Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Cherish the Day

An infinite search for knowledge itched at his brain constantly. He wanted to know the world, desired to feel the salty breeze of the Indian Ocean, or taste the Mediterranean Sea as it splashed upon his lips from the front of a boat. His mentor and teacher had prompted him, before he died, to get out and know the world.
However, the world was not as welcoming as he had thought it was. A minute alone in the Paris hotel room made him feel empty and without that passion for learning he had experienced on the same bed with him. He remembered being whispered, "Do great things with your mind, for with knowledge, the possibilities are endless." He didn't know what to do. He was only 23, fairly young compared to his ex-lover at the age of 45, taken by a hiking accident as they experienced the world for what it was: green and humble; humble in the way it swayed with the whim of the wind, and green in its expressive undertones of shade so eagerly given by its trees. All he could see now, however, were the streets filled with small European cars and people bustling to and fro.
He had been left with a substantial amount of money, and he did not know what to do with it. He knew he wished to fulfill his deceased lover's dream of knowing the world: visiting New Guinea and cruising through the Australian Outback. He would even take to sky-diving in Italy. Why not? Danger had never scared either of them. He could remember weeks on end training for a triathlon, cycling and running through the Rocky Mountains and its questionable slopes. He remembered swimming against the tides of the Florida beaches and considering wrestling the shark over yonder just to prove who could best the beast.
Now, as he looked down from the thirteenth floor of the building, he wished to jump down and join him in even more exciting adventures wherever he was in the afterlife. He knew, however, that it was impossible to do so with so many things left unaccomplished.
As he descended the stairs, he nodded toward the attendant behind the front desk, who greeted him with a hearty "Bonjour!" He responded with a "Bonjour!" of his own, and smiled brightly, greeting not only the attendant behind the front desk, but also the day.
"Cherish the day," he had been told by him while standing on the edge of the Niagara Falls, "because you may may only have one left."
He exited the hotel. Looking up toward the rising French sun, he knew it was to be a beautiful day to cherish.

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