Here it is.
The return.
Sixteen months have past since I last posted here (I know, I can’t believe it either!).
It wasn’t an easy choice to stop, but I knew something had to give. Either I put all my efforts into finishing that novel I’d spent so many years on, or I continued to spend my time writing about the lessons I took from real life.
Sadly, you lost out, my trusty readers. I decided that you would have to survive without my hard earned wisdom, while I got on with that adventure in my head!
Sixteen months on and I can honestly say I wasn’t sure this day would ever come.
Not after the things I’ve seen.
I’ve watched an old man stand his ground against six trained killers. I’ve seen men and women give their lives for a boy they hardly know. I’ve witnessed gods giving council to those who worship them… and sometimes to those who don’t. And I’ve even seen a long lost friend walking the Greyfolds; the place between this life and the next.*
How do you come back from that? How do you return to the daily grind?
Frodo Baggins couldn’t do it, and he saved Middle Earth.
I had no idea where to begin…
Not until today, at least, when I opened my email’s junk folder and found a message from anndavidssa.
“Ref: bkhc” it said. Job done, anndavidssa. You’ve got my attention.
I clicked on the mail and held my breath.
GOVERNMENT ACCREDITED LICENSED PAYMENT PROCESSING CENTER ONLINE PROMOTIONS, AFFILIATED OFFICE Quick Pay Ltd.Mandela Square,Sandton Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2014, South Africa.
How about that for an opening? Ok, so it’s taken a year to get to me, it’s still from a government accredited licensed payment processing centre! Needless to say, my heart began to beat a little quicker.
Dear winner,
Boom! My heart is in my mouth now. I am a winner, but how do they know that!?
We wish to inform you that your email address was automatically generated during our final yearly FreeLottoR Services international online daily draw held at the Johannesburg Lottery Hall in South Africa.
What are the odds, that of all the words in all the international languages, the six that make up my email address are automatically generated? The British Lottery is about 14,000,000 to 1, and all you have to do there is get 6 numbers out of a possible 49. And this draw took place in a hall dedicated to the lottery? And that lottery is free!? What an incredible, magical world we live in!
Your e-mail ID was generated with the TSN/FILE NO: D453859322T6 which was among the 3 Lucky winners of $ 2,820,000.00 USD (Two Million Eight Hundred and Twenty Thousand United States Dollars Only) each.
Maybe not magic then, but science – and sometimes science is even more beautiful. Of all the TSN/FILE numbers in the world, they chose the one linked to my email account. That’s pretty spectacular. I don’t even know what a TSN/FILE is, but I do know what a United States Dollar is! And I don’t care if there’s only Two Million Eight Hundred and Twenty Thousand of them, you had me at TWO!
Kindly contact Client Service General Manager in charge with the details below to claim your Prize: We will issue a cheque of $ 2,820,000.00 USD (Two Million Eight Hundred and Twenty Thousand United States Dollars) once the TSN/FILE NO: is validated depending on the method of payment you would like to receive your prize. PROVIDE THE DETAILS BELOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE.
Can you believe it? All I had to do was send some personal information about myself to someone I don’t even know, and they’re going to send me a cheque for $2,820,000.00 USD.
That’s where I begin!
One minute I’m ready to give up on the lessons of life, and the next I’m a multimillionaire**.
Life is full of surprises, my friends. Especially when you least expect it.
Never forget that. And always check your junk mail.
Tony
* You might be able to read this one day, if I ever find a foolhardy stranger willing to put their money where my mouth is. In the meantime, I’m thinking of starting a new blog where I’ll post some of my fiction. Watch this space, if you like that kind of thing.
** So long, foolhardy strangers!
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