Fortune

The snap of the estate lawyers briefcase felt so final. The definitive signal to end our meeting and the brief intertwining of our fates. It echoed through the small, stuffy office decorated with outdated, elaborate furniture, deep reds and honey oaks. I held in my hand the very last ties to my mother and the last chance to answers about my past. A full lifetime was reduced to the tiny package in my hand. I twisted it in my hands with knitted brows. I searched for words, some way to seek clarification, but I could speak none without seeming callous and greedy in my current circumstance.

With a handshake and a polite farewell, I exited the office, led by a plump, stern-looking secretary. Her ankle-length skirt, tucked into a long sleeved button-up blouse, billowed about her as she walked. "Pauline" her name tag read. She opened the out-of-place metal security gate and shut it behind me with a booming clang and a click.

As I walked past an endless stream of gray, scurrying faces, taking as much interest in me as I had in them, I stole glances at the book in my hand. Each one only made me more confused.

The ornate book shone with a golden filigree binding, and a glossy ink black cover. It was unique, and beautiful, but still just a book. I flipped through the empty pages looking for anything, a hint, a note, something that would make up for years of abandonment, and give me even the smallest bit of the closure I had sought that morning.

Closing my door behind me, I stripped off the restrictive blazer and dropped it at my feet. Leaning against my counter I examined the book more thoroughly. In the harsh yellow light of my studio apartment the pages seemed to shimmer. But it was still just a book. I sighed and deposited it unceremoniously into a kitchen drawer, where it sat for weeks, fading from my mind entirely.

One early, hazy morning, I sat on my balcony, a cigarette in one hand, and my laptop on my lap. A ding sounded from my phone. I picked it up slowly.

"She has found you. Hide the book." The words blinked up at me from an unknown number.

"Wrong number." I responded, rubbing the tight space between my brows.

"Weirdo" I said to myself before settling back into my chair to resume my project, a fluff-piece for a mommy blog I had an ongoing partnership with for ghost-write services.

Ding. My phone sounded again. I glared at it before picking it up.

"She is coming. DO NOT GIVE HER THE BOOK!!!!!!!!!" The words came from the same unknown number.

"Who is this?" I responded, before dropping my phone back to the table with a huff.

At the same time a knock sounded at my door. I groaned inwardly as I stood and shuffled to the door still in my sweats and a grubby tank top.

She stood on the other side, neon- black waist length hair hanging stick-straight on either side of her pale face. A grace, dignity and air of perfection reminiscent of ballerinas, butterflies, and wisps of smoke oozed from every inch of her. She parted burgundy lips with a devilish grin.

I found myself stepping back to invite her in before she even spoke. Her words when they finally came were dripping with honey.

"I'll keep this short and sweet. My name is Analiese Meduce. You were left something by a..." her lips turned up into a sneer. "Woman. I'd like to buy it from you." She turned to fully face me. Her golden eyes intense and practically glowing. "I'm willing to pay quite a bit for the item." She held up a briefcase I hadn't noticed before and clicked it open, revealing more stacks of cash than I could even process.

I stammered, lost in the way she moved, the way her eyes moved around the room. I shook my head trying to shake away the trance. My mind felt foggy.

My mind went back to the wird and cryptic text messages. I stared at the cash longingly, but something felt wrong. "I don't have it anymore."

Her gaze bore into me and I felt bare. Finally, her lips turned up. "That is unfortunate." She clicked the briefcase closed, "well it was lovely to meet you, I'll get out of your hair," she said, before departing as suddenly as she had appeared.

Her sudden absence left me blinking and stuck, unmoving. Before I could move another knock sounded.

I hoped she had returned to make the offer again, calling my bluff. I felt the lack of a towering pile of cash aching in my chest.

I opened the door, ready to accept her offer, and stopped short, coming face to face with the round face of the lawyers secretary.

She pushed past me, her voice frantic "Did you give her the book?" She said between pants. I tightened my face staring at her.

"No?"

Her shoulders relaxed and she inhaled deeply. "That's good. Very good." She said, patting my hands absent-mindedly.

"Grab it and let's go. We have to get out of here."

"What do you mean go?" I said., my voice harsh.

"We have to go, she'll be back, if she's not still here."

"Where is it?"

Dumbfounded, I pulled the book from the drawer where I had stuck it and handed it to her.

"What is the big deal with this thing anyways?" I said.

She snapped her eyes up and locked onto me.

"You don't know?" She said, sharply. "Damn it, I told him you weren't prepared."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll explain along along way. Put shoes on and let's go."

"I need to change."

She shook her head. "There isn't time."

I shrugged and retrieved my shoes. As I slipped them on, she pulled a pen from her pocket. She scribbled something into the book, she stopped suddenly, biting her lip. I slipped a long coat over my shabby outfit.

She bustled down the stairs and I matched her pace, my breath quickening, and into a black suv idling by the curb.

I jumped when she let out a sharp gasp.

Annaliese sat in the back. In her long, porcelain fingers she held a glistening black gun, pointed right at my head.

"Hello ladies, let's go for a drive."

*****

Busy streets faded into a winding road, towering buildings gave way to a forest of trees as we followed Analiese's directions. Every muscle of my body was squeezed and tight while Analiese hummed and sang.

We reached a bridge overlooking a swift-flowing river.

"Pull over." She sang.

I wondered how Pauline appeared so calm as she pulled the car over, while my entire body shook and raced.

"Over there," Analiese shouted, ushering us towards the edge of the bridge. She grabbed the book from the front seat of the car. She lit up as she caressed the golden spine, her mouth gaping. It almost looked like her eyes filled with tears.

"What is it with that book?" I said softly to Pauline.

My words were loud enough for Analiese to hear.

She examined my face and then laughed. "You were born into the privilege of protecting the most sacred, powerful item in the world, and you know absolutely nothing about it."

She laughed again.

"And now you never will." With a smirk, she lifted the gun and pointed it at me. I felt a gasping sob rising in my throat.

"It'll be okay." Pauline whispered to me, grabbing my hand and closing her eyes.

I had the briefest second to wonder how she was so sure.

I squeezed my eyes shut as she pulled the trigger.

Seconds ticked by as I waited for pain, agony, blood, and death. I found myself wondering if I was already dead, if dying was just that quick.

"What the hell?" Analiese shouted. I braved a glance with one eye. She was shaking the gun, peering into the barrel.

With deafening bang a blinding flash, the gun exploded in her face. Her mouth opened into an "O" shape as her head snapped back violently. She stood suspended in time as her body swayed, before she collapsed to the ground.

Pauline stepped forward, unaffected. She let out a little giggle as she walked over to Analiese. She picked up the book, looking it over.

"I shouldn't have used the book, but it was necessary." She worked her jaw, furiously. "How fortuitous! Look what else we got!" Pauline pulled the black briefcase from the car and held it up, shaking it with a smile.

"I think I might take $20,000 for a finder's fee." She said with a wink.

She flipped the book open to the page she had written on. With a nod, she held it out to me. "Simple yet affected."

I still stood frozen, staring down at Analiese's crumpled form. I stumbled forward and took the book in trembling hands.

I tore my eyes away and inspected the page.

As I stared the words started to fade away, but not before I read them.

"Analiese dies. Pauline and Cleo survive and keep the book."