Knowing Tributary

The day began as other days, especially the days for the last long year, filled with nothingness and a void of human interaction. The sameness and the over familiarity of the small, cozy apartment atop the stately brown stone building was annoying. Her eyes fell on the plaque, a beautiful image of a limpid pool in a faraway land with the words, “Still Waters Run Deep.” How she longed to see these places. How she longed to see anywhere exciting and new.

“Just like still waters, why does nothing ever change?” thought Sage. She dutifully followed the morning routine, popping a muffin into the toaster, preparing her coffee, retrieving a yogurt, and a banana from the basket.

She opened the blinds to let in the light of the brand-new day. It was accompanied with no delight or excitement, just the familiar feelings of a worn but comfy pair of old slippers.

The sound of the toaster startled her. It popped the muffins into the air. It was a bit sad that this would probably be the most exciting moment of her day. She felt her heart beating more quickly, which at least signaled that she was capable of excitement.

She painted butter across the warm muffin halves and drizzled honey across the tops. She used to forgo the calories, but given the current state of the world, her appearance was less of a concern.

The sounds of the morning news interrupted her thoughts, and she began to consume her breakfast and focus on the repetitive stories of politics and COVID. The pandemic had forced many to work from home and Sage was no exception. She was thankful to continue to draw a paycheck, yet she felt even more isolated than before. There was little hope for meeting new people, even less hope than before, and she longed for human interaction.

The day whizzed by, particularly predictable. The clock ticked away the seconds of a meaningless day. Miss Penelope, Sage’s beautiful white Persian cat, flicked her tail, seemingly as impatient for excitement as Sage. Penelope had been a salvation for Sage during the pandemic.

Sage glanced at the clock and realized that it was already 1 PM. Where has the time gone? She decided that the mail probably had already come and she grabbed her keys, put on her mask, and assured Miss Penelope that she would return shortly. She went out the door to gather the mail in the brownstone lobby.

She unlocked her mailbox and withdrew all the junk that constantly cluttered up her box. “Pretty good,” she thought, “that collecting the mail, even this junk, would be the high point of my day. Who would ever have believed that a year ago?” She went up to her apartment and let herself back in.

Miss Penelope yowled, expressing displeasure that Sage had been able to leave the confines of the apartment and she hadn’t. Sage threw the mail on the table and it slid across, exposing a thick letter.

“Wow,” thought Sage, “it isn’t just hordes of junk mail as usual.” Reaching for the letter she thought, “It’s probably been misdelivered, I never get anything from anyone.” She looked at the letter. It clearly said her name, Sage Edwards, and her address on the “to:” portion, but there was no name on the return address.

She eagerly opened the letter, finding a deposit slip for $20,000 that had her name and bank account number on it, and a little black book.

Feeling the floor shift below her feet and the room beginning to rotate, she held on to the chair trying to calm herself enough to call the bank and straighten out what she felt certain was some sort of an error. The bank explained to her that it was no mistake, a person had requested to deposit the cash, directly into her account, and remain anonymous. She was legitimately the recipient of 20,000 actual US dollars!

Sage slid onto the chair, her heart pounding nearly out of her chest. Who? What? Where Why? All the bank could tell her was that a man had come into the bank and asked to deposit $20,000 cash into her account. He requested that the bank mail the receipt to her along with a little black book in a pre-addressed, postage paid envelope he had provided.

One more time the bank assured her that it was legitimate, it was cash, and it was hers! She hung up, still in a daze, her mind swimming with questions and her heart still beating quickly.

She picked up the stark white envelope with the blue ball point pen return address and looked at it once more, deciding that she needed to get an Uber and drive past the location. She picked up her cell and summoned a ride, brushed her hair and teeth, and grabbed a mask. She waited street side for her transportation. The Uber arrived and she asked the driver for his name and who he was supposed to pick up. She had learned to be quite street savvy living in the city alone and being a female.

The Uber driver gave all the correct answers, and she took her place in the backseat, her gloved hands grasping the little black book and envelope. She read the return address to him indicating that was her destination.

The driver pulled out into traffic and they were on their way. In just a few short blocks the driver pulled in front of a rather swanky looking restaurant called Around The World Cuisine. She recognized the name, as it was a popular upscale restaurant chain, but was somewhat surprised that she had really never noticed it so near her residence.

“We are here ma’am,” the driver said. Sage was quite taken back that the return address had taken her to a restaurant. Her stomach grumbled loudly, so loudly in fact that the driver could hear. It was then that Sage realized that she had worked through lunch and was famished.

