The Secret of Moleskine

Thank God, I am not a faint hearted, otherwise I would have already been on my way to hospital. But it’s still an option considering how good friends The Macallan and me became since the last night. It was definitely the most welcomed friendship ever; because no matter how many times I reread the will, I still couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“I, Simone Monks, leave my only living relative, a granddaughter Daphne Thomas, born as Elie Monks, $20,000 in cash, as well as the Librum necklace.”

So, of course, after Mr. Roberts went home, the only logical thing was to drink myself to sleep. It’s not like I expected anything from her, even this is more than enough for me. But the thought that she hated me that much that she rather decided to leave this house to her dog, than me, was too much.

Thus, here I am, with the biggest headache ever, sitting in Simone’s old room looking at the small box with the necklace she decided to leave me. It is old and filled with dust, but that only adds to its charm. In one corner there was even a word engraved, Moleskine. Inside of it, on a velvet, lied a charming silver necklace with a small book-shaped pendant. I guess it explains its name. But what it doesn’t explain is this piece of paper next to it, Take three, give one. What was that supposed to mean?

I decide to put the necklace on myself and in the same moment when I locked the clasp, I could feel a little tingle spreading from it throughout my neck and then the whole body.

“Hey, can you hear me?” I froze. Wait? Did I just hear someone’s voice?

“Can you hear me?” She asked again.

In the next moment all I could see is a dust, the dark dust that was just flying in front of me. It started to become densier and densier, until it dissapeared and was replaced with two girls. Normally, I decided to do the only logical thing – I started to scream.

“I told you this was going to happen.” The pink haired girl told the other. “Silentio!”

And just like that, I couldn’t scream anymore. I tried to speak but couldn’t do that either. What did she do? How did she do it?

“Why did you do it?” The taller girl asked her.

“What was I supposed to do? Let her ruin my hearing?”

“Ines, sometimes you can be so annoying.” At least now I know her name; it might come handy later in therapy.

The nameless girl looked at me. “I believe you have a lot of questions, and I promise I’ll answer them all if you promise not to scream. It's important that you listen, it’s the matter of life and death.”

Somehow, I seriously doubt that. Isn’t that what everyone always says? But I still decided to nod my head up and down, after which she just waved her hand and just like that – I was free.

They watched me expectantly, but I had only one question for them. “Am I high somehow? Did I inhale or digest something?”

“Oh my, it was better when she was not talking.” Ines sighed.

The other girl looked darkly at Ines and then turned to me. “Elie, we're the creatures of the Moondust. You're one of us. We’ve been trying to find you for years, but to no avail. It's like you've disappeared off the face of the Earth.”

“Well, that’s one way of putting it. Years in boarding schools make people forget about you.” I stood up, maybe it’s smarter just in case that I need to run.

“Where?”

“In London.”

They exchanged looks. “It’s impossible, we’ve searched everywhere.”

“Well, if you were looking for Elie Monks, you couldn't have found me anyway. Simone changed my name to Daphne Thompson and that’s who I’ve been for the last 20 years.” Then I turned to the nicer girl. “Also, you could tell me your name. Seems appropriate since you obviously know mine.”

“Sorry, I’m Eloise.” She seemed genuinely sorry, so I decided to continue to favor her out of two. “Did Simone at least tell you anything about who we are? About who you are?” She added.

“Obviously not if I decided to scream.” Like, do they really think screaming is a hobby?

“That's bad. Really bad. I understand she was worried after what happened to Tom and Lucia, but not knowing doesn’t help you at all.” Wait, how does she know that?

“How do you know about my parents?”

“That’s the only thing you heard?” Ines smirked. I just decided to ignore her. “Eloise, you heard me. How do you know about my parents?”

“Listen, I promise I’ll tell you everything with time, but I can’t do that now. It’s too dangerous and we don’t have that much time. What we should do is leave this place before others come.”

“She knew what role you have; she should have prepared you for it.” Ines added matter of factly. Eloise tried to pinch her, but she managed to move on time. “Stop it! We can at least tell her something.”

“Who would’ve thought the two of you would agree on something.” Eloise sighed. “Okay, I guess at least basics won’t hurt anyone. Ever heard the story of how the World and the Universe came to be?” Eloise asked while Ines moved in front of the door. I guess there’s no running away for me today.

“Yeah, there was nothing and then – boom – suddenly there was something. The end.”

“Well, it’s slightly more complicated than that. Long story short, you are one of the three creatures that created the Universe, that created the Life itself. They were able to create everything through the Book of Life which is made entirely by their essence. Before the first two were betrayed and died, they shared a prophecy about the End of Times.”

“So, let me guess – there are some bad guys that are searching for that Book and we need to stop them before it’s too late?” I added.

Eloise looked surprised. “Yeah, how did you know?” I said with the most serious voice ever. “Well, I watch the Hollywood movies too.” And then just started to laugh.

“See, I told you she won’t believe you.” Ines stated worryingly. Okay, if that girl is worried, maybe there’s something to it. “How do you know it’s me? That I’m the one you are looking for”

“Because only we have a birthmark like this.” Eloise pulled down her t-shirt a little bit, just enough to reveal the left shoulder. And there it was, something I thought belonged only to me. Three dots that form a triangle, connected with lines that form a circle. I looked over to Ines who also showed her shoulder with the exact same birthmark. “Do you believe us now?” She added.

“This is spooky. I don’t know about the believe part, but I might as well help you.” I sat down. “So, what are we supposed to do now?”

“Find the Book of Life.” Eloise said. “We already have two keys, the third one is supposed to be with you.” Eloise showed me her necklace with the ink pedant. “This is mine. Ines has the quill pedant.”

“And I have the book pedant.” I added while touching mine. Wait a minute.

“The piece of paper inside of this box said Take three, give one.” I looked at them expectantly. “Could it really be that simple?”

“Well, I guess we can try.”

I put my necklace in the box, followed by Ines and Eloise. After I closed the box, a magic happened. Strange light illuminated it and we could see it changing from a small wooden box to a small black notebook with engraved The Secret of Moleskine. Once it was done, I opened it and we could see it was filled with many instructions and drawings.

“I guess we found our map.” Ines smiled. Wait, that girl actually knows how to smile? But it didn't last for long. "There is still a money issue though." She added.

“So, what do you say Elie? Will you join us?” Eloise looked at me.

How to know what is the best decision? There is a life waiting for me back in London, I have the job, friends, even the boyfriend. But, it’s still Daphne’s life, not mine. Is it even possible to go back to how life used to be? Pretend that I didn’t see anything?

I guess I know what the answer is.

"Don't worry about the money, I just got $20,000."

They looked at each other. "Is that a yes?"

I laughed. "Yes, it's a yes. I'll join you."