Hero. That’s what all great men strive to be; a hero. And as far as great men were concerned, there were none greater than Keith Helcomb. Keith Helcomb was your local philanthropist, and he openly strove to become a hero. Someone people looked up to, someone people wanted to be. He wanted that so very badly…
And yet he sat here, a bottle of liquor in one hand and a blank cheque in the other. His head swam, his thoughts muddled and dark as he flipped a light switch off and on. Off and on. Off and on. Lights flooding his senses, then dulling them with darkness. Over and over again. Over and over again. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat.
He pulled the liquor up to his lips, tilting the now-light bottle up as the last of its bitter contents fell into his throat, the fiery sting of alcohol making Keith sigh.
“…Am I really helping anyone?” He asked, his voice thick but not sluring. “…Would throwing another hundred thousand dollars towards some foundation really…help?”
His tone was that of a defeated man; a man whose life had been flipped upside down in a single conversation. A conversation that made him question his own life—made him question the way he was going about this…hero business. Would a hero sit back and play with finances…? Who is a hero, nowadays, anyway..?
This warranted him dropping the bottle, slamming his head into the wall. Once. Twice. A third time before he hissed and ran a hand through his characteristically messy hair.
“...Money just…isn’t enough, is it…?” He asked, finally voicing the suspicion that had been creeping up on him for years and years now…”…People don’t care about the person spending hundreds of thousands in donations a day…They care about the heroes who actually care and put their lives into a cause…Soldiers are heroes. Firefighters are heroes. Doctors are heroes—fucking philanthropists? They’re just cherries on the tops of their milkshakes.” He said vindictively.
That blank Cheque. It could change everything. It could signal the return of ten more years of wastefully throwing money into other people’s wallets. Ten more years of speeches and stock trading. Ten more years of lies.
Or it could usher in a new life for Keith Helcomb. One that forgot what ties and suits were. One that came with a rebirth for Keith.
Well…when you put it that way, the answer seems obvious. Keith ripped the cheque apart and rose up, a new intention rising in his breast;
He was going to join the Peace Corp.
