The Little Black Book

It all started on that cold autumn day in October. The leaves on the trees were a beautiful vibrant mixture of golds, oranges, yellows and reds. I was strolling through the woods with my favorite song playing on my phone, "Little Black Book" by Belinda Carlisle. As I continued to walk with my face looking down towards the ground. I noticed something black that was barely visible within the leaves on the ground. My curiosity got the best of me as I reached down and picked it up. It was a little black book that filled me with extreme excitement as I began to read the contents of the book. The first page said Lori Douglas you are a winner of $20,000. I thought to myself that this must be a prank of some kind and looked around for any hidden cameras or my friends hiding behind the trees, but there was no one in sight. It was if everyone had vanished from the face of the earth.

I felt fear building up inside of me as I went deeper into the woods. It was if something or someone was pulling me in that direction. As I continued walking, I noticed a cement bench and sat down to read more of the little black book. The next page said that there was some journey's I would need to take in order to receive the $20,000. It was vital that I completed the first journey before moving in to the next.

The first journey was to enter into a cave just up ahead. As I approached it, I entered with a slight hesitation. Not knowing what I would encounter in that dark cave was a little unsettling. I held the book tight in hands and rested it against my chest as I continued on. There was a bright light at the end of the cave where an opening appeared.

As I exited the cave, I saw a beautiful green meadow with lots of daisies and wildflowers. It was if I had entered a different time and space. There were children running and playing in the meadow, something I had longed to do but fear of getting stung by bees had held me back. I looked up ahead and saw some dogs running towards me. A little black poodle, and a miniature white chihuahua. Could it be my dogs Tony and Baby who had passed years ago? As they got closer to me they vanished in thin air and were gone from me, as well as all the children who were once there.

Up in the distance was a water fall near a body of water, so I continued on my journey towards the falls. Sat myself on the ground and read the next page of the little black book. There is said you will need to pass through the falls for your next journey. So I had to get into the water and swim behind the falls. How would I gain the courage to do that when I am afraid of drowning? I reached deep inside for that courage and forced myself to jump into the crystal blue water and swim toward the waterfall. It was if all fear left my body and I swam like never before diving down underneath the water and reaching the other side of the falls.

When I reached my destination, just up ahead was a dark alley with no lights in sight. I took out my phone and used it as a flashlight so I could read the next page in the little black book. It said to continue down the alley to the light. Just as I looked up, I saw a faint light at the end of the alley. Here again I would have to overcome the fear that was welling up inside of me, fear of the dark. What was hiding and lurking in that dark alley, just waiting to attack me? I clasped the book tight against my chest and moved forward. Faint sounds of footsteps were approaching, but again no one or nothing insight.

As I continued down the path, I finally reached the light. It was there that the money was waiting for me in a large pile on the ground surrounded by all my loved ones waiting to see me receive my reward of $20,000. Tears of happiness and joy filled my eyes and were streaming down my cheeks. When I looked down at the little black book one last time, I realized that it was a bible. Inscribed in gold letters in all caps and bold print on the last page was "ONCE YOU TRULY FACE YOUR FEARS AND TURN YOUR LIFE OVER TO ME, YOU WILL BE SET FREE AND RECEIVE THE REWARD THAT IS WAITING FOR YOU".