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Living Lavishly

If you were placed in Marley's position, what would you do?

By Taylor RanaePublished 3 years ago 13 min read
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I was sitting on the couch playing Call of Duty when the shooting sounds stopped and a voice in my headphones alerted me to an incoming call. I glanced at the clock above my tv. 3:18am.

"Incoming call… Incoming call."

I rolled my eyes and sighed. I press a button on my headphones. "Yooo?"

"Son… yo, you are not gonna believe this shit. You got a shorty at the crib?"

"What happened? Wait- why?"

"I gotta come through, the block is hot."

"So you're gonna come to ME? Pero.. why?"

"Bro, I can't talk about it on the phone. Can I come through?"

I sigh heavily. "It better be good. pull up."

Rance is always up to some fuckshit so I'm wary to let him in especially at this time of night because God knows what he's got up his sleeve… he's never not a good time though. Eager to finish my game, I text him to figure out his ETA. He's coming from Fordham and I'm up in Williamsbridge, so I had a little bit of time. I got through a few more rounds and then I heard my doorbell buzz. I unlock the door and in comes Rance sweating profusely, but smiling like a madman. He walks in and sits in his usual spot by the fishbowl.

"You're gonna want to sit down for this." He swings his backpack off his shoulder and opens it up. He pulls out 4 neatly bound stacks of 100s.

He looks up at me with a smirk and says," How much do you think this is?"

I looked at him aghast, not really sure how to feel. "Why.. do you have- where did that come- why are you HERE, nigga?!!?"

"Chill chill chill. I was in Fordham getting my phone fixed and a slice of pizza. I ended up hanging on the block for a little 'cuz it's a nice day or whatever. Marley, I was chilling, planning on going back home, maybe making some beats, nothing crazy! I hop on the bus and go straight to the back. This tall guy gets on and he sits, ah, I don't know, a seat or two away from me. I'm listening to my music and I notice he's looking at me.

So I'm like, 'Wassup, can I help you?' He shakes his head 'no' and looks away. I'm like alright, that was weird, but whatever. I look over and he's looking at me again. I didn't want no drama, so I just kept looking out the window. I look back one more time and I see he's gone, but he left a bag under the seat. There was no one else on the bus so I scooted over to his seat and I opened up the bag. I immediately saw the cash and got off at the next stop. I walked around for like 2 hours because I didn't know what to do, I just went on autopilot. It felt like someone was watching me. So I called you. Now I'm here… I really need to smoke. And I wanna count this."

Mouth agape, I blew out a breath and crossed my arms. Now, I was plagued with a dilemma because I, too wanted to count this money. However, I'm just sitting here thinking of all the implications that comes with finding some shit that isn't yours, especially when it's a large amount of money like this. A good samaritan would have just minded their business and left that bag where they found it. Or, if you wanna take it a step further, they would have taken it to the bus driver and went about their day happy that they did a good deed. Now, I'm not a ne'er do well like Rance here, but I'm not a goody-two-shoes either.

"Let's count it. I'll roll up." And this is where I fucked up.

Money Trees. ATM. Cash Shit.

All these songs were playing in my head while I'm rolling a blunt and Rance is giddily counting the money. I felt like I was in a music video, or a shitty documentary exploiting black people. But it was just us, in my studio apartment, in a very vivid fantasy. As I finish rolling up, I hear him getting into the ten thousands. My hands started to shake. I know I've never personally been around this much money before, but seeing it now made this really real. I had a heavy feeling that something was about to happen but I couldn't pinpoint it. Rance was definitely on cloud nine. He wasn't thinking realistically and unfortunately, just like every other adventure he tries to wrap me into, I have to be the voice of reason. I hand him the blunt.

"Yo, bro. Uh, whatchu tryna do with this money?"

Rance shrugs, "Well I figured you'd get a percentage, I mean shit, you could have half if you wanted!"

I immediately shake my head, "Ah, nahhh, I think I'm good on that. You found it, bro. That's all you. How much did it come out to?"

