UNCLE ALBERT'S LEGACY©

by Richard A. Falb

 

 

Jeana had no idea, when she received it, that this odd gift would change her life. Jeana was not one to believe in magic. The type that is, that the ancient tales told about. The magic of the unknowable.

This strange gift, had been sent to them by Jeana's Uncle Albert. It was a very strange vessel, a lamp they thought. At least it looked like a very, very old oil lamp. One straight out of the Arabian Nights.

Uncle Albert was Jeana's globe trotting uncle. None of the relatives really knew anything about him. Most of them looked on him as a very strange character. Few had seen much of him. Uncle Albert was her mother's only brother. He was, much older than her mother.

He had been gone before her mother could really get to know him. He had taken off for college and he never returned. He was supposed to have spent a lot of time in Africa, the Middle East, the Orient and the Pacific Islands. No one really knew what he did for a living. In the few letters anyone had received, he never talked about what he was doing. He only gave them descriptions of where he had been.

A year or so ago, he sent Jeana and Claude a box from an East Coast city. In a letter, he said he had stopped there for a few weeks, before taking off for South America. He didn't tell them why he was going to South America, or where in South America he was heading. He said they shouldn't open the box until he died. He gave no explanation as to why he was requiring this. However he made it sound very important, that his wishes on this should be followed.

Although Jeana insisted they should follow his wishes, Claude insisted they really could open it. They hadn't heard from him for a year. Jeana was adamant. The box remained unopened. Then one week, they received word that Uncle Albert had died in the jungle. There was no explanation how he had died, nor did the message explain what he was doing there. His body had just now reached civilization. Apparently he had been back somewhere in the jungle when he died. It was all very mysterious.

When Jeana and Claude opened the box, they found this peculiar looking vessel. It really did look like it had come straight out of the Arabian Night's. Like the lamp from which the Genie came out. A letter in Uncle Albert's handwriting was also in the box. It said, he found it on the beach of one of the islands in the Pacific. He wasn't specific what island. He said the islanders, who were with him at the time, did not know anything about it. For some reason, they insisted that he take it away with him. They apparently were suspicious of it. They said it had a bad aura about it. He said that while he had it, nothing bad befell him.

In his note, he said he scoured and polished it and decided to give it to them, as they were his favorite relatives. He thought it looked exotic. They could put it on their mantel as a conversation piece. He didn't think it was of any real value. As far as he was concerned it didn't have any magic about it.

They decided to follow his wishes. Jeana thought it did look exotic and mysterious. It would make a good conversation piece. It proved to be exactly that. When they had people over to their house, everyone commented about it. In fact, when they had John and Edna Bassim over, Edna half-seriously said,

"Have you tried rubbing it. A genie might pop out."

Everyone laughed at that.

"Well it does kind of look like one of those lamps that genies are suppose to pop out of," insisted Edna. Everyone did agree with her on that.

"But Uncle Albert said he scoured and polished it before he packed it up," Jeana reminded them. "He never said anything about a genie popping out. In fact he insisted there was nothing magic about it whatsoever."

"Maybe the genie didn't want to come out for him," John said with a laugh.

"I didn't think genies had any say in that matter. I thought when the magic lamp was rubbed they had to appear. Then they had to do that person's bidding," Edna insisted. The rest of them looked at Edna as if she was being silly.

After John and Edna were gone, Claude and Jeana looked the vessel over for any inscription on it. The conversation had gotten them curious. They weren't able to find anything on it at all. All that was there was an intricate colorful pattern engraved over the vessel. It didn't seem to signify anything. It didn't seem to portray anything that they could determine.

Two nights later, Edna turned off the lights in the room and was looking around before she left. She was startled by the fact that the lamp seemed to glow in the dark. She had never noticed this before.

"Claude," she cried, "come in here quick. This thing is glowing."

Claude came into the room and stopped.

"It's fluorescing," he said, rather matter-of-factly. "Uncle Albert didn't say anything about that."

"Maybe he coated it with a fluorescent paint as a joke," said Jeana, "He had kind of a reputation as a joker." Then she added, "But it doesn't look like it has anything coating the metal."

"We should have shown that to Edna," Claude commented with a laugh, "She really would have thought it was a genie's lamp." Jeana laughed at the thought of it. They left the room and headed for bed. Both of them promptly forgot about it. They thought it probably was some kind of a trick of Uncle Albert's.

Three evening's later, Jeana was gone for a short time to do some shopping. Claude was sitting in the room, relaxing in front of the fireplace. He was thinking how nice it would be to have a nice box of chocolates to nibble on.

He was half, day dreaming when he said out loud, "Wouldn't it be nice if a beautiful girl appeared with a tray full of candied sweets." He barely voiced this thought when a beautiful, exotic woman appeared and offered him sweets from a tray. Claude was startled. He couldn't believe his eyes. He hadn't realized he had talked out loud. He became frightened. He didn't know what to do.

He stammered, "I really didn't mean that. You'll have to go right back where you came from. Jeana will be home at any moment."

The woman looked puzzled and disappointed. She hesitated, made a motion as if to set down the tray, changed her mind and disappeared. The vessel on the mantel seemed to glow and then die out. Claude felt very silly for saying those things out loud. There couldn't have been any one in the room.

A moment later, Jeana came walking into the room. "Who were you talking to, Claude?" she asked.

"Talking?" he said, "Oh I must of been talking to myself. I was thinking out loud about whether we should treat that wood beam mantel with something. To preserve it."

"Oh, I thought we had decided that it looked very nice the way it is?" commented Jeana.

