If anyone had asked Will for the complete list of what he would most like to be doing right now, 'sitting in the waiting room of Walsh and Holbien, Attorneys at Law,' would have come in under getting a long, slow root canal. He had just been here yesterday for the reading of his grandfather's will, but now it seemed that even death was not going to stop Grand-dad from pulling one last surprise out of his hat.
Mr. Walsh came out and met Will in the reception area after only a short wait. "Hello, Mr. Graham. I understand this is very unusual, and I thank you for coming on such short notice."
"Unusual is one way to put it. And how could I not come, after you called and told me there's a secret section of the will, only for me. It had better not be some secret stash of money he wants to give me - I couldn't keep something like that from the family."
"Nothing like that, I assure you. Before I give it to you, I am directed to give you this letter from your grandfather. You can read it in the board room right across the hall, if you'd like, and then come back to my office when you're finished."
"Thank you." The chairs in the board room were ridiculously plush, but surprisingly not very comfortable. Will tore open the envelope and read Victor Graham's final message.
*****---*****
Dear William,
People have often said that I lead a charmed life; even you used to say that I must have a guardian angel looking out for me. Well, I don't believe in angels, but the fact is there's some truth to the rumours. What I have to tell you now is going to sound completely insane, but I can assure you I have not taken leave of my senses. The simple, unbelievable truth of the matter is, I've had help, and now I want to offer that help to you. You are the only one I would consider giving this to, and I hope you will accept it. The amulet my lawyer is going to give you is the source of all the good things that happened to me in the last 20 years or so. There's only one thing you have to do, but it's important: once you have the chain around your neck, you have to turn the amulet over and let three drops of your blood drip into the three small indentations on the back. Once you do that, it is yours, and everything will become clear, I promise. I'm not going to try and explain it to you in this letter - I'm sure you already think I'm cracking up. All I can say is to try it, please, for my sake. I did, and I never looked back.
If you're wondering why I'm giving this to you, then there's something you should know. I've never shied away from saying what was on my mind, as you know, but there was one thing I could never say until now: ever since you came along, I have always felt closer to you than I did to your father. Don't feel guilty about that, it's not wrong - it's just the way it is. He never approved of the way I lived my life after my wife passed away. But you never judged me - you understood that my life is my own, and I always loved you for it. That's why I've decided to give you my most precious gift.
Even if you think I've gone around the bend, promise me you'll take my gift and do what I told you to do. It will be the best decision you make in your life, I guarantee.
Goodbye, Will. Thank you for being you.
Your Grand-dad, Victor.
*****---*****
Will had no idea how he was supposed to process all that. After taking a few minutes to compose himself, he walked back to the lawyer's office and knocked softly on the door. "Mr. Walsh? I'm finished."
"Good. Please, have a seat. I suppose there's nothing else to do now but give you this." He opens a drawer in his desk and pulls out a brown envelope, then hands it to Will.
"Can I open this here?"
"If you like. Victor said it was for your eyes only, but I'm acting as your counsel right now, so nothing I see or hear will leave this room."
Will opened the package and took out a fine sliver chain necklace, with a small pendant. It was also silver, just a simple flat disc around the size of a quarter. There were three small indents on one side, and two words crudely engraved on the other: Semper Una. He pointed out the words to Mr. Walsh. "That's Latin, isn't it? Do you know what it says?"
Mr. Walsh had to hold it up very close to his face to make out the inscription. "Yes, that's Latin. It means always one, always together. Did Victor's letter have anything to say about it?"
"He said it was his good luck charm, and he wanted me to have it." Will decided that was all he needed to say. No point having Grand-dad's friends thinking he was nuts. He put the amulet back in its envelope, and put it in his coat pocket. "Mr. Walsh, thank you so much for everything, but I'd really like to get home now. It's been a hell of a day."
"Of course, Will. We're finished here. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to call. And again, you have my condolences."
*****---*****
As soon as he got home, Will opened the envelope and took out the necklace. He held it up in front of his face and had a good long look at it. Then he looked up toward the ceiling and spoke out loud, "Grand-dad, I'm touched. This obviously meant a lot to you." He opened the clasp on the chain and put it around his neck. "Thank you."
The company had given Will three days of bereavement leave, and with this being a Saturday, he now found himself with some time on his hands. He considered getting together with some friends, but he was in no mood to go out and be social right now. "I'm always so busy, always running around. This will be a good chance to slow down, have some me time," he thought. There was that book he had been reading for months - he picked it up and sat down to finish it. But before long, he found his heart wasn't in that either. He kept fidgeting with the amulet around his neck and daydreaming about cutting the tip of his finger and watching the blood drip down.
Will took the necklace off and put it on the coffee table, then thought better of it and moved it to the dresser in his room so he didn't have to look at it. He turned on the TV and flipped to the movie channels. After searching through all the standard Halloween crap, he finally stumbled upon an old favourite, Aliens. He had come in right at the beginning of the first firefight between the aliens and the marines, and he was instantly engrossed in the action. But once the action slowed down, and the marines were just talking and making plans, Will again found himself thinking about the amulet, glancing towards his room, wondering what might happen.
He flicked off the TV in frustration. "This is ridiculous! And now I'm talking to myself, great!" He stomped back into his room, snatched the amulet off his dresser, and yelled at it. "All right, you want my blood? Will that get you out of my head? Fine, you got it!"
Fastening the chain around his neck as he went, Will walked to the kitchen to find something sharp. Steak knife? Scissors? No, just three drops, not a gusher. He dug around in the junk drawer, not sure exactly what he was looking for, until he saw the perfect thing - a safety pin. Moving quickly before he changed his mind, he poked his left thumb with the open pin. It hurt more than he thought it would, and then no blood came out. He squeezed it, but still nothing. Holding his breath and gritting his teeth, he pushed the needle in again, further. "Ow! God dammit!" At last, there was a tiny spot of blood. It wasn't enough to drip, and so, holding the amulet up with his other hand so he could see it, he smeared the cut on his thumb over the first indent in it's reverse side.
He waited for a moment, but nothing happened. He squeezed another bit of blood out and rubbed it on the next bump in the little coin, and waited. Nothing. He had to pinch a lot harder to get another drop out, but it was better that then poke the pin in again. A tiny drop seeped out of the already healing pinprick, and he pressed it onto the last indentation.
A moment passed. And then another. Will studied the little coin closely, looking for any sign that something was happening. Then he looked up and said, "Well, now I feel like an idiot. I hope you're happy!" He leaned over the sink and turned on the water, running it over his thumb. "I only did this because it's Halloween tomorrow!" Once it was cleaned off, he held the amulet by its edges and brought it to the stream of water to wash it off. As soon the water touched it, he heard a woman's voice cry "No!"
