The Gift

Nola was extraordinary, period. She held a special gift like no other, and when Nanna suddenly passed, the one thing that haunted her since birth, would turn out to be the biggest blessing beyond imagination.

Growing up, Nanna Rose (Nola’s great grandmother whom everyone called “Nanna”) would almost force Nola to eat every morsel of carrot on her plate. She would also affectionately, yet sternly say to Nola “What the eyes can’t see, the spirit feels! Remember this sweet child!” Nanna was very particular about who she spent her time with, even who she allowed to embrace her. She was set in her ways, but the moment Nola came into the world and she held her for the first time, Nanna instantly knew that this little girl was destined for greatness. They were inseparable from the beginning.

Nanna’s mission was to ensure that future generations would continue to evolve, survive and generational “gifts” were entrusted with those who would use them for the good of mankind. You see, Nola was born with an invisible veil over her eyes, yet no one saw this but Nanna. Nola had potential to leave a great impression on many; to change the natural course of things all with her eyes that hold special powers.

Every chance Nanna had, she sat Nola down and read to her from this mysterious black notebook. Even at a young age, Nola did not understand all the mumbled words and invigorating song and dance Nanna would break out doing as she got further and further engrossed in what she was reading from the book. The sight of Nanna, a gracefully aged woman who stood six feet tall with the prettiest, whitest hair she always kept neatly in place and tucked in a bun; with raised hands and stance to match, her eyes would instantly go from warm to vibrant with the most serious blank stare onto the pages. It was almost as if she were having a personal conversation with the black notebook, and it always made Nola nervous, but she never cried. She just knew that one day, Nanna would break down and let her hold her precious notebook.

Nola could not figure out why Nanna carried that book with her everywhere she went, but she knew it was special. It always felt like Nanna’s theatrical performance of written word was a bit over the top, but as Nola grew into a fine young woman; well respected within the writing community, it was only with Nanna’s passing that Nola began learning about all the hidden family secrets that Nanna carried close to her heart. These very secrets were secretly embedded in Nanna’s little black notebook the day Nola was born and only to be revealed when her inner spirit was strong enough to release the gift she secretly held in her eyes.

Nola knew she was “born to write”, and as she developed her craft over the years, dreams and visions of Nanna holding her little black notebook grew more vivid. It felt almost as if the notebook itself were speaking directly to her. This resulted in many sleepless nights. The only way to silence the dreams and visions; even the voices constantly whispering in her head, was to write. Writing has been the only thing that makes Nola feel alive! Writing makes her feel “normal”. Besides, Nola was a successful writer with her own writing and consulting business. She felt extremely accomplished, but there was always something in Nola that felt off and she could not put her hand on it, not even at the age of 30.

What Nola later learns is that her Nanna, gifted in her own right, saw a vision of Nola accepting a Nobel Prize for Literature at the age of 30 and prayed a prayer of faith, strength, and revelation over her life the first time she held her. Nanna was very protective of Nola, and everyone knew it. Reading this special book to Nola was extremely important to Nanna, yet she never let her touch the book or showed her a single page up close. Even this did not matter, because just seeing Nanna so alive and excited as she read her mysterious black notebook was better than any trip to the candy store.

Nanna’s love of this one book, in Nola’s opinion, is what sparked an undeniable passion for reading and writing, and here she was; going through Nanna’s personal belongings as the family packed up what was left of their possessions. It felt like a bad dream, and Nola could not seem to wake up! Nanna lived a good and full life, and it just did not seem fair to Nola that such a remarkable woman could pass away so suddenly as she prepared to celebrate her 89th birthday. Nanna suffered a massive heart attack while getting dressed for her party and died. In her right hand was a tube of cherrywood lipstick, Nanna’s absolute favorite, and in her left hand she gripped very tightly her little black notebook.

The strangest thing about Nanna’s sudden passing, and to everyone’s shock and disbelief, was that after she was found and the paramedics were called, as they processed her body and pried Nanna’s little black notebook from her clinched hand, they passed it to Nola who was the closest family member to Nanna’s lifeless body and more than ready to finally be able to see what excited Nanna all those years! It felt like a million days passed as Nola held that little black notebook; almost afraid to open it, but too excited and intrigued not to.

