Imagine a place near you called Nowhere.

Now, this little piece of land has a population of nobody. There are no houses, no stores, no schools, and no churches. And there’s nothing to do there. It’s no tourist attraction, that’s for sure.

One day I decided to go for a walk. My neighbor was washing his brand-new Cadillac parked in front of the two spiraled columns that led to the stained-glass front door of his house. He called out to me when I stepped onto the road.

“Where you going?” he asked.

“Nowhere,” I said.

“You gotta be going somewhere,” he said.

“Nope. Nowhere in particular.”

He laughed. “Should I sing you the song? ‘He’s a real Nowhere Man sitting in his Nowhere land making all his Nowhere plans for Nobody.’?”

“Yeah, that’s about right,” I said, pretending to like his joke.

I walked the path and within the hour I arrived at a sign that read, “You are Nowhere. Established in the year that no one remembers. Population: Zero.” As I stepped further into the place, time seemed to not move as the sun dipped below the horizon. My eyes were open, but I saw nothing. My ears were open but I didn’t hear a sound. Then another sign flashed into my mind with an arrow pointing to my right. The sign above the arrow said, “Path to Somewhere.” I decided to keep walking.

About a mile and a half later, I arrived at Somewhere. I saw a beautiful piece of granite architecture called the Wall of Probabilities. There were words engraved upon the wall. “Take the path to your right and you will avail yourself to opportunities to achieve the American Dream.”

Next to that wall was another that was called the Wall of Possibilities with these words below. “Take the path to the left and you will discover riches beyond your imagination, but along the way you will face many obstacles and conflicts and you may end up in the Circle of Heartbreak Haven. You must persevere until you pick up the key to the Door of Happiness and then you will have all the joy your world has to offer.”

The poet Robert Frost had said, “I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” So, I took the path of possibilities. The dirt road was splitting every few yards and I kept getting confused and ending up inside the Circle of Heartbreak Haven. I tried and tried again to stay on the right path, and after an exhausting journey, I finally came upon the key to the Door to Happiness that had been placed upon the grass right in front of this beautiful entry way that was made from pure gold.

When I opened the door, I was shocked. I expected stacks of money or shiny new cars or luxurious homes and there were none. I was hoping I might find fame or glory to go with the luxury of fortune. Where were all the riches? I looked into the back of the room and a sign said, “You have returned to Nowhere.”

All that travel and I ended up back in Nowhere?

I looked at the sign again and there was a space between the word and now it read, “You have returned to ‘Now Here.’?”

Something made me close my eyes tightly, and when I opened them, I couldn’t believe what appeared before my eyes. My children were waving to me. My best friends were in the room smiling at me and behind them were my family from New Jersey and Florida throwing kisses toward me. There were guys I work with, friends I bowl with, and others I go out to dinner with. Then I saw the woman I love. She was standing there with open arms.

And suddenly, I understood. The Wall of Possibilities that sent me on this journey to find the key to happiness brought me back to what I already have that are “Now Here” in my life.

Life is short. Forgive someone who hurt you. Love your family and friends with all your being. Laugh along with them. Smile whenever you’re in their company.

When I returned home from my walk, my neighbor greeted me from his rose garden.

“So, where did you really go?” he asked.

“Nowhere,” I answered.

He gave me a sneer. So, who was there?”

“Nobody,” I said, “but then I followed a different path and I ended up Somewhere. I found the key that opens the door to the possibilities for happiness.”

“Let me get this straight,” said my neighbor. “You went nowhere that led you to somewhere and there you found a key to possible happiness. How’s that work?”

“Well, I would think that’s something you should find out for yourself,” I said.

He laughed. “And where do you advise I look for the key to my happiness?”

“I’ll leave you this little piece of wisdom,” I said. “The key to happiness won’t open this grand house you own or the safe where you probably keep a lot of your money.”

“Then what will it open?” he asked, with a smirk on his face.

I walked over to him, took his right hand, and placed it over his eyes.

Rich Strack can be reached at richiesadie11@gmail.com.