The Devil is in the detail

Im so close to something, it’s like I can see it, taste it. But Goddamn it, it’s so far away. If I just had the money to get myself ahead, I could be free. These are all the thoughts that Tom kept swirling in his head while he was walking to his less than accommodating job. Tom spent most of his life dreaming and wishing for something major to happen. It never does. He just keeps wishing and dreaming, and losing hope, each waking moment. This particular morning he was running late and decided to catch the bus rather than walk. Why risk losing a shitty paying job that was keeping him from living on the street? There’s something both mesmerizing and trauma inducing about riding the bus. The mesmerizing part was the people that you encounter on public transportation. The trauma inducing part was the people that you encounter on public transportation. Tom, filled with anxiety, finds a seat, and plops down with so much force. There’s a squish sound. The seat is wet, most likely urine from either a child or a grown man child. He looks under the seat and yells “fuck my life not today”. While looking down he notices a book, it’s covered in the foreign liquid but for some reason Tom is drawn to it.

“Should I touch this book?” he ponders. Tom wasn’t much of a risk taker, so why would he risk touching this hepatitis infused black book? Unsure of why, he decides to pick it up. As he flips through it, he notices the pages are all blank. “What the actual fuck?” he proclaims. He sets the book down beside him. “Today is not a good day.” he says in that annoying pessimistic voice inside his head. He departs the bus and rushes to work as fast as he can. He's already 25 minutes late.

“You’re late again. I told you if you were late again I was going to fire” his boss says with a smirk.

“I know I’m sorry, I had a family emergency I got here as fast as I could” Tom proclaims.

“It doesn’t matter you’ve been late almost everyday, what’s the family emergency excuse this time? Did granny get hit by the bus that you were running late on again? You’re done pack your shit and go”.

Discouraged Tom packs up his cubicle. There wasn't much in there besides a family picture of him, his mom and grandmother, and his diploma that doesn’t even relate to the job he was just fired from. Talk about rock fucking bottom. Tom catches the same bus that he always takes: Bus #1122. It's the same bus he rides to work on. Without realizing it, he sits in the same wet spot he did just an hours ago. At least this time, it's warm.

“Mother fucker.. again?! How is this possible?” He looks down at the seat and sees the same black book from earlier. This time he picks up the book with such agression and force that everyone on the bus turns to look at him. “Who’s pissed soaked book is this?" he screams. "Hello? Which one of you assholes left this book here!" It’s New York City, so no one seems to give a shit as they turn their heads and continue about their mundane lives. He throws the book in with his box of belongings from the job he just lost. A job he fucking hated, but also really needed. Tom gets home unloads his belongings and throws the book on the table. The book opens up but this time there’s writing inside. On the once blank page is a line that reads: "The universe doesn’t give you want you want sometimes, it gives you what you need in that moment." Puzzled he stares at the page and rubs it. It’s fresh ink, as if someone just wrote it. He grabs his pen and writes under the quote, “What does this mean”? And shuts the book.

The next day Tom wakes up, flips open his laptop and begins the dreadful search for a new job, but not before filing for unemployment because, fuck the system, right? He looks over the book and sees that it is open and has been flipped to the next page. This page reads “the devil is in the detail”.

Tom was confused. “What the hell does that mean? Is this book cursed or some shit?" Curious, he writes down the following: “I want to find my dream job so that I can pay my rent and get out of this jam that I am in.” He shuts the book and begins surfing the internet for available jobs. Hours later, he opens his email to a message from a company he’s never heard of inviting him for a interview for a job he never applied for. He immediately looks at the book, and then back to the email. “What the actual fuck is going on?"

He writes in the book once again. “I want all my debt paid off." He shuts the book and waits. Hours go by and he’s just staring at the book waiting for something to happen. When nothing happens, he decides to go out to grab some food. Tom comes back home with some pad Thai. He may be broke, but his taste buds aren’t. The book is open once again and this time it it says "333” written under the last thing he wrote. Tom opens his laptop to search what the number mean and to his surprises it’s some spiritual woo-woo shit.

“That’s it I’ve lost my mind. I think I had a mental breakdown on the bus after I sat in someone else piss. It wasn’t even my own piss. It was another fucking human beings piss and now I have this piss infused manifestation book. I’m going to get 302’d!" His cell phone rings. He answers and hears a woman's voice.

