Little Black Book

After a long night of working, I was exhausted. When the bus I arrived, I headed to the back so I could stretch out. Normally at 6am, there were few, or no people on the bus. I set my alarm to wake me up in forty five minutes since the ride home was an hour. When my alarm went off it startled me, my phone dropped. When I bent over to retrieve my phone I noticed a little black book. I looked around to see if anyone dropped it, but I was still the only one on the bus. I stuffed the book in my bag. After I got to my hotel room, I got myself together and sat down to relax. I opened my bag and looked inside the book to see if there was any information to let me know who this book belonged to. After reading it, I became a little curious. The contents of the book went like so, “Every 24 hours from the initial time after you have found this book, $20,000 will appear. However, there are four rules you must follow each day or there will be consequences. You will still get the money as long as the book is in your possession. However, if you break the rules, you must accept the outcome as well. The first rule is that you must always have the book on you. The second rule is you must be in before sunset. The third rule is you cannot speak to anyone while in possession of this book. The last rule is that you cannot spend any of the money until you put the book back. You cannot destroy the book. When you feel you have had enough, you simply place the book back in a place where someone else can find it. If you are willing to participate, follow the rules and you will be fine. Remember the RULES!” At first, I thought to myself this can’t be real. Then, on the other hand if it turns out to be true, I knew I needed the money to help Stacey (my daughter) to get the surgery she needed. I already had $150,000 coming from the sale of the house. Her surgery is $250, 000, So, if I keep this book just 5 days, I will be able to get my daughter back. After some thinking, I just put the book on the table and went to bed.

I woke up at 3 that afternoon to get ready for another night shift. I decided to open the book to see if it was really too good to be true. $20,000 was there. I counted a few times to make sure this was real. I was stuck. Could it be that simple? 4 more days and I would have enough money. I stuffed the book and money in my bag and hurried out the door so I wouldn’t miss the bus. I had to stop and see Stacey before I went to work. When I got there, Stacey wasn’t in the mood to be seen. I kissed her on her forehead and told her I would be by to see her tomorrow. On the bus ride to work, I kept thinking to myself, “What’s the catch?” In a daze, I almost missed my stop. I walked into work. I was looking down at my phone and didn’t notice a pile of boxes in front of me. I tripped and fell. My supervisor came over to see if I was okay and asked if I could still work my shift. I tried to get up, but I couldn’t walk. The ambulance was called. After 4 hours in the hospital they prescribed me some pain killers and sent me home after they wrapped my ankle. They told me to take it easy for a few days and gave me a crutch just in case I needed it. It was 2am by the time I arrived back at the hotel because the only transportation running that late were taxis. After a long night, I decided to take a few pills just to take the edge off. I still had to go into work tomorrow to drop off the note from the doctor.

When I woke up the next morning, like yesterday, I decided to check the book. It was an additional $20,000. Right now I have $40,000 and if I can just make it a few more days, this will all be over. I skimmed over the rules of the book again to make sure I didn’t miss a step. After I got myself together I went to drop the note off at work. The supervisor wasn’t in, so I left it with John at the front desk. In a rush, I forgot to grab the book off the desk in my hotel room. I decided it would be okay for one day and went to go see Stacey. Stacey was feeling a little better today. She started crying and told me she didn’t want to be in pain anymore. I didn’t tell her about the money, but that she didn’t have to worry because Mommy would take care of everything. She started dozing off and I decided to let her rest, gave her another kiss on the forehead and headed back to the hotel. It was 4 in the afternoon at this point, and since I didn’t have to work for a couple days I decided to treat myself to a dinner. Not paying attention to the time and enjoying a couple drinks, it was already 8pm. I paid the check and hurried to get back to the hotel. I was exhausted. I checked to make sure the book was still there. It was $40,000 in cash. I lay down and called it a night.

