The Mysterious Stranger and The Little Black Book

You're not going to believe this..... It is rather peculiar that just by reading something and following a small set of instructions that you can find yourself rather fortunate. I was just minding my business.................................

It was a normal average day for me getting ready to go to work, I love my little flat so warm and cozy, due to the number of fluffy cushions piled on my sofa bed in the living room. My sofa bed is so convenient for when I have the girl's over and we crash out after a drunken man-bashing Friday night with bottles of wine and movie night when my boyfriend comes over...I absolutely love my open plan kitchen although I still detest the smell of cooking on my clothes...Have you ever tried frying fish in a small flat?..... I love fish but can only stand cooking it at mine once a month. I have the best breakfast bar, I take pride in always replenishing my fruit bowl it is chic and extravagant with a hangy bit for the bananas. I often put an overflow of tropical fruit in it with the most colorful and unique fruits I can find, I never eat much of it as I live on my own but I love when things look pretty and delicious, I like the inspiration it gives me making my life bright and things lol.

Outside of my large kitchen window, there is a roof above the kitchen of the flat beneath, it's nice sitting on there looking at the skyline especially at night......... I live in London, close to Docklands so I'm close to the city and the view from that particular window often has me daydreaming about my dreams and goals for the future whether on the roof or not I just love it. My Flat is on the 6th floor with no lift, the lugging of shopping up the stairs is horrible, these little arm's of mine can't carry much weight. I never seem to learn... every time I go to the shops, I pick up ten items more than intended, the benefits of shopping deliveries, I don't appreciate paying £40 to get it.....I do love this little place of mine, I am very fortunate my dad put a deposit down on the flat when I was 18, and let me move in when I turned 21. Dad ensures I adhere to my responsibilities, making the rent does get tough, it's part-owned part rented, my dad's way of making me earn it for myself, he still has to bail me out from time to time,... he doesn't complain much! It's not cheap living in London and close to the city...... I mean try my best to keep on top of my utility bills. I'm a support worker. I love my job. The kids I work with have special needs, some have interesting parents, not so much in a good way. Some kids... I'd really like to pull their hair like they pull mine. But I cannot do that, I'd find myself out of a job and I would never make the rent then would I?

I wish my boyfriend was as independent as me, he still lives at home, with his mum. Steven (my boyfriend) is such a mummies boy, I don't think he'll ever leave home. His mum Julie, she likes me... I think, doesn't want me taking her precious son from her. Julie calls at least three times a day when Steven is over for the weekend, to check if I'm looking after him properly. YES, BREAKFAST, LUNCHTIME AND DINNERTIME........."Steven, did you eat?" "What did you have?" "She does know how you like your eggs, doesn't she?" Mum's and their boy's I heard that's a thing, Julie is very possessive and it's annoying, sometimes I think she wants me to get wound up, so SHE can tell Steven to throw me away.

Anyway...... My name is Juni, well it's Juniper actually but no one calls me that... I love my name, my mum chose it, apparently before I was born. I miss my mum so much..... Talking about her makes me teary-eyed and emotional. My mum Sadie was a true fighter she died when I was 18, she was a cancer survivor she had it long before I was born. Mum miraculously fought it for years you would never know without knowing her personally that she got really unwell very frequently, I was her miracle baby....She would always joke about why she gave me such a corny name, Juniper berries were her go-to immunity booster, although there is no legit info to confirm how much it was a good source to fight cancer, coincidentally juniper berries are the same ingredient in Gin she felt justified if she got a little tipsy...., she was funny... I miss her she was my best friend. I often wish I had a better relationship with Julie but never mind. My mum and Julie are very different.

..We loved an adventure me and mum, we loved conspiracies and strange things.... Let me take a minute and breathe here because wow wow wow WOW. I am sooooooooooooo lucky.

