The Silver Lining

           Kevin Newfield was a hard-working man, and a proud man to say the least. At the age of 35, he had already developed a successful career in the advertising business and worked his way to the top of the ladder. Kevin now held the prestigious title of CEO for Innovative Advertising, a high-ranking advertising firm that held the contracts for some of the country’s biggest corporations.

           By 9:00 am, Kevin could be found already at his desk sorting through the accounts for that day. His office manager handles most of his calls for him, so it frees up more time for him to concentrate on his work. Many nights, when the cleaning crew finishes for the evening, Kevin can still be found finishing off the final details for the next day’s presentations.

           When he arrives home at night, usually after 8:00 pm, his wife, Mabel has his plate of food re-heated and waiting for him at the dining room table. She had stuck by him and supported every decision he had made from the time he was still a clerk at a competitive firm across town. Even the day that Kevin came home and told Mabel that he had quit the firm without consulting with her, she still stood by him.

           As Kevin and Mabel laid in bed that night, Kevin decided to spring some unexpected news onto his overly-understanding wife. He told her that on Friday evening, he and two other executives were flying to Tibet to meet with a potential client. They had been looking to expand their business internationally, and this client could open a lot of doors for Kevin and the firm. Two days later, he boarded a flight to Lhasa, Tibet.

           Kevin and his associates were met at the airport with a limousine provided by their prospective client, Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, CEO of an elite electronics firm in Tibet. Luckily, the limo driver understood some English and spoke with broken English as well. They were taken to the home of Mr. Ngapoi. It was a luxurious estate home on a vast property filled with rolling hills, hot springs, and a plethora of staff on-hand to do his bidding. A servant led them to Mr. Ngapoi’s private study where he joined them moments later. They were offered tea and some egg custard tarts, still warm from the oven.

           Kevin tried to get right down to business, but Mr. Ngapoi insisted that they delay talking about business until after he has had a chance to show them around the estate. The tour of the grounds took nearly an hour, but Kevin and his friends were quite taken in by the beauty of the property, so the time simply flew by. When they returned to the study, Mr. Ngapoi asked Kevin to join him privately. He had someone that he wanted Kevin to meet, so Kevin followed him out to the back of the house where they traveled along a rocky trail up the side of a large hill. As they reached the summit, Kevin spotted a tiny structure similar to a gazebo. Sitting in the center of the structure was a bald man in monk’s robes. He was introduced to Kevin as Zenshobo Daishi, a highly exalted Buddhist monk.

           Mr. Ngapoi translated for the monk as they spoke. He told a tale of a monk from centuries before who had discovered a secret. There was a cave not far from where they stood that gave people a glimpse at their possible future. The monk asked Kevin if he wanted to know what his future had in store for him, and even though Kevin didn’t believe in any hocus-pocus, mumbo-jumbo, he played along because he didn’t want to lose Mr. Ngapoi as a client.

           As they entered the cave, the walls seemed to move as crystals embedded in the walls sparkled throughout every inch of the cave. Approximately 50-feet into the cave, they came upon a large pool of water. Torches surrounded the body of water and shadows danced across it like phantoms enjoying a leisurely swim. Kevin was asked to remove his shoes and his pants and enter the water. Reluctantly, he did as asked. The monk began to chant and after a minute or so, the torches began to flicker as if a gust of wind had blown across them. The water then began to bubble like it was boiling, yet the water was still at a comfortable temperature. Kevin looked to Mr. Ngapoi and the monk with concern, but his host reassured him that everything would be fine and that he needed to relax.

           Moments later, Kevin began to get dizzy and clouds started forming around him. Kevin strained to see through the clouds, but they were too dense. He began to panic, but then just as he was ready to start making his way to the edge of the pool, a vision appeared to him in the cloud. It showed his house back home. His wife, Mabel sat on the couch with her sister, Janice. They were both dressed in black. As he looked around, he noticed that several people were in the room and were all dressed in black as if they had just attended a funeral. He saw his Uncle, Gus there with his Aunt, Patty. There were a few neighbors in the room as well, and a few of the executives from the firm too. Kevin listened in on Mabel’s conversation…

           “I can’t believe he is gone. Of course, it doesn’t surprise me that he had a heart attack. He worked all of the time. I mean, I hardly ever saw him. Why do you think we never had kids? It wasn’t because I didn’t want any; it was because he could never find the time to schedule it in.”

