Sincerely, Amelia

Dear little black notebook today is march 13th just two days after I got you. Do you ever think about why all the bad stuff happens to someone? Or maybe why you are lucky enough to only have the good? why. Why is it possible to have the worst day of your entire existence but then you stumble (trip over in my case) something so amazing it just makes you totally forget how terrible that day really is. Well I had a day like that. It was the day I got you the notebook I'm writing in right now, it all started on Monday which is without a doubt the worst day of the entire week.

First off, I was late to school because I slept through, so I had to get breakfast on the run that caused me to spill my coffee all over me making me look even more like a mess than I felt. I got coffee stains all down the front of my brand new sapphire blue sweater and my jeans and I think some even got in my hair. Then right before I got on the school campus I ran into this really strange man, like the kind you see in movies with the brown trench coat and the black sunglasses, except this guy didn't have that. He looked like the average high school science teacher, just a little creepier. He had this package in his hands with what looked like brown paper wrapped around it and when I ran into him he glared at me and tried to hide it. He didn't say anything but when I walked into the building he followed me right on my heels and then disappeared in the crowded hallway of the school. The weird thing is I've never seen him before. I go to a small school and I know all the school staff.

“Mia. you look like garbage, in the best way possible.” I heard from behind me, I didn't even have to look to know it was my best friend harper

“Gee, thanks.” I said sarcastically giving her a glare to let her know I wasn't in a good mood.

“So are you going to tell me what's wrong and what is all over you or just glare?” she asked but i cut her off before she could finish.

“I'm running late.” I just kept walking to my locker, her following like we do every time I'm late.

“Again, that's like the fifth time this month” she stopped “that still doesn't explain that.” she said gesturing to my appearance

“I spilled my coffee, and I didn't have time to do my hair or get fully ready.”

“We have class in five minutes but i will help you get ready at lunch'' harper is basically the model of the school, her locker is like a closet and she knows how to make everything look good. She is my lifesaver, we have been best friends since 7th grade. She helped me not look like my mom dressed me.

Finally, I headed to lunch with Harper and I've noticed that guy like twenty times today and he always has the package in hand looking lost.

“See that guy.” I signaled over to him pointing with my eyes.

“Yeah, what about him?”

“I think he is following me, I ran into him this morning,” I stopped for a minute letting people pass by us before continuing. “He's been carrying around a package. He seems harmless almost like a lost mailman.

“Turn this way, let's see what he does,” she said and we went down the other hall. He kept going the opposite way.

“I swear he's following me or something like that, he hasn't been doing anything but walking around all day.”

“I believe you. I just don't know what to do about it, maybe just keep watching him or talk to him.”

“Okay, I'll try,” I said, he was creepy but not like a harmful creepy.

“Now let's go get you a new outfit and maybe a hair brush.” she said leading me to her lockers, yes plural somehow she got multiple lockers. That's just who she is, sometimes the teachers even ask for her fashion advice.

Once we got to her main locker she pulled out a lilac colored oversized off the shoulder sweater and a matching silk hair bow to go with the black jeans and sneakers I was already wearing, along with a hair curler (which I have absolutely no idea how she snuck into school) and some lip gloss. Then we headed to the bathroom, the good bathroom though with the two doors that no teachers ever go into.

That's when I tripped on something, I glanced over to see what caused me to fall, the small package with the warm tan colored paper and twine, sitting on the ground right in the middle of the hallway, nobody in sight except me and harper. Not even the guy from before. I picked it up and it had a note that read Amelia on top smeared with black marker. Why would my name be on this? And more importantly why is it my full name not just Mia like everyone calls me?

“Wow, creepy,” harper joked looking at it from over my shoulder.

“Yeah, should I open it?”

“Yes.”

“I'm scared, what if it's like somebody's finger like what you see in movies.”

“Lets just hope it's not, I say open it. If you don't it will drive me crazy not knowing.”

“Fine, but not here.”

As we walked to the bathroom every possibility went through my mind. What if it doesn't have anything in it? Or what if it's not meant for me?

“I’ll change first then open it.”

“Hurry then!”

After I changed and harper did my hair we decided it was time to open it, I gently untied the twine and then ripped off the paper. Inside was a black notebook, it was a hardcover and the corners were slightly rounded with the elastic keeping it closed, the notebook was small, like the size you could perfectly fit in your pockets. Inside of the notebook was ivory pages and a letter on the very first page that read,

Dear Amelia,

I hope you have been doing well, I'm sorry you had to get this under such unusual circumstances. I am a friend of your grandpa and I am sorry to say that he has passed, he was such an amazing person and always wished the best for your family. He wanted you to have something to remember him, even if you never met him he heard about you and always wished to meet you but never could he is your fathers biological dad but they fell out of contact.

He was also an amazing writer and poet, who believed that the love of writing and reading was the greatest love a person could have so he wished to send you this very notebook he bought years ago to someday give you but once again never could, but that's not all he wanted you to have. Look on the last page of the notebook slightly under the binding

Ps, sorry about tony I told him to just give the package to you but he watches too many movies so he probably went over the top as usual.

I hope to hear from you soon

Kind regards, Robert.

I flipped to the very back page and when I saw what was inside I couldn't help but scream, there was no way, I got this random package from a dead grandpa I didn't even know I had and it has a check for 20000 dollars in it! Stuff like this don't just happen to people in real life. But then again it just did, the only reason I believe it is because he called me my full name and only my dad called me that. He said I was named after his mom. That's like the only I know about his family.

I looked over at Harper and her jaw dropped, this is the first time I've ever seen her speechless and it's not even her grandpa, how am I supposed to feel right now? I'm more confused than anything else.

My dad died years ago, he never mentioned his father. I knew a small amount about his family, but I just assumed his parents died before I was born

Once I finally got home, I decided it was time to figure out what to do, all day me and harper have been deciding what I should do next, the best idea we came up with was to write back. So I sat at my desk and decided to write. It took like 10 times to get what I wanted to say all written in the black notebook.

Dear Robert,

Thank you for writing to me, I had never met nor heard about this grandpa. But I wish you and all his friends the best.

Thank you so much for the generous gifts and going through the effort to get them to me. Tony was a little over the top but he helped to make an interesting day.

I also enjoy reading and writing too, so did my dad. If it's possible I would love to hear and learn more about my grandpa and my dad's side of the family.

Again, thank you all for putting in the effort so my grandpa's wish could come true

Sincerely, Amelia