Lifting weights were surprisingly therapeutic. Arnold was in another realm for a few hours as he explored the gym on his own. It was his second day at the gym and he was no longer a rookie to the instructor so he went off on his own. He had mapped out what to do. A simple routine he followed strictly.He dropped the weight, sweaty and sticky. His timer had gone off a few minutes ago, but he'd been too carried away to notice. He'd joined the gym because of Lisa but he was beginning to actually like it.He grabbed his hand towel and tried to mop up as much sweat as he could from his skin, but it proved to be a futile move. He sighed. He'd have to quickly take a pee before heading home. He didn't want to shower in the locker room. It would be too rushed. He wanted to get to the comfort of his apartment and take his time to shower until the fog covered every inch of the sliding door of his bathroom.He headed to the shared restroom that had one toilet for women with a bold sign and ano

The venue for the meeting with Mr anonymous was not what Arnold had expected. He'd driven hours to get there. At a point during his journey, he'd thought he was being set-up. Why had he decided to trust a complete stranger on the Internet? Not to talk of a shady one at that.Still, something within him chose to trust this anonymous person.He opened his phone on his dashboard to be sure he had inputed the correct location from the text into the GPS.After hours upon hours of driving through town, he was finally there.'You have arrived at your destination.'He parked his car in front of what looked like it had come right out of the pages of a magazine. Like a paradise smack on the outskirt of town.He looked around and found the road empty.Trees surrounded the area, adding to the magical feel of it. It felt like he was going on a date and he allowed the wave of relief that he'd found the place to wash over him. Over the fear. Over the worry. He was finally a few steps closer to com

Arnold woke up with a smile on his face and a refreshing feeling inside of him. He reached out toward Lisa, but felt only space and empty sheets. He opened his eyes in a flurry."Lisa?" he called out.He'd not expected to wake up to an empty bed after the kind of night they'd had. It had been all fire and passion and her screaming had suggested that she had enjoyed it as much as he did.He stood up from the bed in all his bare skin glory and found his boxers on the floor. He put it on and shuffled out of the room to find her.He went towards the kitchen counter to find that she'd cleared the dishes. He grinned wide as he recalled just what they'd done on the counter before moving to the room to continue.There was a stirring in his groin. He wanted her again. Badly."Lisa?"No answer.He went round every part of his apartment, including his balcony, and found it empty.She was gone.He'd never expected that she would be the kind of woman to disappear the morning after."Shit," he cur

Mr Xiu's eyes were so wide, it looked like it would soon pop out. Arnold completed the shock factor by bringing out the last proof: a big wad of 20 dollar bills packaged in small bundles. He placed it on the desk."Hmmm." Mr Xiu scratched his chin and watched how Arnold stood.He exuded confidence as he waited for Mr Xiu to respond. It was blinding. It was a huge contrast from the doubting Arnold that had sat opposite him in that cafe and examined the coins for so long without finding an iota of value in them.Had he, perhaps, cut through corners to get the 500$? Maybe he'd found a way to do that and cleaned his track so neatly. Maybe that was why he looked so confident.Of course, he'd used vague terms to explain to Arnold just how valuable the coins were, but the fact that Arnold had found the value and gotten the money was one for the books. The coins were one of the rarest types of lead ever. He'd not told Arnold that fact because it would have been like handing him the answers

The next day, Arnold woke up earlier than his alarm. It was the first great feat for him that day. There was certainly much more to come and he chose to take everything he experienced to heart. To soak it all in.He was moving fast, accelerating towards the dream life faster than he could say fly.Two to three months ago, his life had been miserable. And, now, here he was. In his own apartment and about to go sign his first business with his mentor.If this wasn't a miracle, he didn't know what was.A few hours later and he was in the office he'd gotten his huge dose of ego booster from the day before.Arnold sat on the fancy office chair directly opposite Xiu on the oak desk."We'll begin in a short while," Xiu said. "I'm just waiting for the contract to get here."As if on cue, the door opened. Arnold turned around to see who it was. His mouth opened as a lady walked in. She was tall and regal. Her hair moved as she walked, the golden locks catching the light so much so that he was