"In Eight Months' Time" Weekly - 7

         



      Jimmy Robert woke and found that he was lying at the floor of the hut. Bright lights filtered through the window, he checked his watch and it was already morning. Note : this article is a continuation from week 6. You can read week 6 here :  "In Eight Months' Time" Weekly - 6.
He walked to the door, opened it and stepped into the bright morning light. He tied his tie on one hand; took the tour of the yard. He loved what he was seeing. The 350 acres of grounds really impressed him. Sculptures of different sizes and colours also got his attention. Thoughts of how he could own such large area of land and build his own little golf club went through his mind. It was a dream he held so close to heart. He loved playing golf, would have made a career from it but for some reasons, he opted for something else - he never regretted that decision.

Andy Todd approached in a gold colour pyjamas, holding a cup of coffee.
     "Hey! You awake?!"
Jimmy Robert turned and doubled up to catch up with him.
     "Nice yard you got here. Like my eyes were sleeping yesterday".
Andy Todd smiled and took a tentative sip of his coffee.
     "My dad died leaving me as the sole owner of everything he had being his only heir".
He took another sip of his coffee.
     "This man; his businesses, his legacy, he believed he got someone ( pointing to himself ) whose             gonna carry on his legacy".
He paused and gave Jimmy a warm smile.
     "To some extent, yes. I intend to revolutionize his businesses and you have a part to play. I like to         be different. I want to achieve my dreams in a way nobody can think of. This is why I really               want  you to listen to me".
     "We got our destinies in our hands", Jimmy Robert said.
       Andy Todd looked at him with fondness.
     "You studied business, right?" he asked.
       Jimmy Robert nodded his reply.
     "And you hope to be a success story one day?"
     "Yeah. A business V.I.P!" Jimmy Robert replied.
     "A dream and ambition shared with even an unborn child cannot move me", Andy Todd said                sternly.
      What he just said left Jimmy Robert wondering what he was really up to.
     "The world has been in one path for too long!"
       He sipped his coffee and then dropped the cup on the synthetic turf.
     "Have you ever wonder and give it to thought why there is so much violence and hatred as each            day unfolds?" he asked.
      Jimmy Robert only stared at him, still wondering where he could really tag him.

 Andy Todd moved his hands in customary style and continued;
     "Brother rise against his own brother, family against another family, Nations against each other.            Have you asked yourself why?"
He moved closer to Jimmy Robert, held his hand while he continued with much tender voice;
     "This is because of clash of ambitions and dreams and the world are getting saturated".
Jimmy Robert looked straight into his eyes. He let go of Jimmy Robert's hand, moved backward gesticulating yet again.
     "Everybody wants to be a political icon. Everybody wants to be a business V.I.P".
     "And what do you expect from them?! To be God?" Jimmy Robert snapped in.
He tolerated him and was calmed and measured but got him irritated when pointed out these things.
     "No. To be different....totally different", Andy Todd replied.
Andy Todd observed his mood.
     "I endured to be different ever since I was a kid. I remember telling my father about joining the navy when I grow up. As I grew older, I became disillusioned about it and other children's fantasy careers by which every child will say; 'I want to be this, I want to be that'.
Jimmy Robert glared at him. He appeared to be happy about what he just said.
     "I thought of psychology, a course no boy my age would dream of".
He nodded his head as if thanking himself for thinking that way.
     "You did that?" Jimmy Robert asked in a more relaxed manner
     "I later settled for meta-physics. The idea was to study what nobody around me was studying. It           not matter where it would end me. A year after my graduation, I lost my father and, about five             months later, I had an encounter with Elm. This gave me the chance to become a truly different           person I had always craved for".
      "Maybe you did it knowing you had a rich dad and his only heir for that matter", Jimmy Robert chipped in.
     "It did not occur to me as at that time!" Andy Todd replied.
      He seemed uncomfortable with Mr. Robert's suggestion.
     "I have been trying to assimilate all you've been trying to say or what you are up to since                      yesterday. I might be greedy; we all have it in us. I can never allow it to light the path for me. My        profession has placed me in a position where I can study and analyze certain things", Jimmy Robert said scratching the back of his neck.
     "About three hundred and somehow years ago, land was wealth. So the person who owned the              land owned the wealth. Then, it was factories and production and America ( raising his voice ),            the very country which your feet on rose to dominance and still dominating! The industrialist              owned the wealth".
He stopped and breathed deeply.
     "Today, it is information. And the person who has the timeliest information owns the wealth. Why         I'm I saying all this? Look, I have my principles and I know the means that would lead me to               success", Jimmy Robert said.