My name is Clifton Porter

My name is Clifton Porter. I am a 63-year-old mechanic. I live in a shabby little apartment with a dirty, faded carpet, a stained yellow wall, and peeling white paint. I have a small window that I cannot open with bars on it. I have a television, but it's only got four channels. It also has a clock that doesn't keep time. I don't have a phone. I live off a small pension, and I have no family. I live alone.

To make things worse, today, I was mugged of every penny I had to my name. I was walking down the street on my way to the bank, and some guy jumped me from behind. He took everything in my pockets, my wallet, and even my watch. I was left with nothing but the clothes on my back. I was devastated. I didn't know what I was going to do. I had to have some money. I had to. I had to buy food, spend money on rent, pay for gas, and put money into my savings account.

Looking up, I noticed a small black notebook sitting on the sidewalk. I picked it up and opened it. There were a phone number and an address. On the back of the pages was a serial number. I wondered what it was. In the notebook, I saw a map of the city I lived in. There were several black dots marked on the map. I recognized one of them. It was the address near my apartment. The dots were circled with a red pen.

I got into my dirty car and began to drive. I had to get out of my tattered clothes and take a shower. Even though I was in a bad mood, I had to have a shower. I needed to relax. I stopped at the first dot, the one near my apartment. It was a store. I parked my car at the curb and went into the store. An old lady was working behind the counter. When she saw me, she smiled. I tried to smile back, but I was still in a bad mood. "Good morning, sir," she said. "Can I help you," she asked. "No, thank you. I need to use your phone. I live alone, and I need to call my wife," I told her. She smiled. "Of course," she said. "There's a phone booth in the back where you can call." I thanked her for her kindness. I went into the back and used the phone. I called the number in the notebook. I wasn't sure why I lied about having a wife. I was never married.

I was surprised when someone answered the phone. "Hello," I said. A woman picked up the phone. "Hello," she said. "Hi, I'm calling about the notebook," I said. "What notebook," she asked. "The one on the sidewalk by my apartment," I answered. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said. "I don't understand," I said. "It doesn't matter," She said. "Are you interested in a job?" "Yes," I said. "What are you willing to do?" she asked. "Anything you need me to," I said.

"I need you to steal a painting from a man named Charles McClellan," she said. "I can do that," I said. "Good," she said. She gave me an address and told me to meet her at the address tomorrow. I told her I would be there. She told me her name, but I didn't pay much attention. I thanked her and hung up the phone. I went home and took a long hot shower. Then I went to sleep. The next morning I got up and took a shower. I got dressed and got in my car. I drove to the address the woman from the night before had given me. I parked my car and went to a door.

I knocked, and someone answered the door. I walked in and was led to a room. An older woman was standing in the room. She told me to sit down. I sat down. "What's your name," she asked. "Clifton Porter," I said. "What do you do for a living," she asked. "I'm a mechanic at a local auto shop," I said. "What are you willing to do?" she asked.

"I'm willing to do anything," I said. "Good," she said. She looked at the other woman and pointed at me. The woman nodded. "We lied about the painting. We just wanted to see how much you needed money. you're a fortunate old man to possess what you have."

"There are people in the city looking for that notebook," the woman said. "They want that notebook. We were watching you, and we saw you find it. They will do anything to get it. They will kill you."

"You have to protect yourself and the book," the old woman said.

"We can't touch it, but we can channel probability and luck to the owner. That's how you ended up with the urge to call that number from that location in the first place. We can give you that luck and $20,000. And all you need to do is hold on to that notebook for a week. you can keep it or drop It anywhere you feel like it after."

"We will give you $20,000. You can do anything with that money," the old woman said. "You need to think about what you want to do." I thought about it. I didn't know what I was going to do. I thought about the things I wanted to do and what I did for a living. I thought about how I never got married. I thought about how I was going to die alone and how my life was going to end. I thought about all of the things I never did. I thought about the notebook. I wanted to hold on to the notebook. All I needed to do was hold on to it for a week, and It could change my life. I could do anything I wanted with the money. I could go anywhere in the world. I could buy a new apartment. I could buy anything I wanted. I could have a bunch of kids, and I could have a wife. I could have a family. I could be happy.

That notebook was going to change my life. I was so lucky to have it. "I'm in," I said. "We knew you were going to say yes," the old woman said. " You will have good luck. We will give you this luck, but you have to earn it by keeping that promise. You can't just take it," "You have to be very careful with the notebook," the old woman said. "You must protect it at all costs." "Do you understand?" she asked. "Yes," I said. I walked out of the building holding tightly to the small black book. I looked through it, and other than the map and number, it was empty. They never told me not to write in it. Maybe I should use it as a Journal?

There were two more dots on the map and 20 thousand dollars in my pocket. I got in my car and drove to the park. I went to the second dot on the map, and I saw a fountain. There was no one in the fountain, but there was a coin sitting in the water. I looked closely at the coin and realized it was a gold coin. I reached in and grabbed the coin. I was sure it was worth some money. I looked around and saw four homeless people sitting on benches. They were all looking at me. I was sure they wanted the coin. I decided to give them $200. I went to the next dot and saw a small white building. I waited at the door. I didn't know what I was going to do. I was in a good mood. I was thinking about all of the things I was going to buy. Then someone opened the door and said: "Present the offering.” I pulled out the coin and showed it to them. They let me in, and I gave them the coin.

"Who are you?" they asked me. 'My name is Clifton Porter," I said. "how did you find the gift of fortune?" they asked. "It is very rare." They must have seemed surprised that I had the coin. A puzzled face looked at my forehead, and he brushed off some dirt, thinking it was dust in his eyes or something else like confusion, but then shrugged and smiled. "Ah, but it is chiseled into my being, I suppose," I said.

"The gift of fortune is a scarce gift. It is very difficult to find," he said. "I have been searching for it for many years. I have searched all over the world. I have looked everywhere. I have looked in every place imaginable, and I have looked in unimaginable areas. I have looked in places that did not exist before, and I have looked in places that did not exist after. I have looked in places that never were and in places that never will be, and in places that are not yet here. I have looked in places that were, and I have looked in places that were not. I have looked everywhere. "

"And now you have it," he said.

I looked at him, confused. He was holding the golden coin, not me. Isn’t that what he was talking about? or maybe he was after the notebook? The old lady did say it would give me luck. I was starting to get nervous. "You have the gift of fortune," he said. "You are now the owner of the gift. And you are the keeper of it. You have the gift in your pockets, and I am not talking about the pockets in your pants, I am talking about the pocket in your soul." He kept talking, but I didn't listen to him. I was thinking about how I was going to protect the book and the money. I was thinking about the people who were going to kill me. I was thinking about the people in the city. I had to protect the notebook at all costs. I had to hold on to the notebook for a week. I had to protect the notebook." "I have to go," I said.

"You can't go because you can't be," he said. "You've given us an offering, and with that, you've entered our domain. We can't take away the gift directly. But we can make you want to give it to us. And you can give it to us very easily. It would be impossible for you not to give it to us. And if you don't give it to us, we will kill you when the week is over, when the offering expires".

"You can change your life. You can make your life the way you want it to be. You will have the life you always dreamed of having. You will have the life you want. Bit only if you give it to us. All you need to do is give us the gift. We can pay for it. Otherwise, you will have an interesting week and then death," he said.

I thought about the notebook.

I thought about the money.

I decided to keep it, and when I did, even without opening my mouth to reply. The man's face distorted into anger. He shouted in frustration and stormed out of the room.

"I'll be back," he said. "I'll be back soon. I'll be back very soon. have fun." And with that, he left the room. I ran back to the car. I had a week to get as far away as I could.