No One Knew I Was Going to the Bank — But Someone Was Waiting

It was just another Thursday morning.
I didn’t mean to go to the bank; I typically sent my assistant there. But that day, something told me to go by myself.

I recall putting on my jacket, putting the envelope with the deposit in my handbag, and thinking, “I’ll be in and out in five minutes.”

The weather was cold and still when I walked inside the little branch in my neighborhood.
There weren’t many people inside. A couple was filling out papers, an older man was looking at a brochure, and a man was standing by the window with his hands in his pockets.

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There was something about him that made me look.
It wasn’t weird that he was just looking outside. But the way he stood made me feel uneasy.

He turned around after that.
And my heart stopped for a moment.

My hubby.

Or the man who used to be my spouse.
The person who had been gone for two years.

The Man Who Is Gone

I stopped moving and held the package so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

It couldn’t have been him.
People feared David was dead and missing until they found his automobile abandoned beside a bridge in 2021.
The

police had been looking for weeks but hadn’t found anything. No one, no clues.

And now he was here.
He stood in front of a bank window in the suburbs wearing the same navy jacket he had years before.

I wanted to leave at first.
But he saw me before I could move.

We gazed at one another.
I knew.
He was the one.

“David?” I said it quietly.

He blinked in disbelief, then swiftly turned around and walked to the door.

“David!” I yelled louder, threw my mail on the ground, and ran after him.

The teller gasped when I opened the door.
But

when I went to the parking lot, he was gone.

I was short of breath and stared at the cars. Nothing.

One receipt fell to the ground close to where he had been standing. I picked it up, and it was a slip for a withdrawal.
There was $9,800 in cash.
No name. No sign.

My hands were shaking.
He was alive and hiding.

The Truth That Is Hidden

I couldn’t sleep that night.
A thousand ideas flashed through my mind.
If David was still alive, why hadn’t he come home? Why do you act like you’re dead?

The next day, I went back to the bank.
Claire, a kind lady, was still working as the teller.

“I was here yesterday,” I said softly. “Do you remember the person who was next to the window?”

Claire thought about it for a while. “Yes, I remember him.” He came to withdraw cash from a safe deposit box.

“Do you know which one?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” she said. “That information is private.”

I got closer. “Please. He is my hubby. “I thought he was dead.”

Her face relaxed. She looked around and said in a low voice, “I can only say that account has been active for years.” Someone has been putting money in on a regular basis, but only cash.

My heart raced.
He had been alive the whole time, and someone had been helping him.

Later that week, I saw Detective Morgan, who was in charge of David’s case.
He was startled when I told him what happened.

Morgan answered slowly, “If he’s still alive, then he’s in trouble…” Perhaps he’s trying to escape from something.

He said he would think about it again when he was alone.

I went through David’s old boxes of papers, letters, and receipts that night.
In a “Property” folder, I noticed something strange: a deed to a cabin in Minnesota that Daniel Harlow acquired.

I thought my blood was frozen.

The Cabin, Part 4

I drove to Minnesota two days later.
The cabin was deep in the woods, not far from a lake that was frozen. I couldn’t tell if anyone lived there until I saw smoke coming out of the chimney.

I knocked once. No one answered.
But then it got harder.

When it opened, the door squeaked.
There he was.

More years. Not as thick. But it’s still him.

He paused when he spotted me.
“Laura…”

I went inside. “You are still alive.”

He sighed and sat down at the little wooden table. “I didn’t want you to find me.”

“Why did you go then? Why did you make me think you were dead?

He rubbed his face. “Because that was safer.” I learned something at work that could hurt me. I told you about a big plan to launder money. If they found out, they said they would murder me. The police couldn’t keep me safe. I went.

I couldn’t say anything; I just looked.

“I came back to the bank to get enough money to move again,” he remarked in a quiet voice. But I lost it when I saw you.

I cried. “You should have believed me.”

“I wanted to,” he said in a hushed voice. “But I couldn’t put your life in danger too.”

We didn’t say anything.
The fire made a quiet crackling sound.

Lastly, he pushed a little notebook across the table.
There were names, numbers, and bank accounts within, which verified it.

He said, “Give this to Morgan.” “He’ll know what to do.”

I nodded, but my eyes were full of tears.

David was next to the door when I looked up again.
He continued, “You can tell them I’m really gone this time,” and his voice broke. You only need to know that I still adore you.

Then he went outdoors and disappeared into the snow.

The End Months later, the evidence he left behind led to the arrest of numerous business leaders who were part of a global crime ring.
There was a lot of publicity about the case, but they never said his name.

Detective Morgan discreetly closed the file.
He added, “You don’t always need a court to get justice.”

I go to that same little bank every Thursday morning since then.
And sometimes, when I look out the window, I think I see him standing there.

Just looking.
He is making sure I am safe.

The End