"You ready for this? $20,000. Twenty K! To be honest, I actually thought it would be heavier than this. It doesn't weigh that much!"

"Damn! That is a lot of money. Nigga, be smart about it! You better invest that money into some stocks or something,"

"Nah, you right, you right. This is a come up! I was thinking that maybe I could- "

Rance's phone rings. He looks at the screen and sucks his teeth. Looks at me as if he was going to continue his sentence but then thought better of it and decided to answer the call. "Hold on bro. Yes, Ma?"

I sat on the couch anticipating his return, but his phone call ended up getting so heated that he walked out. Assuming he'd come back later, I left the door unlocked and went to bed. It was 5 in the morning after all.

I roll out of bed around 1pm, hungry and thirsty. I head to my fridge and upon closing it, I remember the haze of this morning. I look at over at the couch and the money is still strewn everywhere along with Rance's newly obtained backpack by the chair. I plop down on the couch and contemplate calling him and telling him to grab his shit. I decided to go through the bag first. There was a bottle of water, a little bag of fruit snacks, a pencil and a leather-bound notebook. Feeling peckish, I open up the snacks while examining the notebook. It was small and black. Under the elastic band was a neatly handwritten note that said "Open When Ready."

I cocked my head back and pursed my lips in disbelief. What the hell does that mean? I snapped the elastic band and went to open the book but a small voice in my head said, "No." It was very firm and determined. Given the situation that I was in, I felt like it would be best for me to listen to any and all advice from known and unknown sources because this whole scenario was unprecedented. How did I go from being blazed playing Call of Duty to being blazed and being surrounded by thousands of dollars?

I was unsure of what to do. The only thing I knew of for sure was that I wanted to smoke. So I rolled up while looking at the bag, looking at the notebook, looking at my phone. I called Rance and he wasn't picking up. It went straight to voicemail, which I found really strange because this is a lot of money to just be casually leaving around. First the guy on the bus- which, if I'm being honest with you, I think is a bunch of bullshit- and now Rance is nowhere to be found. I figured SOMEONE is gonna be looking for this. My first thought was to check the money to make sure it didn't have any sort of tracking devices on it. As soon as I was done combing through them, I decided to check the backpack. I tore that damn backpack apart, but I realized ultimately, I would have to take it somewhere else that was NOT my apartment. The nearest body of water to me is the Hutchinson. I called Rance a few more times, but he apparently fell off the face of the earth, which is convenient. I needed to get this bag away as soon as possible so I started to get dressed. Since my life was turning into a movie, I needed to think like a main character. I put on a nice fit, 'cuz God forbid I die, at least I'll be looking fly (Birdman laugh). I pack up the money and the notebook in one compartment of my bag and Rance's bag was rolled up in another compartment. I looked at my fish, gave it some food, and said goodbye. That heavy feeling was coming back and I was starting to feel really nervous again. I looked at myself in the mirror before I left and I said to my reflection "You were chosen for this role, only God knows why. But this ain't some average scary movie. This Black man ain't dying first!" I raised my hand in a fist and nervously smiled. It was time to go. I hopped on my bike and headed in the direction of the Hutch. Every person I caught eyes with, I was convinced they knew I had this weight on me. Pelham Bay was basically a straight shot from my apartment so the ride wasn't too far. Once I got close enough that I could see the water, I started looking around to make sure no one would see me or that I wasn't being followed. The coast was clear so I got as close as I could and took the bag out. I triple checked I wasn't throwing the money away and tossed the bag into the water.

