BLESSED CHRISTMAS TO ALL! (this is a nice story. found it while clearing my room. so i'm nice; sharing it with y'all. sry for typos in advance.

The man next door
It has been some time since Jack had seen that old man; he had moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. there, in the rush of his busy life, jack had little time to think about the past and often had no time to spend with his wife and son. he was working on his future and nothing could stop him.

overthe phone one day, his mother told him," Mr. Belser died last night. the funeral is on wednesday." memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days. " jakc did you hear me?" "oh, sorry, mum. yes i heard you. it's been so long since i thought of him. i'm sorry but i honestly thought he died years ago,' jack said. ' well, he didnt forget you. every time i saw him, he wuold ask how you were doing. he'll reminisce about the manyt days you spent over 'his side of thefence' as he put it ," mum told him." i loved taht old house he lived in." jack said." you know, jack, after yuor father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life ,' Jack's mum said." hes the one who taught me carpentry. i wldnt be in this business if it weren't for him. he spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were impt." jack reflected." Mum, i'll be there for the funeral," jack said.

as busy as he was, he kept to his word and took the next flight to his hometown. Mr Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. he had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

the night before he had to return home, jack and his mum stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. standing at the doorway, jack paused for a moment. it was like crossing over into another dimension,a leap through space and time.the house was exactly as he rmbed. every step held memories.'every pic, every piece of furniture...' jack stopped suddenly. 'what's wrong jack?' his mum asked. 'the box is gone,' he answered. ' what box?' mum asked. 'there was a small golden box that he kept locked, on top of his desk. i must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. all he'd ever tell me was 'the thing that i value most,' jack said.' it was gone. everything abt the house was exactly how i rmbed it, except for the box.' he figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.' now i'll nvr know what was so valuable to him,' jack mused.' i better get some sleep. i have an early flight home, mum.'

it had been abt 2wks since Mr Belser died. returning home frmo work one day jack discovered a note in his mailbox.' signature required on a package. no one at home. pls stop by the main post office within the next three days,' the note read. early the next day jack retrieved the package. the small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred yrs ago. the handwriting was difficult to read, but the return add caught his attention."Mr. Harold Belser" it read.

jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. there inside was the gold box and an envelope. jack's hands shook as he read the note inside. 'upon my death, pls forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. it's the thing i valued most in my life.' a small key was taped to the letter. with his heart racing, and tears filling his eyes, jack carefully unlocked the box. there inside, he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover.

inside he found these words engraved :" jack, thanks for your time! harold belser." 'the thing he valued most..was...my time." jack was stunned for the moment. he held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days." why?" janet, his assistant asked." i need some time to spend with my son," he said/" oh , btw janet, thanks for your time!"

'life is not measured by the no. of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."