           Kevin realized then, that the funeral was for him. Mabel didn’t look much older, so this point in time must have been in his near future, he thought. As Kevin scanned the room, he was able to listen in on each of the conversations. As he approached his Aunt and Uncle, he listened closely to what they had to say…

           “I hope that all of the fake smiles and helping hands that we offered Kevin all of those years will mean that he wrote us into his will. He was such a tight-wad when he was alive, that I am surprised he wasn’t buried with all of his cash.”

           Kevin was upset by his Aunt’s statement and decided that he was going to take them out of the will when he returned home.

           The next conversation was between two of his associates; the two that accompanied him on this trip to Tibet…

           “Can you believe he’s dead, Sam? He didn’t even make it to forty. That dude had some real issues, you have to admit. Seriously, he was a work-a-holic, he didn’t want to go out and have fun with his friends or colleagues unless it was business-related, he neglected his beautiful wife. The guy had every opportunity staring him in the face, but he couldn’t see past the doors of his office. I felt bad for him in some ways. He didn’t get a chance to enjoy all of that money that he made. If I had his cash, I’d be traveling the world with my wife and living a little more.”

           Kevin pondered his friend’s words for a moment and it sat heavily on his heart. He looked back toward Mabel and a tear began to roll down his cheek. It had been years since Kevin last cried. The last time that he recalled was when his mother passed away more than 15-years ago. He remembers his father grabbing him by the shoulders and saying, “Real men don’t cry, boy!” From that point on, he suppressed all of his emotions.

           The clouds started to dissipate and the images of his future faded into the mist. The monk along with Mr. Ngapoi stood silent on the rocky bank as Kevin waded back to dry land. A smile was on the face of Mr. Ngapoi as he spotted the tear mark along Kevin’s cheek. Kevin dressed and they made their way back to the house where they joined his associates. The four of them sat down and worked out a deal for the contract. Before they flew to Tibet, Kevin had it in his mind that they were going to try and get every possible cent out of Mr. Ngapoi, but after his experience in the cave, Kevin had a change of heart and gave Mr. Ngapoi a better deal than any of his previous clients. His associates were shocked but sat silently until they had once again boarded the plane home.

           “What are you doing, Kevin? I thought you were going to make this your greatest deal yet! Instead, you gave him the lowest rates. What were you thinking?”

           “Trust me, boys. I know what I am doing. It may seem absurd now, but I felt that it was time for a change. In fact, I have decided to take a step back. Thomas, I will be stepping down as CEO but remaining as the major shareholder and I want you to run the company in my place. You have been with me from the beginning and know this company from top to bottom. I can’t think of a better choice. I wish to spend more time with my wife and maybe start a family before I am too old to enjoy it.”

           The two men sat silently for a moment in shock until Thomas replied to Kevin’s statement…

           “I don’t know what to say except, thank you, Kevin. I would consider it a great honor and privilege to run the company in your absence. When were you planning on making this official?”

           “As soon as we get back to the office tomorrow, I will contact my lawyer and have him write up the papers. Please don’t mention this to anyone else yet, especially Mabel. I want her to be surprised.”

           The men agreed. A few days later, during their board meeting, Kevin announced that he was stepping down and that Thomas would be taking his place as CEO. As expected, most of the board members were shocked by the news but pleased with his decision.

           That evening, Kevin arrived home early from work and surprised Mabel with two tickets to Paris, France; a place that Mabel had always wanted to see. He told her the news and apologized for all of the time he spent away from her. She inquired as to why he had such a change of heart, to which he replied…

           “They say that every cloud has a silver lining, but sometimes you need to get through those clouds before you can see what your future has in store for you.”

The End.