The Secret Manuscript (Complete)

Chapter Twelve

Ben left the law firm and rode the elevator back down to the lobby. He could hardly contain his excitement and nearly shouted at the top of his lungs. He never thought in his wildest imagination he would become a debt-free homeowner at the age of twenty-four. He continued to pull his luggage across the lobby and through the spinning doors.  

Once outside, Ben was hit by the intense summer heat of the sun overhead. The rays were radiating off the glass building and amplifying the temperature. Ben removed his hoody and shoved it into his bag. He then walked to the curb to look for a taxi.  

While waiting on the street, Ben thought he heard someone call his name from a distance. There were several reasons why Ben chose to ignore the sound, the most prominent of those being that he did not know anyone in Calgary.  

"Ben," the voice said again, this time much closer. 

Ben had no choice but to acknowledge the speaker. When he turned around, much to his surprise, he was staring at the face of a long-lost friend. Ben was completely caught off guard. He thought he had left his past behind him, but apparently it was harder to escape than he had realized. He had been in Calgary for only a few hours and already he bumped into someone he knew. 

"Kyle," Ben finally said, embracing is friend with a hug. 

"Wow, I hardly recognized you, Ben. You're all grown up." 

"Yeah, you too. What has it been... ten years?" Ben said. 

"Something like that. How the hell are you, man?" Kyle asked. 

"You know, same old, I guess." 

"Are you going somewhere?" Kyle asked, taking notice of Ben's luggage. Similarly, Kyle had a suitcase with him. 

"Actually, I just arrived," Ben said. "Where are you going?" 

"I'm moving to Cold Lake. Rent here is too expensive." 

"Trust me, you don't want to move to Cold Lake, I just came from there." 

"What am I supposed to do? I have no choice." Kyle asked. 

"If rent is the only issue, why don't you move in with me? I literally just inherited a house," Ben said, as he held up the keys.  

"You inherited a house? Who gave you a house?" 

"It's a long story. I'm on my way there now to check it out. Why don't you come with me? If you like it, you can stay there with me rent free." 

"How could I possibly say no to that?" 

The last time Ben and Kyle had seen each other was when they were about fourteen-years old. They had both been fostered by the same family - a farmer and his wife. The couple was getting old so they thought it was a good idea to adopt two young strong boys to do manual labour around the farm.  

It was more like a slave camp. Every day, Ben and Kyle would have to wake up at the crack of dawn to feed the chickens, herd the cows, and bale hay, among other tasks. They would work all day and come home around 6:00 p.m. for dinner, then were home schooled until their bedtime. This had gone on for years. The couple become greedy and asked for more boys from the child welfare agency. This raised suspicions, which prompted an investigation. After that, the boys were removed from the home and had not seen each other since. They had bounced around various foster homes for the next two years until they turned eighteen. The only saving grace in the whole situation was that for a two-year period, they had spent every waking minute with each other and had formed a bond that was as strong as brothers - perhaps even stronger.  

Bumping into each other was like a sign from God - as if the actual brush strokes of destiny were visible. 

"So where is this house anyway?" Kyle asked. 

Ben handed him a sheet of paper with the address on it. Kyle studied it for a minute, then said, "I know where this is. It's actually quite far from here, but I know a bus that will take us there." 

Ben and Kyle walked to the next block where there was a bus stop. They chatted the whole time until the bus came. Ben briefly described how his life had turned out since they last saw each other, and then explained some of the more recent events that led him to being in Calgary. The bus finally arrived and they both hauled their suitcases aboard and found a seat together. 

"So the last couple days have been a rollercoaster ride for you, huh?" Kyle asked. 

"Yeah, there have definitely been some highs and lows and everything in between. It all seems surreal to me. Even bumping into you is tripping me out. It makes me think this is all happening for a reason." 

"Like your life has a purpose?" 

"It's funny you use those words because that's the third time I've heard them in the past few days. The morning I woke up in the hospital, as I was about to leave, one of the nurses handed me a note." 

"A note?" Kyle repeated, "what did it say?" 

"Hold on, I'm getting to that. After I left the hospital, I walked back to my apartment and then from there I boarded a bus. It was less than an hour later, but when I sat down, some random woman on the bus handed me a note." 

"What's with all the notes?" Kyle asked. 

"That's not even the weird part, check this out." 

Ben reached into his back pocket, pulled out both notes, and handed them to Kyle. The look on Kyle's face said it all. Much like Ben, he could not believe his eyes. 

"What are the odds you get identical notes saying your life has a purpose?" 

"I don't know, but it's pretty strange, right?" 

"Strange indeed," Kyle replied, "and then you receive notification that someone wants to give you a house?" 

"Yep." 

"Huh," Kyle grunted, almost in disbelief. 

"Crazy, right?" 

"Yeah, I'd say that's a little crazy. You're not pulling my leg, are you?" 

"No, this is the God's honest truth." 

"As opposed to a dishonest truth? And isn't God considered the most trustworthy of sources, so this is like a triple whammy of redundancy."  

"Hey, it's a figure of speech, leave me alone." 

"Wait, something still doesn't add up," Kyle pondered. 

"What?" 

"You said you lost everything in the fire, right?" 

"Yeah." 

"So where did you get the luggage from?" 

"Well, that's another story."