Black Book of Rewards & Consequences

Once upon a time in a world filled with 3 types of people, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and westerns are no longer the first thing to come to mind. When reality and fantasy are no longer separate and you find yourself questioning your own sanity, this is where my story begins.

This is a story which took place during a time when terms such as quarantine, face masks, hand sanitizers, toilet tissue shortage and social distancing were becoming the new norm.

One of the things that affected me the worse regarding the Pandemic was the inability to go to the movie theater with a bunch of friends and enjoy the experience with a lot of other individuals, filling the room and losing one’s self and being engulfed in escape on the movie screen.

I spent most of my spare time, shopping online, binging on Netflix and looking forward to hearing that the Pandemic was finally over.

As a result of the increased online shopping, I maxed out my credit cards, and found myself sinking into a deep depression.

Every night , it became harder and harder to fall asleep, with thoughts of the surmounting credit card bills. I tried to think about what was it that made me become addicted to shopping online.

It finally came to me , like a moment of enlightenment, I enjoyed receiving the packages in the mail because it was like receiving a present or a gift from an anonymous admirer.

Credit card bills in addition to the numerous other financial obligations, began to consume my every waking moment. The nightmares soon began after I started taking medication to help me fall asleep. The dreams always began the same and ended with me waking from the dream screaming at the top of my lungs, shaking and crying uncontrollably.

The dream started off with me talking on the telephone with one of my friends. During the conversation, my friend would say to me, “Is someone at your door?” and I would say to her “What do you mean? The doorbell hasn’t rung.” Shortly after I would make that statement, my doorbell would ring very urgently, accompanied with loud banging on the door. When I checked the door, there wasn’t anyone at the door. The only thing left was a sealed white legal sized envelope.

The note inside the envelope stated, “You’ve Got Mail”.

I looked on both sides of the door and then into the direction of my mailbox which was approximately 30 feet away from door. As I stared at the mailbox which happened to be black. It slowly transformed into coffin and after the transformation was complete the side slowly opened, and I began screaming slamming my front door and awakening from the dream.

The nightmares continued for 4 ½ months, with each dream becoming more vivid and real.

Shortly after the 4 ½ months, the dream took a turn with more intense impact. In addition to awakening crying, I began noticing that my bed room door and my front door were slightly ajar, which was not something that I would do.

One day while checking my mail, I notice a parcel addressed, to myself or the resident of my street address. I thought it was strange because, I did not remember ordering anything, because my online shopping had come to a complete halt.

I returned to the kitchen, sorted through the bills, and opened the mysterious parcel.

The parcel contained a thin black book which resembled an old ledger, from 1930’s.

My initial thought when looking at the black book, was that it must have been some type a prank. The outside of the parcel had no return address, so I was convinced it must have been from one of my best friends who was notorious for pranking me very often.

After confirming that my friend had not sent it to me, I decided to explore the black book further.

One of the things that impressed me about the black book was that it was in very good condition, but it was obvious that it was very old. The inside inscription was a note to the recipient of the book. The note was very clear, instructing the recipient to read the entire book, not skimming or cutting corners because the rewards are great but the consequences are even greater.

As I read the book it became very clear that this was no ordinary book. Most of the information was written a riddle format. Fortunately for me, I enjoyed solving riddles and I was very good at solving them.

Interesting enough, the black book mapped out the exact location of where the recipient would receive $20,000 in cash. I understood that the reward was the $20, 000, but my question was what were the consequences being mentioned in the book?

I decided that I was more interested in finding this money if it was real and reading the book in it’s entirety, solving all of the riddles. The riddles were very clear leading to clues on my property, specifically towards in my backyard. My home was originally built during the early 1920’s, it had been completely renovated, most recently in 2010. The land surrounding the home included 5 acres, an assortment of trees and farm land.

I was able to solve the riddles in 2 weeks and the location of the $20, 000 was discovered in 1 month. The money was discovered buried in black tin case in the shape of coffin, 4 acres away from the home.

There was a sealed envelope in the tin case with a letter inside to the recipient of the money.

The letter explained that money had been buried by an individual during the 1930’s who was obsessed with riddles and individuals who followed directions. He referred to himself as “Mr. Black”. Mr. Black had saved a lot of money prior to the crash of the stock market in 1929.

He had an employee who was dating his daughter and was a fortune hunter. Mr. Black was against the blossoming relationship and tried to discourage his daughter, but was unsuccessful. His daughter married the employee and was not given her inheritance of $50,000 from her father, because she disappointed him. Mr. Black told his daughter that he would give her $20,000 if she could solve his riddles. Mr. Black’s daughter hated

riddles and refused to attempt to solve the riddles. The daughters husband left her shortly after the marriage for an older wealthy woman. Mr. Black’s love for his daughter allowed for him to continue to support her, on a modest weekly allowance, however, he never gave her the lump sum amount of money she would have inherited.

I found another sealed envelope in the tin under the $20,000. In the envelope there was a letter explaining in detail what the consequences of not reading the black book in its entirety.

The results of not reading the book in it’s entirety would lead the recipient to a dark demise.

Instead of the recipient discovering a black tin buried with the $20,000, the recipient would discover a tank filled with methane gas, exploding in their face, resulting in disappointment and death.

The End