When Tomorrow Brings Uncertainty

Sam stared at the lifeless man lying in the coffin in front of him. For days, he had cried so hard that his eyes were red and swollen. His face was tired and tear-stained. His heart felt so hollow and disconnected from everything that he loved.

He would never see his uncle again. There would be no more skiing trips or long hikes in the mountains on road trips across the United States. His shoulders shrunk as the dread set in and he realized that he was truly all alone in the world.

He looked across the room and saw a little girl grabbing onto the arm of her father as he somberly hung his head. Sam longed for the days when his family would take cruises to the Bahamas. He remembered the family reunions where he spent so much time with his uncle, his parents and his sister. How could they all be gone in the span of just two years?

It had been one terrible accident after another. Sam covered his face as he remembered.

My sister, Reese, had been riding her motorbike home from college around spring break around two years ago. When she was around ten miles from home, another driver made a U-turn and didn’t see her. He hit her and she was thrown from her motorbike and landed on the other side of the guard rail. Then, she was then rushed to the hospital.

When I heard about what happened to Reese, I ran to the hospital. I was numb as I sat in the waiting room hoping and praying. They tried to do everything for her. She had several broken limbs and bleeding on her brain. I went to the hospital every day for two weeks straight but she never even woke up. She stayed in a coma for over two months. I couldn’t believe this was happening to her.

How could she have her young life cut short when she had graduated high school as the valedictorian, completed three years of college and had just applied and gotten into the veterinarian program at a prestigious school in Virginia. She had her whole life ahead of her before it was...all gone. It was unbearable. How was I going to survive without her?

Tears began pouring down his face. Then, his mind drifted back to his parents. After Reese died, his parents had a difficult time making sense of their loss. Sam struggled as he began to feel more isolated from them and they seemed to be always working long hours as he fended for himself in their big empty house. Then, his mother and father had decided to get away from the tragedy and take a trip to the Bahamas, four months after the funeral. Tears welled up in Sam’s eyes when he thought about the phone call about the plane crash. As he heard the horrible news, he could feel the world was closing in around him. He felt his heart drop out of his chest into his stomach as the pain enveloped him and he realized that he was all alone in the world.

Then, Uncle Charlie had taken him in. He was so patient with Sam, as he adjusted to his new home in Colorado Springs without the three most important people that he loved. Uncle Charlie often spent time with Sam. They traveled together a lot. He wanted Sam to experience the world and get his mind off of the pain of yesterday. Over the last year, they had traveled to the Grand Canyon and they had hiked so many trails in the Grand Teton National Park.

Sam buried his head in his hands. Thirty minutes flew by as these distant memories circled around in his head. Then, the stranger that had been appointed by the course as his guardian gently sat down beside him and put her hands on his shoulder. “Sam, I know that this is not an easy time right now, but we have to go and pick up your things so that I can take you to your new foster home. I’m going to take care of you, Sam.”

Sam pulled his shoulder away and bent forward, covering his face with his crossed arms, as he balled up his fists. The guardian, Nicola slowly sat back and waited quietly as Sam took a while to calm down and pull himself together. Sam stayed silent as he got up and slowly walked towards the car. Nicola followed him. He wondered how he was going to make it through another day.

When they got to Uncle Charlie’s house, Sam unlocked the door with his key and said, “I am going to need a little time to get my things together. I want to go through everything alone. Can you wait downstairs while I get my things?”

“Sure, Sam. I know that things have been hard for you for the last two years. I know that you don’t believe it now, but you will get through this. Trust me.”

Sam slowly climbed the stairs. On his way to his bedroom at the end of the hall, he passed by Uncle Charlie’s bedroom. Something made him stop and stand in the doorway. There were pictures on the wall of Uncle Charlie and Sam at many of their favorite nature stops. As he looked at a picture of Uncle Charlie fishing by a lake, he felt a tug at his heart and he compelled him to go into his bedroom. Sam picked up the picture and looked closely at Uncle Charlie’s gray hair and laughing eyes. How he wished that they could spend some time on their trip to the Redwood Forest. That was the trip that they had planned to take after he graduated from high school in two months.

He remembered Uncle Charlie’s favorite watch that he always kept in his top left dresser drawer. When he opened the drawer, he saw the watch sitting on top of an old black book. He picked up the watch and remembered when they had bought the watch at the favorite ski lodge just a few months ago. Then, Sam reached in and picked up the black book. It seemed oddly ancient. The binding of the book seemed to have old fashioned stitching. When he opened the book he saw strange formulas and notations. He tried to make sense of the codes and mathematical formulas but nothing seemed to make sense. When he got to the back of the book, there was a paper folded in half twice. He opened it up and straightened out the the four squared page and read the letter,

“Dear Sam,

If you are reading this now, it is too late. There is so much that I have to tell you and so little time. I know that you must be feeling all alone in the world, but you need to know that you are special. No matter what happens, don’t let anyone tell you different.

What I am going to tell you next might scare you but you need to know. You need to know that the death of your sister and your parents were not an accident. I know that it may not seem that way, but you would be wrong.

