Reversal of Fortune
I finally had earned enough money to buy my first house. Owning a home was my fondest wish. And now it was coming to fruition.
The asking price was great. The house had only been lived in by a mother and her young son. They had come into a great fortune and moved on, leaving their house on the market.
We closed on the house and I moved right in. It was a cozy two-bedroom ranch house. The previous owners left all of the furniture which made the price even better. Just outside one of the bedroom’s window appeared to be a great spot for a garden. It had been cleared out, though I did find remnants of a bean plant there. I thought to myself; that might be just what I should grow there.
Someone must have read my mind because the day after I moved in there was a packet of bean seeds left in my mailbox. There was a note attached to the packet, “To Jack, Plant these beans, see what grows, and you’ll get what you deserve.” It was signed, “the G’s wife.
I was sure that Jack, the ex-owners son, had no interest in planting beans, considering how rich he was now. Plus I had no way to contact him.
I decided to plant the seeds myself. Always wanting to grow a garden of my own, I knew these seeds would change my life forever, and I wasn’t about to let them go to waste.
Carefully, I pressed the seeds into the ground and covered them up. I was not prepared for what I saw the next day. Sticking up out of the ground where I had planted the
seeds were some very large roots. These roots grew straight up from the ground and were about 12 feet high. I decided to dig a little bit to see what was under the ground when the ground gave way and revealed a very deep tunnel, and to my surprise, I saw that it paralleled a bean plant that was growing down into the tunnel.
Being a bit adventurous and having done some rock climbing, I decided to climb down the beanstalk and see where it led. I took a flashlight with me and slowly made my way down. It was a long descent. When I had reached the bottom, it was like I was in another land and it was very warm due to the scorched earth all around. I looked off in the distance and noticed a rather very large disheveled house. Carefully I made my way there.
I was about to knock on the door when it opened and standing before me was a giant. This giant looked in bad shape, based on the bruises all over his body. He looked like he had fallen from a great height onto a hard surface. In his hand, he carried a very large club.
He stared at me and shouted, “Fee Fi Foe Fum, You’re not the one that makes me glum, I’ve waited long to give a whack, My wife had said it would be Jack!
I was a bit confused, but at the mention of Jack’s name, I said, “I’m sorry. If it’s Jack you’re looking for, he’s gone. He sold the house to me. I’m just following this plant that was grown from seeds that were left in my mailbox. By the way, where exactly is this?”
“Where in hell, do you think this is? This is where you get sent when you are greedy, steal and do bad things in life and then you die. Jack should have easily found his way here on his own since that’s exactly how he treated me. I guess no one informed my wife that he moved.”
The giant looked quite forlorn and I felt bad for him. “Is there anything that I can do for you?” I asked.
“I’m not sure you can,” was his reply, “I’m stuck here for eternity.”
“Well, I’m not,” I responded, “At least I don’t think I am. Can I get a message to your wife and let her know how things are going?”
“I get messages to her all of the time through her dreams. I’ll be sure to tell her what happened with those bean seeds she left you. But maybe, if you could somehow get me some good food to eat down here. Everything that I’m given to eat down here is overcooked and usually burnt.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” I said. ”In fact, I’ll drop down some frozen meals every day. I’m sure you can find a way to thaw them and heat them here.” I even promised that I would come down and visit him periodically to bring him some fresh food and even some treats.
The giant looked happy for the first time since I arrived.
As I was leaving the giant called out, “I never did get your name. What are you called?”
I turned back to him and answered demurely, “Oh, my name’s Jacqueline, but you can call me Jackie.”
