcasting that Nazis took over the Poland. Many people were prisoned and killed. His sixth sense told him the truth. His family were no longer in this physical world. His life collapsed and was assigned to go to the war. There was no hope left, he was looking out the window and closed his eyes.

Remembering the nightmares at the World War I, all the gun fires, and screams. 

He had lived through the nightmare, waiting for the last day of his life. His prayer didn’t come true. He was released after six consecutive years, on September 12, 1945. Joseph was desperate, had nowhere to go, lost his families, friends, lands, businesses, and memories. No one gave him a call to say “How do you do?” Headed back to the France desperately.

Joseph was still looking outside while recalling all the good memories. He was hopeless. He looked back to observe a frame which was demonstrating a picture of himself, Martha, and kids.

He sat down on a dining table alone with an ordinary glass filling it up with whiskey. His watch was in front him, the time was quarter to sever (6:45). He sipped the whiskey, the smell of the whiskey and moisture was in the room as it was raining outside.

Joseph was still thinking about the past. He had lost everyone around him and all of his businesses, even the old dog. All of the sudden, he noticed himself in the mirror, stunned for a moment. Time flew for a period of time, it was half passed seven (7:30). As he was looking at himself, he stood up and went to the bed. Closed his eyes, and faded into sleep.

Years passed by, it was the spring of 1952. As he was facing the Mediterranean Sea in a cruise. There was a nice breeze touching his face, his body was a little bit cold but it wasn’t bothering. He felt a warm hand touching his right shoulder, the nails were painted red and there were a ring with diamond was on the ring finger. He knew that it was Julia, his wife. Joseph smiled and closed his eyes and enjoyed the breeze, while holding his wife’s hand.

He invited his wife and friends over the dining  table. Servers wore tuxedos with silk bowtie, serving champagne and red wine. Joseph held the hands of his wife and the person next to him on the right, closed his eyes, lowered his head and began the prayer:

“Dear heavenly father, we all are expressing out gratitude for this meal that gives us strength, our friendships that we admire the most, our spouses whom they got our backs and give us love, our kids who are being taught to serve the future generations, this opulent sea that helps us forget our daily routine, our health which helps us to see, hear, smell, eat and drink, touch, and walk without problem. We dearly thank you for everything that you have given us and let us enjoy them. Amen.”

As he opened his eyes, and lighten a Cuban cigar. Looked at the sea and smiled again. He continued “I would like to share my experiences about a man who changed my life, not once but twice.

“Right after war, I was back to Paris. I lost everything, my wife, kids, friends, and businesses. There was nothing left for me on this planet, except the man who changed my life again.

“He looked at me without criticism, believed in me, and most importantly I believe in him. The first time I met him, he was much younger. While I was working at the age of nine in a business office as a cleaner. It was all labor work, there wasn’t a lot of time for getting rest. The third Friday of each month, there was a banquet in which all the rich people and executives gathered and shared their knowledge with their peers and family members.

“One night, after midnight (12:00 AM), I was almost done. Making sure everything was spotless. It was the first time I met him, it was a glorious moment and he changed my life for the first time.”

There was a silent at the table, everyone was waiting for him to share the rest of the story while being stunned by his dedication which built two empires from scratch. There was a little girl, curious with blue eyes looking at Joseph. She couldn’t wait for him to continue the story and asked “Who was that man?”

Joseph smiled and responded “I’m glad that you brought it up. I was expecting someone to ask it.

“Both of the times, I was tired, hopeless, and wasn’t happy with who I was. It was similar to a situation that there is no room to escape. He appeared at the same place both of the time. The first time he was in the office of the manager which I was cleaning, and the second time he was in my apartment.

“Each time, there was a mirror in front of me. I saw the reflection of myself in the mirror. I started to seeing myself with suit and tie while having a smile on my face. Being able to pay the bills effortlessly. The second time was much easier because I knew I accomplished once, so I can achieve my desire again.”

Everyone were shocked, as no one expected the answer that he mentioned. It wasn’t an easy story to comprehend but everyone knew that Joseph is not the man of lie.

The food was served and everyone were talking. The sound of laughter was being heard all over the cruise. At the meantime, the little girl wasn’t amongst the crowd. She was alone in the bedroom, couldn’t hear anything that was being discussed 5 feet away from her. The interior of the bedroom was a little bit dark. She didn’t care, as she was standing in the corner, looking at herself in the mirror.

The end