If you are in the house right now with Nicola, you are in danger! You must listen to me very carefully. Look in the bottom drawer. I have left an envelope of money there with a passport, a key to a safety deposit box located at the Branch United Bank and a cell phone. Be discrete! You must get to safety. You must call your Cousin George and he will take you to safety.

No matter what you do. Do not mention this to Nicola and do not give her this little black book. It must be kept safe.

Love as always,

Your Uncle Charlie”

Sam’s head was spinning. He did not know how to make heads and tails of this, but he knew that he needed to get his things and this little black book and get away to safety.

“Sam, are you okay? Do you want me to come up?”

“No, I am okay. I just need a little time. I will be down in a second.”

He had a knot in his stomach. He had felt suspicion all along. He just couldn’t understand how his family could be so unlucky. They had always had a great life and now his world was falling apart. First his sister, Reese and then his parents. How could this be happening again? How could he have lost his favorite Uncle Charlie? Who was this woman, Nicola, and what did she want from him?

Sam ran to his room and grabbed his big backpack. He neatly folded his clothes to maximize space, just like Uncle Charlie had taught him. He grabbed two pairs of shoes and changed his clothes. He then went back into Uncle Charlie’s room and packed the money, the watch, the little black book and stuck the key in his jeans pocket.

He then dialed George’s number and gave him his address. He snuck back into his bedroom, down the hall, and waited. What was he going to do with $50,000 dollars in cash and what was in the security box at the bank? Where was George going to take him?

Sam waited in his room for what felt like eons. In about half an hour there was a knock on the door. “Sam, there is someone at the door. Do you want me to answer?”

“Sure, I’ll be down in a minute. Can you get the door?, Sam yelled down the hall.

The door opened and he could hear the muffled voices in the distance. Then, he heard a loud crash and he heard Nicola yelling. “How dare you try to come in here and take Sam from me? I am his guardian. You have no rights here. Get out!!”

Then, he heard a man’s angry voice. He remembered his cousin George, who had joined the military many years ago, but it had been a few years since he saw him and he wasn’t sure what to expect.

Then, everything got eerily quiet. Sam heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall and he didn’t know what to expect. He slinked down beside his bed and waited for what felt like an forever.

“Hey, Sam. I am sorry that you are having such a bad day...a bad couple years, really. I know that I am not Uncle Charlie, but I am going to be here for you. Come on! It’s time to get out of here.”

Sam slowly stood up and looked at his Cousin George, who was wearing a T-shirt with the words, “Courage without Fear, is Fiction”. Sam wondered what that meant, but he knew that all he had was Courage and Fear. For now, that was all he could hold onto. When he walked slowly over to George, who put his arm around his shoulder. Then, they walked down the stairs together.

Sam looked around for Nicola but she was nowhere to be seen. He decided to leave well enough alone and walked out the door and got in the front passenger sheet of his Cousin George’s big black Chevy SUV, as George locked the door. Sam had so many questions and was not sure where life would lead next but at least he had his cousin and he knew that tomorrow may not be easy but it was definitely going to be interesting.

George opened the door and got in and started up the car. As they drove away, Sam looked back at the house until it faded into the side view mirror. Sam turned and looked at his George as they turned the corner. George stared straight ahead and drove past Sam’s high school and kept driving until they got onto the highway.

George stopped by the Branch United Bank and they went inside to check the safety deposit box. When Sam opened the safety deposit box, he found several strange items that he couldn’t make head or tails of. There was a strange device with buttons on one end and a glowing light on the other end. There was a strange magnifying glass, some strange shaped balls with ragged metal spikes and some metal bars but none of these things seemed to fit together. There was also another small book that looked like a diary. When Sam opened it, there was a lot of writing in it but it looked like gibberish or some special code. The more he wracked his brain the more that he felt frustration and confusion. What have I gotten into? How could my life change so drastically from one year to the next?

Sam had so many questions that were rolling around in his head so he turned and looked out the window as they passed the mountains, heading West down Interstate Highway 70. As they passed some of the national parks that he used to visit frequently with Uncle Charlie, he had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He now felt safe but he didn’t know what to expect. How will my life ever be the same? He thought as he thought about all of the people and sad memories he was leaving behind.

They stopped at a local McDonalds along the way and George ordered a Big Mac. “Sam, what do you want?”

“Nothing for me. I just can’t eat right now. I am just not hungry.” Sam held his head and sighed.

“ I get it. Take your time Sam. It’s going to take a minute. We will get through this together. You mentioned that you had found a strange black book. Do you want to tell me more about it?”

When they got back to the car, Sam got the black book out of his backpack and got into the passenger seat next to George. “I found that letter in the back of this black book and it led me to the money, a passport and the cell phone that I used to call you. I feel so confused right now. How could someone hurt my sister, my parents and maybe my Uncle? Did you know Nicola?”

“ I know that a lot is happening right now and we still have to figure everything out, but I am not sure that we can go to the police until we figure out what is going on.” Sam handed George the book who looked through it carefully. “I’m not sure what all of this means, but I do know someone who can help us figure out what this all means. We are going to have to visit my old friend, Professor Fraisser. He knew your Uncle Charlie several years ago and may be able to help us figure out why Uncle Charlie had this black book.