“Sounds like we arrived just in time,” the driver said.

Sage decided why not, I have my mask and my gloves; I might as well go in and check out the place and get something to go. She instructed the driver to wait, as she would only be a short while getting her order and would be right back.

She entered the doors of the restaurant and a pleasant voice belonging to a thin dark-haired woman greeted her saying, “Good afternoon Miss Kennedy, we’ve been expecting you”. This took Sage completely by surprise! How did they know? How could they be expecting her? Her mind was rushing with anticipation and questions.

She started to quiz the woman at the counter, but the woman interrupted, saying, “I know nothing other than the fact that the owner has instructed us to prepare anything you wish and give you a note.” With that, she grabbed a menu and asked Sage if she would like to be seated. Sage managed to stutter out, “Uh…no, I will take my food to go.” With that the woman handed Sage the menu and offered her a chair so she could peruse the menu.

Sage found a Smorgasbord of tantalizing offerings and decided on The Tour of Italy, which would certainly be enough for her and Miss Penelope for the next few meals.

When her food was done the woman said, “I have put the handwritten message in your bag; no need to tip, as that was taken care of also. Have a great day.”

Sage made her way back to the Uber that was still waiting for her, entered the backseat and requested her return trip home. She let herself into the building and made her way up the stairs to the top floor where Miss Penelope, quite annoyed at being left behind, waited for her.

The smell of the food was phenomenal and as she put some lasagna in Miss Penelope‘s bowl it seemed as though she might have been forgiven for leaving her furry companion behind.

She was starving, and put some of each lovely thing on a plate and began to eat as she opened the note. It simply read, ‘follow the directions in the little black book.’ Directions?

With trembling fingers, she pulled the ribbon securing the little black book. As the book opened, she saw the words, “start here” followed by an address. The book smelled of new leather and she found the entire ordeal more intriguing than anything she had ever experienced. The first “direction” was fairly near her apartment, but it did not seem familiar to her. She thoughtfully closed the book before turning more pages and found herself entertaining unsettling unknowns surrounding the circumstance.

Am I being stalked? Is there a lunatic watching me? Sage decided she’d had enough excitement for one day. She put on her comfies and curled up on the couch to watch a movie.

Sage jolted awake. The bright morning sun shone through the slats of the shades. She glanced at the clock. Nine AM! She found herself wondering if she’d had a strange dream. Due to the slight orange tint across Miss Penelope‘s face, she realized that she HAD experienced the strange events that took her to the restaurant.

Sage dressed herself and performed her morning routine, sat down at the table and began the ritual of eating her breakfast. The little black book sat on the table taunting her. She licked the honey from her fingers, wiped them on a napkin and opened the little black book again. She stared at the words “start here” and the address that followed. Once again, near her home, she made the decision to ditch work and call another Uber.

Moments later she found herself in front of a rapid COVID-19 testing center. She was unsure what to think! Part of her was insulted and the other part was curious and stunned. She went to tell the Uber driver to take her home and he simply turned, smiled and said, “Just do it, you will be glad that you did.” Numb with confusion, Sage exited the ride and approached one of the testing tents. There she spit in a vial and awaited her results. Negative, they said. Of course, she thought to herself, I haven’t been anywhere for a year! She took the printed results of her test and made her way back to the Uber.

The driver pulled away from the curb. Sage began to instruct him to take her home, but the driver interrupted and asked if she had read the next page of her little black book.

“Oddly,” she said, “I have not.” And with that, she opened the book and noticed that the address seemed familiar. It’s the restaurant I visited for lunch yesterday! she exclaimed.

The driver pulled up in front of the restaurant, which was clearly closed. “Go inside,” he urged as if reading her mind.

Sage entered the restaurant and found the same pleasant woman who had greeted her previously. “This way,” she motioned for Sage to follow. Sage was led to a banquet type room in the rear of the restaurant and there sitting at a table was a strikingly handsome man holding a chair to seat her.

The man slid an envelope across the table to Sage and said, “Please.” She opened it and stared at the contents. It seemed to be a travel itinerary for an extensive trip. “Please accompany me on this trip around the world. We will go as friends and get to know each other and if something comes of it, wonderful, and if not, we will have a good time and a great friendship. The $20,000 should cover your expenses while you are away and give you some spending money.”

“Wha… What is your name?” Sage inquired.

“River. River Kensington,” he replied.

“River,” thought Sage, “no more still waters for me!”