Little Black Book

A doorbell rings, catching the man's attention. He gets up from his seat and slowly makes his way to the door. He opens it to be greeted by a smiling man in a white suit holding a big check, with several witnesses and a cameraman in tow. "Moe Kinsel," the suited man asks. Moe looks at everyone for a moment, in confusion, before answering, "yes." The man in the white suit declares, "Congratulations Mr. Kinsel! You have been awarded $20,ooo for your story." Moe, increasingly confused, "what? I don't..." The white suited man cuts him off and leans in, "take it, so we can get going." He gives Moe the check by one end and holds the other, as he smiles for a picture, with Moe completely dumbstruck. The people begin to leave as Moe calls out to them, struggling to find his wording, "wait, I.. I." The man in white waves, "see you later, Moe."

Deeply confounded by what just occurred, Moe stands at the doorway and watches them walk away. "Moe? Could you come inside," a woman from inside the house yells out to him. He snaps back and heads inside to his wife beckoning, "come." He enters their home office and sees her sitting at the desk. She looks up for a moment to ask him about his day and makes no mention of the giant check. He sets it aside, takes a seat and tries to explain what had just happened moments ago. She barely keeps eye contact as her attention is split between him and a little black book. "What are you reading," he asks somewhat frustrated. "Oh, nothing really," she responds still staring into it. Moe is slightly agitated with the answer, yet is compelled to continue on talking about his day, trying to make sense of it all.

Later that day, Moe cashes the check and decides to take a look around the mall. He has come into a bit of money, might as well spend it, he thinks to himself. He doesn't take much interest in the plethora of clothing stores there, as he mostly wears similar articles of clothing everyday. He doesn't feel the need to change it up. He is feeling a little hungry though, with all the walking around. He heads to the food court, but yet again, nothing takes his interest, so he sits down at a table for a break. Two men and a woman come up to him and it makes him uneasy. "Hey, you're Moe Kinsel right," one of the men asks. "How did you know my name," Moe becomes increasingly anxious. "We saw you in the paper," the woman chimes in, "we're fans of your story." Moe sighs in relief as he remembers the weird event earlier that day. "Hey, question? What story exactly is everyone talking about? I don't remember ever submitting a story anywhere," Moe inquires. "Your little black book story. Everyone has one, " the woman answers and then continues, "it was so sad and depressing, I couldn't help but cry." One man disagrees, "what?! I thought it was hilarious. I was bursting out in laughter." The second man gives his opinion, "no you're both crazy. It was deeply terrifying, I was about to jump out of my seat." Moe just became more confused from their alternative viewpoints. None of this made sense to him, but he did learn one thing, there's a little black book and it's accessible to read. He had to find out where it is and what's in it. "Where can I read it," he interrupted their bickering. The first man says, "it's in the building across the street." Moe springs up from his seat and heads out. "O-okay, bye," the woman says bewildered.

Moe looks to the building as he crosses the street. It looks shockingly sterile, yet homely. He enters and goes to the information desk. Moe attempts an introduction, "hi, I'm.." "Moe Kinsel. Yes, nice to meet you. What can I do for you today," the receptionist asks. "Could you point me to where I can read my story," Moe pleas. "Why would you want to do that? You know what it's about," she inquires. "Actually, I don't, so if you could just show me the way," Moe demands. She denies, "sorry, I can't let you read it, Mr. Kinsel." Moe frustrated, "why not? I don't understand." "It's not for you to read, sir." "It's MY story!" "It has sensitive information." "Then that's my information. It's mine!" "I'm going to need assistance if you don't calm down." Moe runs down the hallway, as the receptionist informs security. The hallway is long and with only one door down the stretch. It baffles Moe that this seems to be the only hallway in this big building. He doesn't try to make sense of it though and focuses on the door. It's the only door. It must be it, he thinks to himself. He gets in and barricades the door behind him as he hears footsteps speeding towards the room. He turns to scan the room and is shocked to notice that it looks exactly like his home office. He sees a little black book at the center of the desk. As he nears it, he sees his name 'Moe Kinsel' written on the cover. He recognizes the handwriting, it's his wife's. He opens to find the first page blank. The second page is also blank. The third page, blank as well. He flips through the entire little black book. Empty, it's completely empty, he is shocked to discover. There's nothing.

"Ding dong, Moe. Coming in," a man is heard saying. Moe comes to and gets up from his seat and notices he is not where he was a second ago. The man comes into the sterile, yet homely room. Moe is shocked to see that it's the man in white. He's in white scrubs instead of a suit this time. As the door swings he sees others in the hall, and looks up to find a camera in the corner. "I got your favorite candies, Moe," the man says smiling. Moe confused, "what? I don't.." The man comes closer, "come on, you've must have had over 20,000 of these. Take them, so we can get going." Moe takes the medication, never breaking eye contact. "Great, let's go," the man gestures outward as he holds the door open for Moe. They make their way down a long hall with many rooms that Moe has never entered. They make it to a lounging area, where two men and a woman are sitting. The man in white goes towards the reception desk as Moe stops and stares. He recognizes them. The first man says, "hey Moe," and begins to have a laughing outburst. He regains composure and apologizes. The second man was startled and begins to scream. Attendees come to him and gently calm him down before taking him to his room. The woman becomes saddened because the second man became scared, as her eyes start to well up. The first man notices and consoles her, "he's fine. It'll be okay." The man in white calls out to Moe, as he waits near reception. Moe sees the receptionist and scowls. She angers him. She noticed and looked away sharply as she buzzed them into another hallway. The man in white stops outside a door and opens it. He holds it open for Moe and gestures to go in. Moe walks in and sees his wife in their home office. He stops and stares. This is too much to process. The man in white begins to leave, "see you later, Moe." "Wait. I..I..," Moe stutters. "Moe, please come in," the woman says, "please, sit." Moe slowly walks toward the desk and takes a seat. "Before, we continue, how was your day so far? Productive," she inquires as she takes out a little black book with his name on it. Moe cannot make heads or tails of what is going on. He is overwhelmingly perplexed and frustrated by all of this. He needs answers and none are given. The woman looks to him to start, with pen in hand. Moe attempts to voice his concerns, but gathering his thoughts proves difficult. She begins to write in the little black book and Moe takes notice. "What are you writing," he asks somewhat frustrated. "Oh, nothing really," she responds, this time looking up at him with a smile. Moe was calmed by that smile and became compelled to talk about his day, trying to make sense of it all.