I breathed a sigh of relief but my breath instantly caught when I remembered the money I still had to get rid of. Now, I say get rid of, but I'm just gonna stash it and hopefully, in a year I can come back to my hiding spot and be twenty thousand dollars richer. I rode around on my bike brainstorming about where I was going to put this cash. The only thing that made sense right now was to head to my Abuela. She lived in Harlem on Amsterdam Ave near Central Park. My old bedroom has remained unoccupied since I moved out 4 years ago. I was her main caretaker but it was getting to be hard juggling her, my job, and my social life. My mom would clutch her pearls at the idea of Abuela being in a nursing home, so they enlisted a live in-home health aid to take care of her. She tolerates it. Because Gwendolyn is from Trinidad, there's a bit of a language barrier- but she gets the job done so we pay her. I hopped on the 3 train and began daydreaming about what I could do with 20k. I was beginning to wonder if it was similar to how a $100 bill looks like it's a lot of money until you become an adult and it's basically a $20. How could I make this stretch while making it seem reasonable? Abuela basically raised me so she's someone I definitely would want to upgrade first. I'm obviously updating my wardrobe, that's a given. I wanted to organize my thoughts so I started looking through my pockets for a piece of paper when I remembered the notebook. I slowly took it out and examined it more closely. I desperately wanted to take a peek, but that voice in my head was rearing up to yell at me. I ain't want that smoke so I fished around for a receipt instead and jotted down my fantasies while trying to make the math math. I concluded that 20k IS a lot of money, but I can't start spending it before I know it's safe to do so. Abuela and my Yeezys are gonna have to wait. I finally reached my stop. Every step I took led me closer to what felt like what could be the beginning of a new start or the beginning of the end. I don't want to get Abuela involved in some weird gang or drug shit, but whose gonna suspect an old lady with COPD?

My keys jingle in my hand as I struggle to open the door. I've never been this nervous in my life, yo. A conglomeration of Gwen's sweet musk perfume, Abuela's smokes and whatever delicious meal Gwen was cooking up smacked me in the face as soon as I walked in. Abuela was seated in front of the tv, and the moment she saw me her eyes lit up. It's been a few weeks since I've seen her last. Since Gwen moved in, and I started working more, it got easier to not find my way over this part of town unless it was necessary. Right here and now I'm gonna change that. I leaned down and embraced her.

"Papi! It's so nice to see you! Even though you bringing in that skunk smell into my house. You know I'm sensitive to that shit." I glanced at her oxygen tank, back at the open box of Newports in the cupholder of her armchair, and then at my hands. Gwen came plodding in.

"Marley, Grand Rising! How are you?"

"I'm well, Gwen, thank you!" I rose steadily and headed to my room. Gwen is hella spiritual and senses shit that I be thinking about or going through sometimes and it always creeps me out. I did not need her picking up on my energy today. My room looked the same as it did when I lived here. The nostalgia hit me like a dump truck. The poster of Three Six Mafia and Dipset were fading and starting to fall off the wall. The only place that made sense to stash this was deep inside my closet. I found a shoebox that had some tattered shoes in there. I put the money in the shoes and hid the box under a bunch of clothes and random things. I tidied up everything and once I felt comfortable, I bounced. I needed fresh air. I kissed Abuela and told her I'd be back soon. I meant it. Right as I was walking out, Gwen came to me and said, "Listen to the voice before you hear the scream. Trust yourself."

Eyes wide, I stood there staring at the door while she closed it. It was time for me to go. The bike ride to Central Park was pleasant and brief. The breeze blowing on my face and through my locs allowed me to finally breathe with ease. I found a tree that looked like a nice place to sit and placed my bike down next to me. I took a deep breath and looked up at the leaves. I took the list out of my pocket and stared at it. It seemed like so long ago I was writing it. Now that the money is secured, I feel like I can realistically plan for the future. Next time when I see Abuela, I'm gonna ask her where she's always wanted to live. I'll start there. My phone began to buzz.

It was Rance. My heart jumped into my throat and I looked around, suddenly very fearful that he was watching me. It went to voicemail and after a moment, started buzzing again. Maybe it was just me, but even the buzzing of my phone sounded angry. I didn't know what kind of conversation to anticipate from him. He can wait a little while longer.

In a clear and distinct tone, the voice said "Marley, It's time. You're ready." I put the phone down and reach in my bag for the notebook. I took the elastic band off and opened it to the front page.

I smiled.

humanity
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About the Creator

Taylor Ranae

I'm a spiritual advisor, a virgo & an avid writer.

I like crime stories, fiction, nonfiction, mystery, thrillers... I'm all over the place. Let's chat!

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