The Unknown Beloved

by Amy Harmon

“Just because it doesn’t make sense to you, doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense,”

Malone had just wanted to go home. He’d just wanted to be done. He didn’t want to care. But then Murphy had put him in charge of the kid. That poor little girl. And he’d cared. He’d cared enough that he’d changed his plan. He postponed it. Just until he picked up a kitten named Charlie. Then he postponed it again. Just until he got back from taking a train, a kid, and a cat to Ohio. But Dani Flanagan had looked into his eyes and said, “If you don’t do it, who will?” And his plan had dissolved for good, leaving an odd, new purpose in its wake. Dani Flanagan didn’t know it, but she’d saved his life.

“I know them as well as they will ever be known.” She shrugged.

Something had shifted in him. He’d given dignity to those who had nothing. He’d hated every minute of it, but he’d liked it too. He liked the way he’d felt watching Dani attend to those who had, most likely, rarely been cared for. Those who could never thank her for the service rendered. He had liked helping her. And he had liked being with her. He liked her.

“It is the things we most want to put down, the things that are hardest to carry, to endure, that give our lives the most meaning. Sometimes our burdens are taken from us. And sometimes we walk away from them. Sometimes, not having that burden might even feel good. We might feel relief. But it doesn’t take long to realize that the things we call burdens are most often ballast. Our burdens give weight to everything we do. They shed light on all that we are. And the moment we lose them . . . we lose everything.”