Black Alchemy

(Newsroom theme music playing)

Male voice: And that about wraps it up for today, I’m Tom Mellencamp!

Female voice: I’m Carolina Witherspoon, and this is Tiger Eagle News 117! Thank you for joining us, we look forward to being with you again tomorrow morning!

Tom: See you all tomorrow! Same time, Same place! (winks)

Camera Guy: Another great take guys, we are clear!

Almost immediately after the signal was given that the camera was off, the warmth and friendly smiles that were shared between both Tom and I vanished. I didn’t want to look his direction, as I quickly grabbed my bag from under the desk and headed back toward where things made sense, which was anywhere other than here. For five years Tom and I shared this very desk and brought the news to the city of Macon, we’d become very close friends. He was there for me after my mom passed away because he could relate when Alex didn’t understand what I was going through. I went to he and Christina’s wedding, and ever since we connected as friends we’d hang out at least twice a week outside of work, I was sure the boundaries were clear. I guess real life isn’t anything like the stories you read about, no matter how much we wish it was.

“Carolina…” his voice called out to me just as I had reached the door, the closeness of his voice painfully telling me that he wasn’t far behind me, he must have hurried to try and keep up. I was in such a rush to leave without saying anything to anyone, to keep all of this as private as possible for as long as possible.

“…I’m sorry, can’t we fix this?” I could hear the sincerity in his voice, and it felt like he was genuinely sorry, but for all the wrong reasons. I decided I didn’t want to deal with this because as far as I was concerned this couldn’t be solved, especially here of all places, where you never know who might be listening. I didn’t pause for another moment to respond, I simply continuing walking toward sanity.

After getting in my car and having driven for at least two blocks in silence I finally began to unwind. I hadn’t noticed how much of nice day it was. Spring is my favorite season, and here I was driving on one of the more favorable days, the sun high in the sky and cherry blossom branches blowing in the wind all along the avenue, and I was only existing trying to not think about Tom and all the drama surrounding that night. I decided I should pull over near my favorite get away spot, the Henderson Memorial Park and enjoy the dancing cherry blossoms that had originally caught my attention. I rolled down the window and was immediately reminded of my mother’s honeysuckle natural scent as a light breeze came through the window. I remember we’d come here every spring since I was a little girl and walk down the stone path talking of dreams for the future. It was something mama would do when the divorce was going on, I assumed she was trying to take my mind off the fact that dad was leaving for good. We’d always pick a cherry blossom tree to lie under for a while and look up at the sky and talk about any and everything that made us smile, I imagine that it was just as good at helping her to get away from reality as it was for me. On days when nothing else could stop the tears from running down either of our faces, we’d come here, get under one of our favorite trees, and she’d sit behind me and hold me and whisper “It’s alright baby”. Somehow even though I knew things weren’t alright, just being here with her made all things feel as though they would be. Yearning for some of that same energy I decided to get out of the car, and walk again along the stone path, by now I had a myriad of good memories to choose from, all involving this place. I walked over to the bench where Alex sat me down and asked for my hand in marriage, it was actually a pretty grand spot in the corner of the lot toward the entrance, sitting just behind a dancing water fountain. Just seventeen years ago we were right here, caught up in the ultimate expression of budding love. I took a deep breath and sat again on the bench, and after a moment relaxation started to creep over me bit by bit. Reminiscing was refreshing my mental state, I could feel a coolness and an excitement coming over me; and the very moment I decided to replay more of our actual conversation, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. Feeling weightless, I raised it to my ear:

“Hello?”

“Mom! You’re probably gonna want to come up to the school…”

“Hi sweetie, why would I want to do that?” I genuinely asked knowing my daughter already had a car.

“It’s Grusso, and before you ask, of course I had no idea he and his friends were planning to do any of this!” she went on in her usual righteous tone.

“Idina Witherspoon, what has your brother gotten into now? Especially with the move being just a couple days away?! You know what don’t even tell me, I’m on my way!” I said feeling yet another weight dropping down on me.

“Thank you babe, I really needed that!” I said.

“Sure thing! Anytime you need an Alex Witherspoon foot massage, and literally all times other than that, I’m your man!” my husband responded just before kissing me. He then sat down beside me and put his hand on my hip.

