The Dark Paper

Usually, finding a book that gives you free money would be a good thing. Right? Wrong. When I found the little black book open in the park, on October 30th, 2020, I wasn’t expecting all that was about to come with it. As soon as I picked it up, it started raining money onto the ground from the middle of the book! The grass I was standing on was covered in fresh one dollar bills. Upon closer inspection all of the one dollar bills seemed to be identical. I grabbed up the bills and stuffed them in my pocket. I closed the book and walked home.

My home wasn’t anything fancy. My mom and I lived in a very small, run down house. In between two very large extravagant houses with rich people we’ve never met living in them. I thought, maybe, the money I found would help my mom! I decided a long time ago, I would give whatever money I earned to my mom. She could do something more important with it, like pay our power bill which hasn’t been on in months. Although, who am I kidding, a few dollars would never help. Nevertheless, I have to find her. I yelled her name while I was standing in the living room and I heard nothing in return. Since the house was silent I knew mom hasn’t came home from work yet.

In my room, the attic, my room, whatever. I examined the book a lot closer. I had a small window for light, and I had made a makeshift desk to read on with long, old pieces of wood that were piled against the wall. The closed book laid flat on the desk in front of me. It was made of a really old material. I couldn’t tell if it was real leather or something else. There was an odd feeling to it. I mean, it rains money so there has to be something magical about it. I flipped it over, on the back of the book it has an inscription:

“Whomever finds this book shall be blessed, until they lay down for their final rest.”

The inscription was a little vague and creepy but I decided to open it.

It must grant your wish without you having to say anything because as soon as I picked it up, it opened wide and rained money again! I watched as the money flew from the middle of the book and saw a money sign drawn onto the left page it was opened at. The symbol was drawn with pencil so I grabbed an eraser from my back pack, I still hadn’t taken off from school, and started erasing the sign.

The money stopped flowing out of the book. I could finally flip through the pages. It was blank. The whole book was blank! Could this book really be a blessing?

After a long time of contemplating what I would do next. I drew “100$” in the book. It resumed raining money from the middle, but now it was just 100 dollar bills! Now this, could help my mom. I let it rain all over my bed, the floor and my makeshift desk. The floor of the entire attic was green! I kept the book open in my hands, the money was up to my knees. It wasn’t enough. I kept it open until the room of 100$ bills were almost to my chest!

I heard my mom come in downstairs and I yelled for her. Her footsteps came up the stairs, towards my room, hurriedly. She opened my door to the surprise of money pushing her to the floor. My mom and I looked at each other one last time and I disappeared into thin air. I blinked.

When I had opened my eyes, it was dark. The only light I could see was the glowing book in my hands, still open. I wasn’t sure if closing the book would extinguish the light it radiated, so I kept it opened. Ideas were scrambling my mind, I was trying to decide what to do! If I had taken all that money from the book, it had to have wanted something in return. Nothing is free in life, especially not gifts from magic books! I checked my backpack for another pencil, I lost the one from my room. Luckily I had an extra. It took me a while to understand the meaning of the book, and why it had appeared to me in the first place. It had probably felt my sad energy, from miles away. I was a sad soul, but not lost. I wrote down my mother’s name in the book and closed my eyes again.

I woke up in my bed the next morning. There was no money in my room to be seen, not a single dollar. Was it all a dream? It couldn’t have been! I called out for my mom, she wouldn’t have left for work yet if it were really morning! I ran from my room, through the hall and into her room. Not stopping until I landed in her bed on top of her. I yelled “M-mom, wake up!” And all she could say was “...it’s too early, get off!”

Fin.