Where was I...... I'd almost finished applying my mascara, that annoying thing happened when you are doing the last swish of the mascara wand and I poked myself in the eye.... my eye was proper watering, I was squinting in pain to get it out.....typical but this happens often I'm clumsy at the best of times so I cleared the big smudge off my face and re-applied. "Perfect" now I'm ready to go....grabbed my coat and bag and rushed out the door because now I'm a little behind schedule due to mascara massacre... It's about 09:45 I'm rushing, I need to make my way quickly to All Saints Station. I made it onto the platform and got on the train literally seconds before the doors closed. I can't be late for my client Hafiza her parents are always busy and hate it if I'm late. I do not want to see the disapproving face of either mum or dad as they look at me knocking on their door even two minutes past the hour they won't hesitate to report me to management,....Only going a few stops. Great it's 10:10 and I have got to All Saints fortunately for me Hafiza's house is just minutes from the Station 2 minutes to be precise and I only have 5 minutes to get there but I am outside the station now so at least I'll make it..... *pling* I get a notification, I pull my phone out my pocket and look FFS! Hafiza's dad sent me a text to say they won't be needing the service today....... OMG, all that rushing for a cancellation. "so frustrating" ....Thinking of heading back home... But first being as I have all of my freedom, I'll stop in Cloud's Coffee Lounge to get a Mocha, they're my favourite and Clouds Coffee makes the best Mochas, So frothy with cream on top and a little grated fresh cinnamon Mmmm. That made me feel better just seeing it, I said thanks to my favorite friendly cashier Samir, such a warm old gentleman. Samir is always happy for my custom makes me feel like a family member.. "Hey Junie my dear how are you? long time since you have popped in, that boyfriend better be looking after you! or he'll have to answer to me" So sweet, Samir is .........I am in no rush now so I am taking a slow stroll back towards the station I texted Steven "Hey babe will I see you later?, Hafiza's parents cancelled". ....walking past All Saints now continued walking towards Langdon Park hop on the Dlr from there. I stopped to cross at a traffic light *pling* there goes my phone must be Steven so I took a step back from the crossing so I could stop and read it.

"Hey babe, shame about Hafiza's mum and dad, cheeky f***ers cancelling last minute busy today so I'll let you know after 6 pm if I'm coming to yours... xxx".

It is 10:45 I'm not going to lie his text made me smile but I have the whole day free and he's gonna take all day to tell me if I'll see him or not "Huffffff" I rolled my eyes but because I am really smitten I still sent him a text back

"OK, Babe Love you, talk to you later"……….

I slid my phone back into my pocket and raised my Mocha to my lips to take another sip, "WHOOOOSSSSH" You've got to be kidding me this guy completely knocks the cup out of my hand there's coffee all down my coat, in the midst of the chaos, I drop my bag, my phone drops out my pocket, my keys out of my bag, my lipstick compact mirror, etc OMG...... The guy also drops a handful of things and while he helps pick up both mine and his belongings, he says so calmly "Oh I am so sorry to have bumped into you like that", "what must have come over me", he says... I am so confused by his calm tone and annoyed that my coffee is all over me I said "Ok thanks I suppose it was an accident". I am not sure at the time I didn't think he did do it on purpose, he gave me this strange look and smiled we stood back up and he rushed off in the opposite direction. I took a breath and sighed but Wait!!!!! "Hey Wait". The clumsy guy left his notebook on the floor ....... It was a Little Black Book... So I'm calling after him so he can have his book back he turns and stops and shouts back. "It's YOURS JUNIE Open it. you'll see"...... Wait...… What? Huh?....... Now I know I don't know this guy in fact I have never seen him before, I am actually sure I haven't seen him before, I didn't tell him my name... How does he know my name? I don't know his name. I am so baffled and confused I stood there for a couple of minutes.....

So I opened it.... The little black notebook. It read.. Junie I live close by... written in neat handwriting, it continued...

Page 1. Close enough that I can see you on the roof daily... Page 2. You look so sweet, innocently staring at the stars looking as though you are deep in the imagination of wonderful things. Page 3. I've seen you struggle with the shopping...

Page 4. And I have smelt the fish frying while you dance around your kitchen carefree. I've heard so much about you from my niece..she adores you, her parent's my sister and brother in-law have told me a lot about how much care you put into your work, and how supportive you are to my niece and understanding in regards to her needs, your care work is exceptional. Page 5. I wanted to give you a gift you look like you could do with something nice. Page 6. Go back to Clouds... I've left Samir something for you, he always says how lovely and pleasant you are...

I'm shocked and not sure what to do.. So I follow instructions and head back to Clouds. I walk in and Samir says "Oh a gentleman came in and said you left a bag of yours behind .... He hands it to me. It's a Louis Vuitton duffle bag and it looks as though it's got something inside..... I take a seat in my spot by the window ... I slide the zip back and OMG OMG OMG I can see wads of cash sealed as though collected fresh from the bank. There's an additional note. You seem like a lovely girl, I have plenty of money so here's £20.0000 just for you. You look like you deserve it!