“So what was it that you wanted to tell me about why Grusso got suspended from school the other day?”

“I’d rather not babe, I’m still in disbelief that the news station let me go after five years because of a clause in my employment contract that I had known nothing about.”

“Honestly, I still wanna get my hands on that Tom Mellancamp! How is that he comes on to you and because he goes and reports the incident first you’re the one that gets let go in order to”- he makes air quotes with his fingers- “keep drama down!?”

“If I could take them all to court I would, but it was in the contract that I signed, and I never read the whole thing because this was my dream job you know? You kinda just do what you’re told so you can get in the door to do what you love.” I sighed and put my head in the palm of my hand. Alex pulled me into himself and held me tightly.

“Doesn’t matter what happens next, we’re gonna get through it together. We’re already here in our new home, and hey we may be down to one income source right now, but I’m sure something will turn up for you soon, and everything will be better than normal.” In this moment with him holding me, and having my back in the midst of everything going on, I felt like somehow we would be just fine.

“I guess since Grusso is suspended, and I’m out of a job right now, the two of us will get everything unpacked tomorrow while you’re at work, and Idina is at school.”

“I’m sure you’ll have a good time together, and speaking of Grusso, are you ready to tell me why he got suspended?” He asked breaking from the embrace we’d been wrapped in.

“Babe you’re not gonna believe this!” I began. Then I told him everything that had happened when I got to the school and I didn’t skip a single grimy detail.

The next morning I told Grusso that we should divide and conquer unpacking the house, because the two of us could cover more ground and get the job done faster if we split up. By noon I was ready for a break, I had put away every dish in the kitchen, and every eating utensil had found its way home in a drawer. I had placed every family portrait, painting and plant in the perfect position throughout the house, and I needed to sit down for a moment and check on Grusso’s progress. I poured myself a glass of red wine and sat down on the couch and called for him. I took a sip and thought back to the fact that I’d been let go for practically nothing, and how much of a good man my husband is. It isn’t right that we have this mortgage now that he can’t possibly afford on his salary alone, even though he’s the best mechanic in town. I started to feel down, but when I heard Grusso coming down the stairs I lightened up. He came into the room looking accomplished and carrying a medium sized box.

“My room is finished, and I didn’t think you wanted me to do anything in Idina’s room.” He sounded excited.

“Grusso, we’ve been at this all morning and all you’ve done is your room?” I asked starting to get frustrated. “Look at all I’ve done down here.”

He smiled “Mom I was only kidding, I’ve also done the upstairs bathroom, and the guest room, This was actually the last box in the guest room and I was about to open it when you summoned me my queen.”

I looked at the box wondering what could be in it, because I didn’t remember packing anything in a box that small.

“Let me have that if you would, I don’t recall anything being in a box that small.”

“Oooh it’s a phantom box!” he joked raising it high above his head.

“Grusso!”

“Sorry my queen.” He lowered his head and handed me the box.

It was very light, and that worried me because I really didn’t remember what could be in this box or where it could have come from. I opened it up and there was a little black notebook inside with black stones on the corners and weird little drawings and symbols on the front. I definitely had never seen this before, but for some reason I felt intrigued, I had to know what was in it. I reached into the box and took hold of the notebook, and suddenly my phone vibrated. I figured it must be a text, but I’d read it after I saw what this was all about. When I opened it, I noticed that it had a handwritten message on the first page that read:

When you come upon this book, take note ‘tis no game,

Possessing this book will create profit from your pain,

To keep the power, you must never lose this book until your final hour.

I had no idea what any of this meant, or who might have been trying to play a joke on me. I read a little further and it explained that the stones were black tourmaline which absorb negative energy, and the symbols were sygils that transmuted the negative energy into money for whoever owned the book. I knew this had to be an extension of one of Grusso’s dungeon games or something. I sat the book down to check the text I had received moments ago.

“Ha Ha Grusso very funny!” I yelled out, suddenly realizing that he had left the room.

I opened up my latest text and it was from my bank, it read : <<<Chase mobile: You’ve received a direct deposit of $20,000.00>>> I stared in disbelief, I could feel my heart doing acrobatics. A wave of both relief and panic came over me. I grabbed the notebook and read through it again as Grusso came into the room.

“What’d I do now?”

I just looked at him.