“Is this Tom Perry?" The woman on the phone asks.

“Yes, who is this?" He asks with a shaky voice.

“We’ve received you payment for your final student loan payment of $20,000. We would like to thank you for being a valued customer”.

He drops his phone is disbelief.

The next day, he is excited and decides to visit his mother in the Bronx and share the good news. He brought the book with him so that he can explain to her, even though he knows it sounds bat shit crazy. When he arrives to her house she is sobbing uncontrollably.

“Mom? What's going on?"

She looks at him and says “My life savings is gone. Everything I put into it is gone. That money was suppose to help me move to Florida when I retire in a few months.”

“How much money was in the account?" Tom asks.

“$20,000.” she says with a shaky voice.

His heart sinks into the floor, could it be? Somehow the money that was meant for his mom was used on his student loans. It was the exact amount he needed to clear his debt. This had to be a coincidence. It just had to be... right? He looks at the book it says again “the devil is in the detail”. This time it's written in red ink. He apologizes to his mother and runs out the door. He’s ran to the bus terminal where they leave the buses at overnight. He’s started to search for bus #1122. He gets to bus #1121 and saw the empty spot where the bus #1122 should be. It seemed to just skip and go straight to #1123. Tom was freaked out. He backed away. He ran to the office to see if he could speak to someone about the bus.

“Excuse me,” with his voice shaking, “Where is bus #1122? I was riding that bus the other day and I dropped something. I’m just trying to retrieve it."

The man behind the counter was wearing a blue uniform looking and looked very agitated. He snarled “Bus #1122? That bus hasn’t been on the road in years. You’re obviously mistaken kid”.

Tom’s eyes got big and looked almost soulless for a second. “What do you mean it hasn’t been on the road in years? I road that bus yesterday."

“Kid, you definitely didn’t ride that bus yesterday. The bus was destroyed 11 years ago in a horrific crash. No one survived”.

Tom, confused and shaking, leaves the station and heads home to look up the history of this bus. He opens his laptop and searches for the bus. Bus #1122 had faulty breaks. The bus driver kept reporting it to his superiors, but they did nothing about it. The bus was heading down W 111st when the driver lost control and collided with an oil tanker. It caused a massive explosion. All 22 people on the bus perished. Looking at the pictures, it appeared that the only thing that survived was this book. Tom, filled with anxiety, began to have a massive panic attack. Eventually, he passed out. Hours later he woke up on the floor confused and out of it. He looks over at the book and sees there’s more writing in it. But this time, it's different. Rather than cryptic quotes, he sees what appears to be journal entries.

August 22, 2010

I can’t believe I landed my dream job. I’m so excited! I’m headed there now. This bus is making some crazy sounds but it’s whatever. I can’t believe the email came in after years of working hard. My mom will be so proud of me, especially since I was the first person to graduate from college in my family. I just hope that she’s proud of me. I know she is. I wish my dad was around to see me. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him.

-Tom

Tom looks at the journal entry confused. “What the fuck is going on?" He keeps flipping through the book and keeps seeing more journal entries appearing.

August 21, 2010

The universe doesn’t give you want you want sometimes, it gives you what you need in that moment.

-Tom

August 20, 2010

My student loan debt will be paid off.

-Tom

July 22, 2010

I will manifest my dream job.

-Tom

And so forth and so forth. A journal full of Toms desires, documenting his attempts to bring them all to life. Tom drops the book, confused, and is suddenly hit with a vivid flashback.

On August 22, 2010 around 10:45 am, on bus #1122, Tom puts his black book on his lap. An older woman steps into the street without looking and the bus swerves after the driver tries to break and avoid nearly hitting her. Everyone and everything on the bus goes flying. Another passenger spills the water they were holding all over Tom and the seat he was sitting in. His book flies under the seat. The bus slams into a tanker and all 22 passengers perish in the crash, including the driver of the tanker. Some time later, Tom’s mother sues the city because of the faulty brakes. Other families join her efforts and band together in a class action suit. They win and are each award $20,000. Prior to Tom’s passing, and unbeknownst to Tom, his mother had prayed to the Universe, exclaiming she needed that exact amount of money so that she could move to Florida to retire.Tom’s mother often dreamed of him and was constantly filled with guilt over what kind of life he would have lived. The book was recovered from the wreckage with only page that was readable. In red ink, the page said “The devil is in the detail”.