I must’ve been extremely tired. When I woke up it was the afternoon. I guess the combination of painkillers and alcohol knocked me right out. I had 5 missed calls from work. I decided to get myself together before I called them back. I checked the book, and like the other 2 days, another $20,000. At this point, I have $60,000 to my name. Two more days and Stacey will finally be able to smile again. When I called my job back, they told me I needed to come in because they had a form they needed me to sign. I grabbed the book with the money (this time I wasn’t going to forget) and went to get the bus. I went to my job first to get it out the way before I went to go see Stacey. When I arrived there, my supervisor walked me in his office and his boss was sitting at the desk. I asked, “What did you need me to sign?’ Mr. Williams (my supervisor’s boss) said to me, “Ms. Wilson, unfortunately we have to let you go.” After pleading with them and asking them why, they told me that although I have been a great employee, I had missed too much work. I tried explaining to them that my daughter was in the hospital fighting for her life and that is the reason for my absence. After all that, they still let me go. I cried on the way to the bus stop. After I got on the bus, I wiped my tears. Stacey had enough to worry about. I didn’t want her seeing me cry. The visit with Stacey went well. I stayed longer than usual and decided to take a taxi back to the hotel. After a warm bath, I started thinking to myself, maybe I should keep the book one extra day in order to carry us over until I find a new job. I must’ve have dozed off. Before I knew it, it was morning all over again.

Today, like clockwork, I checked the book. $20,000 more. Now I had $80,000. One more day, Stacey would get the surgery and our life will be back to normal. I went to the post office today to get my mail. The check from the sale of the house finally arrived. I went to the bank to deposit it, and they told me it would be available later that evening. Since I no longer had a job, I went to go see Stacey early. She was quiet. The medicine made her drowsy most of the time. I sat there for a little while. It was 2 in the afternoon when I decided to head back to the hotel. I wanted to get everything in order for the final day tomorrow. Nothing strange happened so far, so I thought. Maybe everything is working out in my favor. I grabbed some food and went to my hotel room. I watched a few movies and went to bed.

The next day I woke up excited to see the book. $20,000 more. Now I have the $100,000. I got myself ready, gathered the money and book, and headed straight to the bank to get the money together so Stacey could get the surgery. On the way rushing out the door I dropped my phone and the screen shattered. I was mad as hell but I had to get to the bank early. When I get to the bank they told me they it would be a couple more hours until the check clears. After some yelling, I calmed down and went to go get breakfast while I waited. By the time I got back and all the processing it was already 1pm. At this point I couldn’t wait for the bus. I used the bank’s phone to call a taxi to take me straight to the hospital. I couldn’t wait to tell Stacey the good news. When I got to the hospital, the nurse tried to stop me from going in Stacey’s room, “Ms. Wilson, we’ve been trying to reach you all morning.” I told her my phone had shattered and I needed to see the doctor as soon as possible to tell him I finally have the money for Stacey’s surgery. She told me to wait. It took ten minutes before she finally came back with the doctor. I looked in Stacey’s room, but I didn’t see her. He told me to sit down. I asked him where Stacey was, “Did you start the surgery?”, I asked. He said, “Ms. Wilson,” I said, “What’s going on, say something!!” He said again, “Ms. Wilson.” At this point, I’m angry, and I shouted, “Would somebody tell me what the hell is going on!!!” He finally said, “I’m sorry but Stacey suffered complications this morning. We tried to save her, but she lost too much oxygen and she died an hour ago.” He said, “We tried to reach you when it first happened, but your phone kept going to voicemail. He then said, “Let me know if there’s anything we can do for you.” He left. The nurse sat and talked with me for a few minutes. I sat there for awhile in silence. As I walked out the hospital, asking myself, “What did I do to deserve all this?”. I went back to the hotel and as I went to reach for my key, I realized I left the bag at the hospital. By the time I arrived back it was gone. I asked about the security guard that was working and they told me he left in a hurry. After everything, now I have nothing. Was it worth it? In the end I lost everything.