The Ride of Fate

"Ugh... another day" Mason said as he rolled out of bed and put his alarm on snooze. He dressed in his usual preppy suit and walked down his spiral staircase in his massive penthouse apartment with picture windows, a flatscreen tv, and everything a 25 year old guy could ask for. "Good morning sir"  William, Mason's kindhearted butler said with a grin. "Your breakfast is on the table and you have 2 missed phone calls from your mother." Mason sighed and picked up his phone. "Ah I'll call her later. I have to get to work." William shrugged."As you wish, sir. Have a great day." Mason walked out of the door and climbed into his fire engine red Ferrari. Hastily, he grabbed his phone and called his secretary, Lucy. "Hey Lucy it's Mason. Tell the boss I'll be there in 15 minutes. Oh wait, I am the boss!" Mason said with an obnoxious laugh. Lucy sighed over the phone. "See you soon, sir." "Nothing like owning your own multi million dollar company" Mason muttered to himself. Without even thinking, Mason drove 20 miles above the speed limit. Red lights flashed in his rear view mirror and sirens blared. "PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD" the voice echoed. Mason pulled over, sipping his coffee as he rolled down the window. "Do you have any idea how fast you were going mister?" The officer said with a tone of disapproval. "Umm, excuse me do you have any idea who I am? I am Mason Marcel, owner of Marcel incorporated. Look, just tell me how much money you want and I'll be on my way." The officer stared at him in disbelief. "Fine then. 200 dollars to pay off your ticket." Mason tossed 200 dollars in cash out the window and sped off without another word.
Once he arrived at work, Mason sat at his desk and gazed over the city skyline out his window. A voice came through the intercom in his office. "Good morning, Mr. Marcel. You have 4 missed calls from Mrs. Jeanne at the orphanage and John at the soup kitchen." Mason grumbled but picked up the phone. It rang twice before a soft voice answered. "Oh hello Mr. Marcel! I'm so glad you called back. Last year your father donated one thousand dollars to the orphanage and I was calling to see if you would like to do that again? We are in desperate need of funds right now, Mr. Marcel. Would you be willing to donate?" Mrs Jeanne asked hopefully. Mason spun his office chair around and faced the window. "Well Jeanne, I'm sorry to say that I don't think I have that in the budget this year. Maybe next year okay?" Mason abruptly hung up. Everyone knew that was a lie. Marcel incorporated had its biggest year of sales yet. But Mason's pride and greed didn't care. Ever since his father died last year, Mason had been nothing but an arrogant, greedy businessman. Just as he hung up with the orphanage, the phone rang again. This time it was his fiancée, Ashley. "Hey Mason, do you want to go out tonight? I heard there's a great new restaurant downtown. We should check it out." Mason agreed. He was always up for eating.
"Great! I'll meet you there at 5!" Ashely said excitedly. Mason spent the rest of the time calculating profits until it was time to leave. He smoothed out his curly brown hair and left the building without a word. Employees whispered as he walked by and straightened papers on their desks. Just the way he walked made people shudder. The young man drove home and went directly to his room to get ready for his date. He put on his best suit and carefully combed his long hair. "Perfect" he uttered, smiling in the mirror. At 4:30, Mason climbed into his Ferrari and put the key in the ignition. But nothing happened. After several failed attempts, Mason decided to call a cab. "Ugh, I can't believe I'm doing this" he said with disgust evident in his voice. 15 minutes later, a bright yellow taxi cab pulled into Mason's driveway. A tall man with short black hair and a beard greeted him. "Where to sir?" The taxi driver inquired. "305 Main Street. And step on it." "Oh I don't think you want to go there, Mr. Marcel. I'll take you where you need to go." Mason stated at the cab driver. "How do you know my name?" "I know everybody's names. I knew your dad too, he sat in that very seat 20 years ago. Boy, was he a different person when he got out of my cab. He used to be greedy and arrogant just like you." The mention if his father felt like blows to the chest. "What makes you think that I'm greedy and arrogant?" The man smiled. "You're Mason Marcel, right? New York's rich boy? I've heard all about you. That's why I'm here. To take you where you need to go." Before he could say another word, the taxi sped down the road, slamming Mason into his seat. The ride was a blur. The passing scenery looked vaguely familiar to Mason as he stared out the window. "Where are you taking me?" He asked the driver. "You'll see. The name's Noah by the way." 5 minutes later the car jolted to a stop. Noah stepped out the car and opened the door for Mason. Mason found himself in front of a small cemetery, 20 miles from the city. A small fence with ivy growing surrounded the graveyard. Mason looked at Noah, clearly confused. "Why did you take me here?" Noah smiled. "You don't recognize this place? This is where you father is buried." Mason stepped back in shock. He had never once visited his father's grave. He was always too afraid. "But...but this is a commoner's cemetery." "Exactly." Noah said. "This is where all the orphans, widows, infants, and homeless people are buried. Your father did not want a grand burial. He humbled himself to this place. Why don't you go in?" Mason stumbled forward until he found his father's head stone that read:
To anyone who finds this: I used to think life was all about money. I worked my entire life, striving to get more. But as the years slipped away, so did my happiness. The more money I obtained, the unhappier I got. Until one day, far too late in life, I realized that the only way to change my greed was to give back to others. For no matter how successful you are, no matter how big your house is, how big your bank account is, our graves will be the same size. Stay humble my friends. And remember, to move forward you have to give back.
Mason walked back to the cab, tears streaming down his cheeks. He contemplated everything he had done in the last year and regret overwhelmed him. Mason choked back a sob. "I... I need to get back to the city please Noah." Noah nodded and sped Mason back to his apartment. "Thank you, for everything" Mason said to the cab driver. Noah patted him on the shoulder. "It's what I do." Mason spent the next week fixing everything. He gave everyone in his company a week off, gave William the week off, donated a thousand dollars to every charity in the area, and invited his mother to dinner. While at dinner, his mom asked him about his change of heart. Mason just chuckled and said, "Let's just say fate took me for a ride."