The Magical Black Notebook

It was a gray cloudy day around the city district, the small retail stores were empty, the restaurants and bars that was once frequented by consumers sat there like relics of the past, no one was able to enter any of the businesses until further notice. Cars drove by as the boy and his mother walked quickly down the empty side walk that used to be packed with pedestrians. The boy bounced up and down while he walked with his mother as she held his hand tightly, like a mother bear protecting her cub. The little boy grabbed his ear with one hand adjusting the strings on his medical mask that contoured to the his face, protecting his mouth and nose as it graced his cheeks. Before they went outside, his mother told him from now on when he goes somewhere with her he gets to be a super hero...“Always wear your mask so people won’t discover your true identity!”, she cautioned him, widening her eyes to put emphasis on what she instructed him to do. “What kind of super hero am I?”, he asked with a streak excitement in his voice and naivety in his enlarged eyes. His mother looked around their home trying to appease the young child. She then walked into the corner of their loft where a bookshelf stood and ran her eyes across each shelf, as though she preplanned to search for something of great secrecy that she intended on sharing with her son. Finally, to her surprise she noticed a small black note book that she hadn't seen before. In an instant, she grabbed it with fervor and gave it to her son, as she briefly stewed in cracking the mystery as to where the book came from. After dismissing her short lived suspicion, she turned to her son and leaned toward's him and said, “Here... you can call yourself Black Notebook Boy!” Once the boy retrieved the book from his mother, he quickly put the small notebook in his pocket as though he needed to protect the identity of the small black book. To encapsulate the fact in his mind that her son needed to protect his identity and the small black book, she reiterated the strict instructions on what to do when they get outside. "DO NOT touch your face with your hands, DO NOT put your hands in your mouth and DO NOT rub your eyes!". After she grabbed the boy's jacket she gave it to him so he could put it on. In between putting on her coat, zipping it up, putting on her medical mask and securing her son's medical mask on his face, she bent down to help him zip his jacket up. They both stepped outside and and observed the people that had a mask on. He wondered to himself since everyone has on a mask does that make them a superhero too? The both of them made their way to their parked car along the side walk between the other parked cars. Aside from securing her and her son's mouth and nose with medical mask, she made sure her son's seat belt was securely buckled up. “You can take your mask off now”, she said with a soft tone. “What if people find out my true identity?”, the boy asked with concern . His mother turned around and squinted her eyes as she looked directly into the boys eyes, “NO ONE can see you in the car”, she turned around, assuring him while adjusting the car mirror. He pulled out his small black book to examine the pages and noticed that each page was blank. Soon he realized there was an inscription on the outside that read 'Make A Wish' in bold letters. A little puzzled, he asked his mother for clarity while staring at the 3 words, “Mommy... what does this mean?”. As he waited for his mother's reply, he made his inquiry while pointing at the inscription. His mother looked at him and tried to look at the road at the same time. “It means that you are supposed to write your wishes down Black Notebook Boy!”, she laughed while trying to keep her eyes on the road. “ Well, can I have a pencil?” he asked. “ I don’t have a pencil but I have a pen you can use. I will get it out of my purse when I come to a stop light”, she said with satisfaction. The boy waited patiently while his mother drove for a mile as he looked out the window thinking about what he was going to wish for. His countenance dimmed a little once he took notice of all the businesses that were empty, especially after he spotted his favorite corner store that his mother would take him to to buy a soda pop. His sadness almost made him forget about the small black notebook. He snapped out of it once the car came to a stop. “Can you hand me my purse on the floor?” his mother asked, while motioning towards her purse that sat on the floor beside him. His mother reached in her purse and gladly gave him a pen. Without delay, the boy wrote down his first wish with eagerness, “PLEASE open the stores again?!”.With a sense of accomplishment, the boy was proud of his first penned wish in his small black notebook. As his mother continued to drive, the little boy lifted his head up to see where they were, “Where are we going?”, the boy asked. “To go see grandma and grandpa. We can’t go in their house but we can wave to them from the street.” she said attempting to mask her disappointment. From that point on, they continued on the 45- minute trip to the country side of the city to get to his grandma and grandpa's home. A smile came across the boy's face as if he was in oblivion to his mothers noticeable disappointment. “Can you turn on the radio?", he asked. "Sure!", his mother said as a smile gradually formed across her face. As soon as his mother found a radio station without static, a special news report came on the radio. “Sorry to interrupt your oldies, but goodies music. I am happy to announce that the state governor has signed a bill for stores to re- open”, the radio host announced with a poise. Though shocked, the boy froze in his amazement and chose not tell his mother about his superpower. Amazingly the boy sat in the back seat in a state of bliss, he sensed his mothers sadness for some reason. In an instant, garnered a look of determination and wrote something else in his little black notebook..., “Please... make... mommy happy!”. The little boy looked at his second wish and then looked at his mother in hopes of his wish coming true. As his mother continued to drive and listen to the radio, her phone began to ring. She turned the radio down and answered it, using her car's Bluetooth.

“Hello?”, his mother answered with a nonchalant look on her face.

“ Hello is this Julie?”, the person asked with a sense of urgency.

“ This is she!”

“This is Agent Laura, my apologies about just getting back with you but we have finally found a ready, willing and able buyer to purchase your investment property you listed for sell. The buyer is offering $20,000 dollars over your asking price...".

Julie told agent Laura to hold for just one second. She muted the line and then she screamed with glee. After containing herself, she cleared her throat and then unmuted the phone.

“Thank you for calling me with such good news!”, she said with as her face continued to light up. Agent Laura said,“Oh! You're quite you welcome!”. They discussed the details and said their goodbyes then they hung up the phone. Black Notebook boy sat in the backseat of the car confidently, not saying a word about his super powers. He thought about his grandparents and the fact that he had not seen them in a while and wanted to give them something too that would make them happy. Yet, he could not think of anything. Finally, a thought came to mind and in mid thought, he began to pen his third wish. Forty-five minutes came to pass, and his mother slowed the car down, driving 10 mph. The car came to a complete stop, parking in front of his grandparents house. From the window of the car, the little boy could see farm land, with horses that were running around and cows grazing the grass. The little boy's grandparents were already on the porch, sea- sawing back and forth on there rocking chairs talking with one another. The little boy's grandparent's stopped and pulled themselves up from their chairs and began waving to them in front of their house. Both the little boy and his mother stepped out their car and waved, jumping up and down, yelling, “We miss you!”. The little boy's grandparents stood on the edge of their porch, waving their hands and began to blow kisses towards the little boy and his mother. At the same time, the little boy's mother felt bad for her son though she tried her best to stay hopeful. So, she then told her son ,“Put your mask on and you can run and give them a hug”. As soon as he could, the little boy bolted out the car and ran to his grandparents, with his superhero mask, grasping his magical black notebook. With his grandparent's arms outstretched, the little boy ran into his grandparents arms and hugged them both. His grandfather noticed the small black notebook in the little boy's hand. He continued to look down and asked “What is this?”, gently removing the book from the little boy's hands. “My super power... my small black notebook!”, the little boy exclaimed proudly, as he gladly surrendered the little black book to his grandfather . The grandfather opened the little black book to the first page. It read, “My 3 wishes, 1. Please open open stores. 2. Please make mommy happy, 3. Hug My Grandparents.” The little boy's grandfather laughed and showed the grandmother. As the little boy's grandmother laughed, his grandfather said, “Well, I guess you really are a superhero!”.

By Jali