As she grasped the cover, Nola exhaled slowly, closed her eyes and secretly thanked Nanna for leaving her the book. Her heart was racing so fast, she was sure that everyone in the room could hear each nervous pound and thump coming from her chest. Nola sat up straight and prepared to see what Nanna saw on those pages all these years. Besides, Nanna only read this book out loud to her and nobody else, and Nola was overly curious to see the words for herself, but the notebook was suddenly snatched from her hands by an older relative who erratically paced back and forth across the room and immediately said aloud “Hmmm, and all these years, Nanna was really working with half a deck! I knew the old hag was not right and this is proof! These pages are BLANK!!!” Just then, the older uncle flung the book clear across the room and it almost felt as if it were flying in slow motion until it abruptly landed at Nola’s feet.

Nola was trying to process why the family had to vacate Nanna’s elaborate house on the hills; with its lush landscaping and exotic flowers and decal fit for a Queen. Surely Nanna had a will. Why was everyone saying such mean things about Nanna now? This just did not seem fair to Nola and with tears in her eyes, she quietly sat in Nanna’s favorite chair remembering the statuesque woman who meant the world to her. Why was Uncle Matthew saying Nanna was crazy? And how could Nanna get so excited reading blank pages? None of this made sense to Nola but holding Nanna’s notebook in her arms made her feel at peace. Nola could not believe Nanna carried around a book of blank pages, but she would make good use of the notebook. She decided to use it to write about the emotionally abused women she met at a support group several months ago. Losing her own mother to domestic violence haunted Nola since she was 13 years old, but Nanna stepped in and practically raised her.

Yes, that was it. Nola decided to make sense out of Nanna’s rambling and theatrical performances with this infamous black book she now held in her hands. She grabbed a nearby ink pen, not wanting to forget how she wanted to start this feature story she was working on for a very prominent local newspaper. She settled into Nanna’s chair almost as if she were settling into her lap, just as she did as a young girl.

Nola opened the book and immediately felt an enormous sense of confusion and nervousness because as clear as she could see that the pen, she held in one hand was a red, she could clearly see that inside the front cover was a handwritten note addressed to her. In fact, the entire book was full of handwritten notes, maps, prayers, and diagrams of how to understand and apply possessive teleportation and consciousness transferal powers.

Tele-WHAT? Nola was numb. She sat there motionless for a few minutes; almost unable to breathe. What did all this really mean? Nola closed her eyes once again and tried to make sense of this book and what she could see, and why nobody else saw what she did. The important thing now was to make sure everything was packed and safely removed from Nanna’s elaborate house nobody was sure they could stay in. With Nanna gone and no will found, this could get ugly fast and everyone was already on edge with uncertainty. Nanna trusted only a handful of people with her personal and financial affairs, and most of those closest to her were out of the country or sadly already gone on to heavenly glory.

Nola felt completely lost, but she knew she would find strength in Nanna’s book. She just needed to get strength enough to read it. Since Nanna’s sudden passing, Nola had been carrying it around and afraid to read what she knew would surely change her life. Having it so close to her now made her feel unusually empowered and gave her a hidden sense of pride and security.

Nola confirmed her flight plans for the day after Nanna would be buried and reached for the notebook. She took a deep breath and opened it. At the very top she saw the words “NOLA, DO NOT BE AFRAID” Nanna had written in BOLD letters on the inside cover. Nola was confused, but she kept reading, “Within this book you will find the location and name of the bank where your secret twin brother Nathan, who was put up for adoption because of the biggest family scandal, has been investing money I’ve been sending him since he first realized his gift and immediately turned my $15,000 investment into a $150 Billion dollar profit in 10 short years. I leave my entire fortune to you and your brother, with one simple requirement: You must read to your future children every day. When you encounter someone suffering emotional pain or some type of loss, remember that you are never alone. We all have special gifts, but when we use our gifts for selfish reasons, there are never any winners. Nobody in this family can be trusted, especially because of the unforgiveable trauma they put your mother thru the day you came into this world. They did not understand her gift, just as they will not understand yours, but your gift is unique, and it will save and change many lives. Until then, your eyes will be used as the gateway to your greatest transformation, as every triumph and pain; every lesson learned in life, you will write about and gain great notoriety for. Congratulations on your upcoming win! The day I first held you in my arms, I knew that even in your most trying times, you would selflessly give of yourself to others. I knew that you would empower women who had no voice, who could not see what their soul was trying to show them. Remember to always keep your eyes on the prize, and the greatest prize is YOU!” Forever, Nanna.