Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed

the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the

books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball

bat, a glove and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt down and

helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Since they

were going the same way, he helped to carry part of the

burden. As they walked Mark discovered the boy's name was

Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history, and

that he was having lots of trouble with his other subjects

and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was invited

in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon

passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared small

talk, then Mark went home. They continued to see each

other around school, had lunch together once or twice,

then both graduated from junior high school. They ended

up in the same high school where they had brief contacts

over the years. Finally the long awaited senior year came

and three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they

could talk.

Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first

met. "Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things

home that day?" asked Bill. "You see, I cleaned out my locker

because I didn't want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had

stored away some of my mothers sleeping pills and I was going

home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together

talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself,

I would have missed that time and so many others that might

follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that

day, you did a lot more, you saved my life."