Her Mission Became Mine

So, my friend, you asked me; how did I come into so much wealth and able to give so much for so long? What I'm about to tell you, I will never confirm nor deny any or all parts of this story!

First, I must give you a full description of my mother! She stood 5'9 with an hourglass figure! Her skin color was such, you had no idea of her ethnicity! She wasn't too dark, but not too light either! Her hair texture could apply to many nationalities! Even her facial features combined with her unique ability to speak many different dialects of the major languages fluently would have you confused. She could be a roaring lion or as gentle as a lamb! I came to know both sides! My mother was an anomaly!

Secondly, I must share with you, I was only in my mother's presence 4 times my entire life, outside of my birth and my nursing age! She put her life on pause and isolated herself to hide my birth! After my first year of life, she sent me away to be cared for by a nanny that was compensated well, and raised me as if I were her very own child.

When I was 4 years of age I was sent to a private school where my mother came to see me off, as if she was an Aunt or a distant relative! At that time, she explained that it was very important that I learn everything that was presented to me! I remember her asking if I knew what the word 'Important' meant! When I said; "I think I do" she replied, "don't ever think you know what something means, or what somebody meant by their action or their words, take the time to find out for sure! For such information may mean the world to you at any given moment! Don't ever forget this lesson!" I must say, it was the first lesson I remember her giving me, even though I was so young! As the years passed, the random but few visits, with an important lesson, would always be the treat!

When I was 10, she explained that she was actually my mother, but my existence as her son would have to remain a secret to protect us both! I asked about my father and she stated we will have that conversation the next time we were together.

My mother and I met two more times. When I turned 15 and when I turned 20! When I was 15 she stated that everything about her life would be explained in more detail, in the letters she had written over the years. Then she sat me down and began to explain what happened to my father! She stated he was her work husband and was assassinated because of her! She loved him dearly and had just learned she was pregnant with me at the time of his death! He never knew! She said she made the fatal mistake of letting her secret world intertwine with her personal world and it cost him his life! She followed that story with an explanation of why she chose to remove me from her life, which was to never allow her adversaries to force her to make the hard choice of giving in or giving up to save my life! She became very emotional during the entire story about him, but she managed to finish it! We enjoyed the rest of our visit and then she was gone!

The next and last time I saw my mother, I was 20 and a junior at Oxford University in Oxford, England, studying ‘From Poverty to Prosperity: Understanding Economic Development’ which was the class my nanny insisted I enroll in! This visit is when my mother had the harsh conversation about me being responsible for making this world a better place for as many people as possible in the entire world! She shared some highs, some lows, and some regrets about her method and journey of trying to better this world! She told me that one day, I would have the mind, the means, and hopefully the time to help better this world! I could see where my education would help me do so, and even, possibly having the time, but the means to better people's lives across the globe was, if nothing else, unforeseeable from my vantage point!

Now, how I came into my wealth! As life would have it, right before my 24th birthday and just after receiving my Masters in Economics, I was contacted by my nanny that my mother had transitioned a few hours ago from cancer! She gave me the details concerning funeral arrangements but insisted I attend as her son, supporting her loss of a good friend! It was a graveside service, something my real mother requested! After the funeral and back at the house, my nanny informed me we were headed to Accra, Ghana to check on some property where my real mother resided often, loved dearly and called it her favorite place in the world! I understood eventually going, but why right away? I was sure though, the answer would be revealed when necessary!

