Chapter 1

Feeling crappy, I wandered over to the cemetery to get some air.

I grabbed the nearest tombstone, hugged it tight, and just broke down sobbing.

I was crying like my world was ending, with tears and snot smeared all over my face.

I cried about losing my job, about not being able to pay my rent, and about not even being able to afford groceries anymore.

Halfway through my ugly crying, a shaky voice piped up behind me. "Girl, do you know my son?"

I turned around and saw a rich lady in a fur coat, her eyes red and teary.

I glanced down at the photo on the tombstone. The person in the photo was a handsome guy in his early twenties.

I felt that I had made a big mistake.

Before I could say a word, she hugged me suddenly. "My son's been gone for three years, and you're the first girl to come see him!"

She was crying even harder than me, and right then and there, she transferred 20 thousand dollars to my account. "Sweetie, if you need more, just ask me for more."

I stared at the payment notification on my phone, then looked back at the unfamiliar face on the tombstone.

I felt bad for this man, but I decided to keep the money and visit him another time to return the favor.

*****

My name was Tasha. Today, I lost my job.

With the last 20 bucks in my pocket, I bought four packs of macaroni. The landlord's rent reminders kept blowing up my phone, one after another, like grim reaper messages.

I slipped into the cemetery on the edge of the city, just looking for a quiet place to fall apart.

The wind moaned through the pine and cypress trees, sounding even emptier than I felt inside. I just picked a random clean tombstone.

The guy in the black-and-white photo looked clean-cut and had a great smile.

I didn't even have the energy to stand. I hugged the cold stone and just sank down, and the tears started pouring out.

I said, "I lost my job.

"How am I supposed to pay rent now?

"Even my food is almost gone."

I buried my face in my knees, bawling like an idiot. I was talking to myself, but also to this guy in the grave. It was not like he could get annoyed with me anyway.

I was so caught up in my crying that I didn't even notice someone coming up behind me. That was until a choked, shaky voice broke the silence.

She said, "Miss, do you know Morton?"

I jerked my head up and turned around.

There was a woman in her fifties, wearing a black dress and a fur coat that was definitely pricey.

Her eyes were red and puffy, and she was holding a bunch of white chrysanthemums, staring at me intensely.

My brain buzzed.

My gaze dropped to the tombstone in my arms. The sunny, handsome guy in the photo was looking straight at me.

The carving on the stone showed that his name was Morton Parker.

I was completely dumbfounded, my mouth hanging open but not a single word coming out.

I couldn't explain my way out of this. I wasn't going to tell her I was so down-and-out I ended up bawling at her son's grave.

If I actually said that, she'd probably think I was nuts, or worse, some kind of scammer.

Before I could even come up with an excuse, the woman marched right over and clamped onto my arm. Her hand was icy cold, but her grip was way stronger than I expected.

"Sweetie..." She looked at my tear-streaked face, and her own tears started falling. "Morton's been gone for three years, and you're the first girl who's ever come to visit him."

She suddenly pulled me into a hug. Her expensive perfume and the sadness in the air wrapped around me. I was frozen stiff, couldn't move an inch.

She was crying even harder than me, her whole body trembling.

She said, "He always said he didn't have many friends, that he was kind of distant. I never believed him. Turns out he really did have someone as good as you in his life..."

I wanted to tell her that she was mistaken.

But I couldn't get a word out.

She let go of me, pulled out her phone from her fancy handbag, and grabbed my hand. "Sweetie, I don't even know how to thank you. To me, you're the hope Morton left for me."

She tapped away on her phone, moving fast.

She said, "You've given me so much, so I want to show my appreciation. The password is six eights."

My phone buzzed. I glanced down.

It was a bank notification. [Your account has received a transfer of 2 million dollars.]

She just gave me 2 million dollars.