The ferry was passing a spot where they often saw whales and Arlene shivered, unsure if it was from anticipation or the cold or two hours in the car with Frank.

She finished off the little bottle and was pulling another from her purse when a young woman with a child sat down at an adjacent table.

Suddenly, the woman pointed to the spot Arlene had been watching.

“Whales, baby! Look, look, right there!”.

The child squealed with unbridled joy – as only children can – pointing at the huge creatures breaching the surface like secrets being unearthed.

So, I told her about the gift.

I said that I wanted to pass the gift along to someone before I left. She smiled and said, “you just tell me who and I will take care of it uncle Pete”.

Well, one morning I felt stronger and I asked the nurses to get my old guitar and wheel me down by the door so I could play. A nice young couple, they stopped and listened to me and we talked a while. They smiled and said the music made them feel like this was a place of hope again. That’s about as kind a thing as I ever heard. They left and I started to play an old Mississippi John Hurt song that they liked and they looked back and smiled some more.

And there he come, walking through the door as they was leaving, that young man with a guitar. 

• The Gift