The Double Life Of Mr. Alfred Burton

"The Double Life of Mr. Alfred Burton" by E. Phillips Oppenheim is a tale from the early 1900s that follows a young clerk who sells things at auctions. Everything changes for the clerk when he finds a strange room in a fancy house. It all begins when he's at work. His work is his whole life; he encounters a puzzling room locked up in an estate with a story about somebody dying after working on some secret thing. He just has to see what's inside. When Burton enters the room, he finds an unusual plant and, without thinking, eats one of its fruits. After that, he is never the same; it's as if he sees everything with new eyes. This experience makes him think hard about his life, his tiring job, and even the people he knows. The whole thing is like one big fight inside of him as he balances what he used to be with how he now appreciates life.