Hank was a distraught war vet, down
on his luck with nothing going for him. One night at local bar he met Damian. A
charming young, well dressed, and educated man sat next to him ordering a Hank
and coke, double and neat, same as his. They began talking, the normal small
chat at first, then about origin stories, then about the ups and downs of life.
After heavy drinks and equally heavy words Damian invited Hank to a small
restaurant just around the corner, with stakes so good that if Hank didn't cry
upon the first bight Damian would pay for him meal.
Hank
kindly thanks his acquaintance for the offer and the company, insisting that it
was late and he must be off. Damian pressed on, continually insisting that his
new friend join him. After continual pressing from Damian, Hank left in anger. Hank
roamed around the town for some time in a half drunken stupor, eventually
settling on a water bed, cardboard heavy from the early afternoon rain. Damian
walked up not a second after his eyes fell. “Do you want a real bed?” After a
painful silence filled with the pride of not wanting to accept a strangers
help, Damian said, “Come with me.”
Damian
took Hank to a small desolate ninth floor apartment. The place wasn’t worthy of
housing such a successful man as Damian. Damian explained that he rarely used
this apartment but it tended to gather some dust due to the almost complete
abandonment. He asked Hank to need it clean for him on the off chance that he
ever needed to bring someone by and that if he stayed there and kept it clean
he would pay him handsomely. Hank, feeling like he had no other option, agreed
to this rather outlandish deal. Without a word, Damian left the apartment.
Looking
around Hank found that the apartment was nothing more than a small room; a bed,
stove, bookshelf with two books, small fireplace, but no shower or sink to even
wash his face. If Hank didn’t know better he would have guessed he had gone
back in time to a small fifteenth century cottage, except for one small piece
of discarded wood in the corner, a stretched and worn violin. He did what he
could to keep it clean and tired to keep the fire going. After a couple months
Damian returned, by himself, not saying a word to Hank. He simply game a nod of
approval and left. Several months later Damian returned again to a spotless
apartment and a mangled thing. Due to the lack of any way to clean himself Hank
had become something that could only be called a shadow of a human being. His
hair was long and disheveled and his beard matched. Damian gave him a suitcase,
few cloths for his back, and sent him on his way. Hank wanted to protest and
demand his payment, but Damian was gone before he could take a breath.
Hank
left the building and proceeded to the nearest hotel he could find. On his way Hank
opened the suitcase, put on a jacket but to his surprise he found money hidden
beneath his cloths. More than he could possibly count in the street. When he
got to the hotel the owner tired to drive him away, but when he pulled out a
stack of hundred dollar bills the owner quickly changed his mind. Too tired to
clean himself Hank instantly fell asleep. When Hank awoke he found that someone
broke into his room and stole all the money Damian had given him. Hank went to
the front desk, but helpful was the antithesis of what the owner was when he
explained the break in. More desolate than ever Hank left the hotel.
As he
was walking Hank found a small piece of paper in the jacket pocket, seven
numbers with a hyphen between the third and fourth numbers. Hank found the
nearest pay phone; before the first ring ended he heard Damian’s voice on the
other line. Hank explained what had happened, “I’ll be there in five,” is all
Damian said. When Damian arrived he took one look at Hank and took him to a
salon (a salon he owned) and they gave him the royal treatment, after a few
hours of pampering Hank didn’t even recognize the face looking back at him.
Damian walked in to the salon with the battered suitcase in hand. He gave it to
Hank, they shook hands, and said good buy.
Hank
moved on, using the money to rent a small apartment and to buy a used violin, a
small token of the time he spent with Damian. He would pass the time by playing
his violin on street corners and in the park. Until one day a prominent Wall
Street banker heard him playing while he walked through the park. He was so
impressed by his talent that he gave Hank his card and told him he was hosting
a gala in a few weeks and would like to have him as entertainment. Hank
graciously accepted the offer and soon found himself in the room with some of
the most powerful men and women in the county.
As the
night began to wind down and Hank had stopped playing for the night, while he
socialized with the guests, he found himself involuntarily gazing upon a
beautiful women across the bar. The man who invited him called over his
daughter and the women he was gazing upon began to walk over. They were
introduced and instantly began falling in love. In what felt like a day they
were married, and Hank was learning how to take up the business for when his
father in-law would step down.
The End
