The Book of Numbers

He awoke in the clothes he'd worn the night before. Head pounding and unable to remember how he had gotten home he buried his face into the pillow with a groan. The first half of his birthday had been a celebration to remember. The drinks had arrived in a never-ending stream. He knew better, and now he desperately needed a glass of water and aspirin. Moving to sit up he felt something strange on his bed next to his hand. Face still buried, he tried to guess what it was by feeling. Raising his head enough to see there was a small black notebook invading his space. It wasn't his nor had he seen it before. Picking it up, he rolled onto his back to better examine his discovery. The pages were full of addresses, some in the city and some in other states, and each address had been assigned a dollar amount. Did he steal a real estate agent's little black book at some point in the night? Racking his brain trying to remember anything, his head, still pounding, returned no useful information. There was no name or phone number to suggest an owner. None of the addresses listed a real estate company. Deciding to find a way to return it he flipped through finding a relatively nearby address. It must be quite the apartment based on the price of the rent. Twenty thousand a month was definitely out of the average price range. Taking a quick shower and some aspirin he headed out to admit he was a thief.

The apartment was within walking distance and he hoped some fresh air would help ease what the aspirin and shower hadn't. The apartment management would know what agency was used. If he left the little black book there they could even pass on his sincere apologies. A problem solved with limited embarrassment. The apartment was an older historic-looking building, nothing like the modern buildings that normally carried such a hefty price. There wasn't even a security buzzer. Taking a deep breath he pushed through the door.

Something felt wrong immediately. He tried to turn back but was pulled further inside. A great force of energy held and forcibly moved him forward. Clinging helplessly to the door the pull became more intense and with every tug his grip weakened. A sudden surge of energy wrenched his hands-free, screaming with fear he knew the battle was lost. Overtaken by a falling sensation he reached out into the unknown and searched for something to break his fall. Finding only air until he hit the ground with a heavy thud. I'm still drunk, I have to be or I'm hallucinating. Yet the ground felt real. He could smell the earth and the grass. Grass! I'm not laying in the grass. Daring a glance at the surroundings, the sight of trees caused him to rebury his face. No! no, I'm in the city! I'm in an apartment building! I'm not in a forest! The trees were large with thick foliage. Too large to be the city park. Instead of city noises, there were sounds of birds and distant animals. There was an absence of the sounds of honking cars. There was only the gentle hum of nature. He dared another look around. The door was gone and he had to find a way home and maybe see a doctor. Standing, brushing off his clothes he picked a direction at random and hoped moving forward would find him some sign of the city. The forest seemed endless no matter which way he looked. Walking in any direction got him nowhere. The area was dense and hard to see through at times, but he thought there was a clearing ahead. Shifting directions he prayed the clearing was part of a walking path. Moving closer to the edge he saw it was not a walking path at all. The clearing contained only an old tree stump and resting on top of it was a chest. Winged insects swarmed around the chest with movements at high speeds making them nearly invisible. Only the sunlight glinting on their wings gave away their location. His first instinct was to leave and avoid the area completely, but something made him want a closer look, daring him to move closer. One of the insects slowed and landed on the box just out of sight. He held his breath wanting to see it. Needing to see it. Inching forward he watched and waited for it to show itself. Internalizing a cheer, he saw the insect start climbing on the lid. In shock and awe, he realized it wasn't an insect at all. The creature was six inches tall with a humanoid appearance, its wings delicately folded behind it. Its physical details were hard to make out due to its small stature. It moved gracefully, flitting about the lid. He'd never seen anything so beautiful. “Fairies!” He exhaled excitedly. The moment the word left his mouth all movement ceased. Every fairy slowed and hovered in midair. There were hundreds of tiny eyes staring at him. There were no words to describe how magical the moment was. The look on their faces was a mixture of curiosity, confusion, and interest. He took a step forward wanting to be there with them. Closer. Closer. Their wings started moving quickly. The unison of their movements made a sound like an anxious hum. “I won't hurt you,” he said to the swarm in an attempted soothing tone. “You're all so amazing.” Resisting the urge to reach towards them, not wanting to startle them further, he took a timid step trying to appear non-threatening. The movement was a mistake. They swarmed him, their tiny bodies smashing into him. Their wings were as sharp as razor blades slicing him as they whizzed past. Those who were brave enough to attack him directly started biting him like mosquitos if mosquitoes had shark teeth. Smacking and swatting, he tried to drive the fairies from his person. Frantically moving around, he tried to free himself from the fury of the swarm. One attached itself to his hand and attempted to bite off one of his fingers. Seething with anger he grabbed its tiny body with a crushing fury and threw it against a nearby tree with a scream of frustration. The fairy struck the tree with a loud thwop, its wings snapping like toothpicks before its body slid to the ground. The fairies halted their frenzied attacks, hovering in place. Taking advantage of the confusion he stumbled away from the swarm smacking away any remaining fairies.

Several fairies flew to the one he had thrown. The others watched, their wings producing an anxious humming sound. He had to go before the fairies resumed their attack but which way? He looked around the clearing preparing to flee, but he saw the chest again sitting within his reach. It couldn't hurt to take a look, right? With the fairies distracted he lifted the latch and pulled it open in one swift movement. At the sound of the chest opening, there was a collective hiss. Looking up at the sound he prepared for another attack. Instead, they fled for the trees, taking the body of the crumpled fairy with them. Confused, he tried to find them in the thick foliage but saw nothing. The trees hissed and hummed with angry sounds. He turned his eyes back to the chest, reached in, and found bundles of money. He guessed there had to be twenty thousand dollars inside. The wheels in his mind turned. Twenty thousand? That had been the price of the apartment! He picked up the chest ignoring the hissing in the trees. He felt the pull again. He didn't resist this time. He turned moving with the pulling motion and found himself stepping out of the apartment complex. The door slammed behind him, the chest still tucked safely under his arm. He hailed a cab trying to leave the area quickly. Climbing safely Inside he remembered to breathe and let out a huge sigh of relief, but something in his pocket was digging into his side. He reached in and found the small black notebook. There was an address with a dollar amount of one million. He smirked. How bad could it be?