Time should never be wasted - a short story by giantbear

                                      

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John sat next to the road in his car. It was absolutely freezing and he had the motor running to keep the heater on. It was snowing and he could hardly see anything in front of him. He was literally caught in the middle of the blizzard, and he was too scared to drive any further. This could not have happened at a worse time.  He was in the middle of an important court-case, and he just did not have this time to waste. 

When the hospital phoned three days ago, and told him that his father had a stroke, it did not come as a shock. His father was an old man but he was strong.He was just too busy to get away, but when his secretary phoned today to follow up, the nurse said that the results were not good.  

He knew that he had no other choice but to go and check for himself. He was in the middle of an important case and he had to wait for court to finish today so that he could drive down to Silverton to get to the hospital.   

The snow was getting worse, and he was seriously thinking of just turning back. There was no way that anyone could drive in this snow, and he just had to wait it out. He needed to rest. Hopefully when he woke up it will be light, and he would be able to drive further. He lay back in his chair to try and get some sleep, but instead his mind wandered towards his father and to his childhood.    

It has been a while since he had seen his dad. Three years to be exact. They never had a great relationship. His father had always been so busy at work that he had very little time for him. His mom died when he was three, and he was raised by his father, but he basically grew up without his father. He even worked on weekends and his job was always an excuse to miss his soccer games and other activities. John wondered if he would have turned out differently if his dad was more involved in his life.  

One thing that John would always remember was when his dad couldn't make it to his school-play. He was thirteen years old and he worked so hard to get that spot in the play. He wanted his dad to be proud, but he was so disappointed when he walked out on that stage and his dad was nowhere to be seen. That day he decided that he could never trust his father again. 

He never had a shortage of anything, and he had the best sports equipment and pretty much what he needed, except time.  He wanted his time, not his money. He was so jealous of all the other boys whose dads came to every game. 

John left home at eighteen. There was enough money so that he could have a proper education. He chose to become a lawyer and he thought that that would make his dad proud. His dad never said a word. 

John became a hardworking lawyer that had no time for anything or anyone else. John had become his father. 

The snow was coming down harder now and soon his whole windscreen was covered in snow.  He did not want to waste more gas, so he switched off the car for a while, but it was too cold. After half an hour he turned the key to switch on the car again, but nothing happened. The car was dead. He realized that he had left the lights on and the lights took all the battery power.  

"Damn"... he thought to himself.  "I should not have come. It was freezing and now I'm going to die here on the road on my way to a man that never cared for me. How is that for good luck?" 

John sighed and checked his mirror.  There were no cars in sight and no one has passed by in the last hour. It was getting colder and colder and he had to do something to warm up. He tried to open the car door, but it was stuck.     

"Stupid technology!" 

There was no way for him to open the car door with the battery dead. He had no way to get out of the car. He was stuck and he was freezing. He lay back in his seat again.  

He must have dozed off because he was awakened by someone calling his name. It was still cold, but suddenly he did not feel so cold anymore. He felt warm and more at peace.  He heard the voice again and turned his head.  

He had a fright when he saw his father sitting next to him.  

"How did you get here dad? I am on my way to see you in the hospital."  

"It doesn't matter...I came to say goodbye to you. You need help and all through my life, I have never been there for you. Today, I want to be there for you, and I want to tell you today that I love you and that I am sorry. I don't have much time, but one thing that you have to remember always, is that life is short. Don't let work get in the way of your life. Take time to spend time with your loved ones, because when you blink it is all over. I thought that money could heal all wounds but I was wrong.  Turn around, and go back home to your family....and son....don't work so hard...it is not worth it, one day when it is your time to go, you would want to be surrounded by your loved ones, and not die alone like I did. I am proud of you son...very proud."

John had tears in his eyes while he looked at his father.  With that last thought in his mind John heard a knock on the window of his car.  Someone flashed a light through the window and he knew that he was saved.  He tried to start the car, and miraculously the car started and he could turn down the window.  

"Good evening officer I am so glad to see you."  

"Sir there is no way that you can continue driving tonight.  Could you please follow me? We can provide you with a place to sleep and when the roads are safe again you can continue on your journey."

"Thank you officer. I just need to let my family know that I am on my way back home. We have a funeral to arrange."