"That's right we did," said Claude, breathing a sigh of relief that Jeana had bought his explanation. This happening bothered him the rest of the evening. He didn't think he had fallen asleep and was dreaming. But what other explanation could there be.

By morning, he had convinced himself he must have fallen asleep. He must have dreamt that and talked out loud, and that is what Jeana had heard. However, Claude made sure he didn't voice any wishes out loud when he was in the room where that vessel was. He was leary of that strange lamp. He wasn't sure there was any connection between it and his dream but he wasn't taking any chances. However, he would have to admit, the thought of a beautiful, exotic woman appearing with a plate of sweets to offer him was rather exciting.

About a week later Jeana was sitting in front of the fireplace. She was thinking of how the mortgage on the house was keeping them from doing some things they always wanted to do. They never seemed to have enough money. It was something she and Claude often disagreed about. Claude was not exactly careful with the money. He had a tendency to buy what he wanted to buy. But, he got mad when Jeana wanted to spend something she would like to have. It had caused some arguments between them. Claude was working late that night and said not to wait dinner for him.

Without thinking about it, Jeana said out loud. "I wish we had the money to pay off the mortgage."

A few minutes later she happened to look down at the coffee table in front of her. There was an attaché case sitting there. She didn't remember it being there before. She looked closely at it. It had her name embossed on it. She was startled. She didn't have any such case. Where could it have come from. Then she saw the key was in the lock. She turned the key and opened the case. It was filled with money. Jeana froze. She didn't know what to do. She was becoming nervous and a little afraid. This was indeed very strange. She didn't know what to think. Where had it come from? Why hadn't she noticed it before? Then she looked up at the vessel on the mantel. It was glowing.

She looked at it and said, "I didn't want to get the money this way. Claude will only want to spend it for something else. I will never be able to pay off our bills with it. Please take it back."

The glow slowly died. Jeana looked down at the coffee table. The case was gone. In its place was a rose. A beautiful, pale lavender rose. Jeana took the rose, found a vase and put it in the place where the case had been. She wanted it to remind her not to ask for selfish things. She really couldn't believe the vessel on the mantel had anything to do with these things. However, she had no other explanation. It was all too eerie. She kind of shuddered at the thought of it. Was it really some kind of magic vessel Uncle Albert had found?

When Claude came home and noticed the rose in the vase, he asked Jeana where she had gotten it. Jeana replied she had seen it on her way home and it looked so nice, she got it.

"That's a silly thing to spend our money on," said Claude angrily. Jeana did not reply. Claude had a habit of questioning everything she bought, but he got angry when she asked him about something he had purchased. Money was tight for them. Jeanna knew it affected both of them. They seemed to be arguing about it more and more often these days.

Claude kept thinking about that beautiful exotic woman with the sweets who appeared when he made that wish out loud. He wondered if it might not have been a dream. Might that vessel on the mantel really have something to do with it. This thought kept impinging upon his mind during the next month.

It had been a rough month. They seemed to be getting farther behind in their bills. Claude didn't want to give up any of the things from which he got pleasure. Jeana was getting unhappy when he insisted she should cut out things she enjoyed.

Jeana had agreed to work overtime at her job that day. They could use the extra money. Claude was home alone. He went into the room and sat in front of the fireplace. He looked at the vessel on the mantle.

Then after a few moments of thought, he blurted out, "I want to go where that beautiful, exotic woman will wait on my every wish." The vessel began to glow very brightly.

Later that evening, Jeana came home. After removing her coat and hanging it up, she called, "Claude, I'm home." There was no answer. Claude usually answered her right away. She called again, figuring he was either napping on the couch or engrossed in reading something. Lately he sometimes didn't answer her.

Jeana began to look through the house. Claude was nowhere in the house. Claude must have stepped out for a moment, thought Jeana. Then Jeana noticed his coat and his hat were still in the front closet. Claude never went anywhere without his coat and hat, even in the middle of summer. Claude always said he felt undressed without his coat and hat. This is very strange, she thought.

Jeana came into the room with the fireplace. She looked up on the mantel. The vessel was missing. Had Claude taken the vessel to see if he could get some money for it? Would he have done something like that without asking her first. After all, it was her uncle who had given it to them. Lately she wasn't so sure.

Then she looked on the coffee table. There, beside the rose, was a letter addressed to her. It was in Uncle Albert's handwriting. It startled her so much she trembled. For a brief moment, she stood there just looking at the letter, unable to move. Then hesitatingly, she picked it up. With trembling hands she opened it. There, inside was a letter. It was also in Uncle Albert's handwriting. It was dated for today. She looked at it not knowing what to think. Then she started to read it.

 

Dear Jeana:

Claude abused the use of the vessel. He wished for something for which he should not have asked. He is gone and so is the vessel. Neither will be back.

As you had asked for and then refused, because you thought it a selfish thing for which to ask, the mortgage is paid in full. Also all the bills you have been worrying about and have tried so hard to pay, have been paid. You will now begin receiving money from a legacy, which I left you, but never told you about. This should allow you to do some of the things you always wanted to do.

Please Jeana, if you decide to marry again, try to choose more wisely. Love,

Uncle Albert

 

Jeana carefully refolded the letter and carefully put it back into the envelope. She wasn't realizing what she was doing. She sat there dazed. Will I wake up tomorrow and find I dreamt all this, she thought. Still very much in a daze, she put the letter on the mantel where the vessel had been. Then she turned out the lights and went to bed. Maybe she would think more clearly in the morning.

 

THE END