We arrived and after arriving, I remember my mother telling me when I was 10 about a place that was her most favorite place in the world! This was that place she had insisted I always remember. Once inside the house, immediately my nanny explained, my mother told her when she first hired her, that upon her transition, for her to come here, and locate the box she had just taken off of a shelf and set between us! She opened the envelope that was attached to it and started to follow the instructions to the letter! Which was, to hand me the items in a particular order, while explaining their significance! She opened the sealed box in front of me! She first handed me 4 bundles of letters and several that weren't bundled together, but had a tie inside the box, indicating that bundle wasn't completed yet! She told me I could not read them until I had completed every task that would be presented that evening! She placed them in a nice cloth bag and repeated, do not read any until your primary tasks are completed! I agreed and she moved to the next item! She then handed me a gold Rolex watch and stated, it had belonged to my father, which once belonged to his father, and my mother wanted me to wear it until my transition and should I have a child, to pass it on to them! Then she pulled out a bible and handed it to me! As she was handing it to me, I could remember a conversation when my mother told me, during her grandparents' years and those before them, all important things concerning a family were either listed or found in the family bible! So, I opened it immediately and found five lottery tickets! They were old and dated in sequence from the 1st of September to the 4th in the year 2000 and the fifth one was dated in October of the same year! They consisted of a Pick Four dated 02/09/2000, a Pick Five dated 01/09/2000, a Power Ball dated 03/09/2000, a Mega Million dated 04/09/2000, and another Power Ball dated 04/10/2000. I couldn't place any significance on them being so old, but if they were in the bible, they meant something important according to my mother! My nanny said she didn't think my mother would even consider buying a lottery ticket! That gave me, even more cause to ponder their significance! Then she came out of the box with a bundle of $100 bills and instructed me to count them! They totaled up to $20,000. She read from her letter that stated, this was the funding for my initial journey to use, however. And finally, she pulled out a single letter addressed to me. My nanny said I was to read it right then. It started, if you're reading this I have transitioned! It said some other things but closed with; "My Son, I have given you everything you need to help make this world better for some individuals and/or many in a way that will be totally different from my journey!" I also learned the house was paid for and belong to me!

My nanny left early the next morning and so began my journey! I laid out the lottery tickets to figure their significance since none were winners! I took the first dated ticket and wrote out the numbers. After a few minutes, I could hear my mother in one of her lessons saying; "things aren't always as they may seem!" So, yes they are lottery tickets, which is obvious, but what if the numbers had an alphabet significance? I wrote letters under each number according to their sequence and the Pick Five spelled Black! I did the same with the next-in-line date which was the Pick Four and it spelled out Book! Black Book! Then came my dilemma with the Power Ball and Mega Million tickets! Then I thought if I know it is a Black Book somewhere, she would need to tell me where. So, I'm thinking the Power Ball ticket could be a location written in latitude and longitude. Now, I understand why there is a small "N" carefully typed between the third and fourth numbers and a "W" right after the sixth number. 51 45'18"N, 01 15'18"W which I learned is my alma mater, Oxford University! Once on campus, the Mega Million ticket led me to 51 45'14"N, 1 15"16" W which was the Bodleian Library on campus! Once inside, I remember my mother visited and while we were visiting the library, she pointed toward a book that was on the top shelf that I wasn't sure she could even see, leaving me puzzled at the time! Later in that week, I found out that was the exact name of the book! Well, this time, I took the book down and examined it thoroughly! It wasn't black and it had no clues inside indicating anything about a black book. Yet, several things became obvious about this particular book! The book seemed to have an extremely extra-thick back cover and it didn't have any markings indicating it belonged to the University or the library! It was as if someone, somehow placed the book in that location for me to one day find! I took the book home! The book was 6" x 9" and one and a half-inch thick, with an eighth of an inch thick back cover, brown in color, and had a vintage age to the touch of the cover and pages. After careful examination, I began to dissect the book carefully. I found buried within the back cover perfectly, a 5"x 7" thin black book filled with numbers, names, and addresses of people my mother wanted me to help. Because of my Economics background, the numbers appear to be bank account numbers! I applied the latitude and longitude theory to the remaining ticket, which led me to the Credit Suisse Bank in Zurich, Switzerland. Once there, I learned there were hundreds of millions of dollars available to me in various accounts!

Now, I have the means to change the world for individuals up to entire countries because of my mother's tremendous sacrifices, undaunted determination, and incredible love for me and mankind! She left to me, in a black book means to complete her mission!

Well, my friend, that is how I came into my incredible wealth! Oh, and the letters my mother left me, those are stories for another time!