Unbound

Snowflakes twinkled in the soft morning light, drifting slowly through the air. Not to land on the concrete sidewalks, nor the muddied patches of grass that adorned them; instead, they found their resting place on a small black leather-bound notebook. Countless students, walking through the back neighbourhoods on their way to university, passed over, on and around the book. Not a single one determined it to be of any worth and simply continued along their predestined path towards their schooling.

This was to be the book’s short-lived fate, melted by salt riddled snow into a pile of mulch; A sad, soggy and altogether pointless existence. But a patch of ice, three feet south, would be the determining factor that would save the notebook - and its contents- from its slushy tomb.

---

There was an uncomfortable scratching in the center of Andrew. It lived perpetually in the space between his ribs and diaphragm. Although the young man had no memory of where it came from, its effects were felt at every moment. He had just completed another 3 hours of mandatory service at the local penitentiary of higher learning; today’s flavour was: world economics expressed through media, 3420G.

Manchild he was, Andrew had spent that time absentmindedly reading comics in the back of the classroom. Occasionally, he could be found working on his homework; or even more sporadically, tidying up the same 10 paragraphs of his own personal writings.

However, he was finally free, something usually joyous to behold as he made his way back home along his favorite walking trail.

Unfortunately, his earbuds were lying beside his bed; each step he took on his way felt like a sharp pain in the side of his neck. Without some sort of static to move his eardrums, Andrew was forced into an unbearable stupor with thoughts accosting him faster than he could brush them aside.

Unbearable.

Andrew stopped suddenly. The houses stood as silent observers, windows peering into him, trying to gain insight from the shadows that projected themselves on his skin, like silhouettes on drapes.

With a start, he realized that he had been holding his breath for some time. Taking a moment, the tired young man inhaled that crisp winter air. He let it fill his lungs, soothing his insides.

Breath in, breath out

(Repeat)

Finally, it seemed as though he had collected himself; and after one final puff of air, he took a step forward to continue on his way home.

Andrew promptly slipped on the patch of ice.

--

The hilarity of this was not lost on the man; after all, he always considered himself to be a bit of a jokester himself.

Andrew attempted to break his fall with his hands, but he couldn’t get purchase on the similarly icey ground he was rushing towards. For the cost of some scraped palms, he managed to slow himself down slightly - luckily the extent of his injuries as a soft leather-bound book miraculously saved his nose.

--

Andrew felt indebted to his new paper friend and took it with him for his walk home. The illogical nature of which, justified by a frankly odd tendency he displayed as a child. For years, this man would save discarded books from the trash heap, not bearing to let their contents go to waste. A habit that followed him into adulthood until he attempted to pick up a dirty copy of captain underpants while on a date. Thus, his attraction to the notebook was more of a childish return to form than some compulsion or desire to learn what was inside.

Although without much else to do, Andrew would inevitably inquire as to the secrets contained inside of that leather.

--

What he found, though, was an altogether shocking affair.

Acting like a bookmark and impressively preserved in the middle pages, there was a cheque snuggled up in the crack of the notebook.

Its recipient was marked in pen as “who fucking cares,” scrawled drunkenly, but the amount the cheque was issued to was for 20,000 dollars.

After a solid few moments of disbelief, Andrew began to realize the magnitude of what he was carrying. Aside from the cheque there was nothing in the notebook itself, i.e. no indication of who it belonged to. In all likelihood, it was fraudulent, some prank fueled by cheap bourbon and an even cheaper personality.

But he couldn’t deny his heart; this amount of money was life-changing and a passion swelled in him, propelling his feet forward at a rapid pace.

He clutched the notebook to his chest as if he was trying to force it into his body.

It was all he could do to stop himself from breaking into an all-out sprint. Thoughts of impossible luxuries began to splay themselves before him with seductive enticements. Juicy wagyu steak, marbled like the statue of David. A full room in his apartment dedicated to the latest video games, with virtual reality front and center. Andrew never had need of a car before, but with 20,000 dollars in his pocket, he was sure that he could find one (Provided he could also find a good deal on something well used.)

--

Exhausted by the time he made his way into his home, Andrew cast the notebook onto the ground. Physically his legs hurt from the energetic pace of his journey home. Emotionally, his mind was dulled from the incalculable amounts of things he had imagined buying.

The notebook was shortly joined by his coat, then his bag. He slithered into his room, his knuckles strained white and shaking, poised to strike at any imaginary thief.

--

Breath in, breath out

(Repeat)

Andrew needed to calm himself down. An app on his phone would automatically deposit the cheque into his account, but he didn’t want to rush anything for fear of some unlikely calamity.

Hands shaking, he drew the camera of the phone. It took him several tries to complete the transaction. Every time he failed, the phone would beep at him, then command him to try again.

But finally, it worked.

After a brief moment, his account balance updated; and there it was in all of its glory.

“$20,0543.34.”

Andrew laid back onto his bed and slept comfortably; which of all the luxurious that would follow him in the next few months, was the most remarkable thing his money could buy.