Write your way to success

Mya stared at the cheque. Twenty thousand dollars. She counted the zeros a few times to ensure she was seeing correctly. And it didn’t help that it was one of those giant cheques that was six feet wide. She had seen people on TV receiving those cheques, but never thought she would be standing this close to one in real life.

She was still reeling in shock from winning the prize. She never considered herself lucky, and always thought that prizes were for “other people”. Her entry had been an afterthought. She almost never spent $100 dollars at the supermarket at once, since her money came in small amounts, as she submitted stories and articles. Some months, she hardly spent any money on food, as she only earned enough to cover her rent and bills. Other months, she could splurge, and even then it meant spending $50 at a time.

Her family couldn’t understand why she didn’t get a “real” job - she was a talented writer, and was good at almost everything she put her hand to. But she was working on her novel, and she didn’t want to get home from a proper job, too drained to write. So she lived on the edge of poverty, writing day and night. She was sure that one day, she would write her way to success.

One week, on her way to the supermarket, her phone rang. It was Ms Greene, a retired schoolteacher she knew, who needed a favour - she was taking a group of girl guides camping, and asked Mya to pick up some campfire treats. Mya agreed. The teacher lived between her house and the supermarket, so she could get off the shuttle and take the groceries straight there, and then walk home. A few minutes after they got off the call, she heard the notification from her phone for the money transfer from Ms Greene. $90.

She hurried through the supermarket, picking up snacks, as well as her favourite cereal, some milk, apples and a large bag of pasta. When she got to the checkout, she realized that the snacks came up to just over $100 dollars. She only had $30 for her own groceries, and the bill was just over $120. She was about to return some of the snacks, and then had a sharp memory of herself on weekend camping trips with Ms Greene. Instead, she grabbed her favourite cereal. “I’ll put this back,” she said. The bill dropped to $119.74 and she paid the cashier.

“Don’t forget the competition,” the cashier said to her. Mya delved into her handbag and grabbed a pen attached by elastic to a small notebook that she carried everywhere, in case ideas came to her. These could be ideas for an article she, or plot lines and character traits for her novel. As she pulled out the pen, the elastic broke and stung her finger. She was disappointed. It was her favourite notebook and had been a gift from her best friend who had picked it up on one of her business trips. The notebook was almost full anyway, but she was sad to see that it was falling apart. She put her name and number on the back of the duplicate receipt, and on her way out of the supermarket, she dropped it into the box by the door, briefly wondering if anyone ever won those prizes.

She remembered that thought as the flash from the camera stung her eyes, and she stood a few feet away from the president of the supermarket chain, who was smiling at the photographer. She wondered what expression was on her face - she hoped it was a smile, but thought that it might still be shock. She focused on her eyebrows trying to ensure that they weren’t up in the air. The photographer put his camera down, and the president turned to her, his smile gone.

“Do I get a real cheque?” she asked him. He sneered at her. “Cheque? Of course not. Leave your bank details with my secretary and they will transfer the money.” He stalked off without another word, and she looked around the room, finally spotting his secretary across the room, looking frazzled. She walked over to her, and tapped her bank details on the screen of a small tablet. As she hit submit, she heard her own phone vibrate. When she got out of the room where the photo shoot was being done, she pulled out her phone and looked at her bank balance. $20,137. That was the most money that had ever been in her account at any one point in time.

She knew what she should do: transfer it over to her savings. This was just what she needed. The lifeline. It meant that she could take a break from submitting articles for a couple of cents per word, and spend time on her novel. It meant that she could hire someone to help her with the book proposal. It meant that she could pay off some of her credit card bill. She would do that as soon as she got home.

She stepped out onto the street, and started to walk. She came to a large supermarket - megastore really - and, remembering that she needed to buy some teabags, she went inside. On her way over to the hot drinks, she saw someone setting up a small display of notebooks in various sizes. She thought about the little notebook in her handbag with the broken elastic, and walked over the display. Her eyes immediately settled on a small black moleskin notebook with brightly coloured elastic around the front of it. She picked it up and loved the soft feel of the cover under her fingers. She turned it over and saw the price. It was more than she would ever normally pay for a notebook, preferring to buy cheap exercise books.

She was about to put it back on the display, but it almost felt stuck to her hand. She realized that she was reluctant to put it down. She thought about the money in her bank account. She could treat herself to a new notebook. She smiled at the lady putting up the display, and walked away with the notebook in her palm. She walked straight past the tea, forgetting what had brought her into the supermarket in the first place, and eventually wandered over to the cashier and paid for the notebook, thinking of the new pen in her nightstand.

Before bed, she picked up the new notebook again and looked at it. She opened it gently, not wanting to break the spine yet. As she stared at the empty page, she thought about what her first entry would be. After thinking about it for several minutes, she finally decided to write her grocery shopping list there. She realized when she had gotten home that she had forgotten the tea, and realized that she needed a few more items. She also decided that she was going to get her favourite cereal - she hadn’t had a chance to buy it since the day she had gotten the groceries for Ms Greene.

It seemed a bit boring for the first page of her new notebook, so she took her time and wrote it in her finest cursive handwriting.

Muesli cereal

Ginger teabags

Milk

Cheese

Yogurt

Tomatoes

Lettuce

2 tins of corn

Eggs

Toothpaste

Then she put it beside her bed, and went to sleep. The next morning, she woke up feeling refreshed. She sat on the side of her bed, thinking about why she felt so good. Then the events of the previous day came flooding back to her. She remembered the cheque, and then out of the corner of her eye, she saw the notebook.

She got out of bed, and went into her bathroom, where she splashed water over her face. She reached for the toothbrush and toothpaste, and to her surprise it was a full tube. She stared at it. She distinctly remembered the night before cutting the tube to squeeze a bit out, and hoping there was enough for the morning. Now there was a full tube of toothpaste in the cup by her sink. She was puzzled.

She swished out her mouth, avoiding the toothpaste. She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge to get water. It was full. There were two large tubs of her favourite vanilla yogurt, a large head of lettuce and bag of tomatoes on one shelf, and cheese, eggs and milk on another.

Something in the back of her mind was nagging her. What did all of these items have in common? She could picture them written together somewhere, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember where. On a hunch, she opened the cupboard next to the fridge, and there was an unopened box of muesli, two tins of corn, and a brand new box of ginger tea. She rushed back into the bedroom, and spied the black notebook on her nightstand. She opened the book, and it was empty. She ran her fingers over the first page, and felt the indentation of writing - as if someone had torn out the page that she had written on, although there was no sign of tear. She opened the drawer, and grabbed a pencil, and she started to shade the page. Soon, her handwriting was apparent, with the shopping list there. She was baffled. Where had the page with the list gone? Who had brought the groceries? What was going on?

She stared at the page. It made no sense to her. The house was quiet, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. She turned to the next blank page, and thought for a minute, before she wrote. Her curiosity was stronger than her fear was by this point. She wrote on the second page in her neat handwriting:

Toilet paper

Bounty kitchen towel

4 fillets salmon

Asparagus

She walked into the kitchen, which looked pretty much as she had left it. She threw open the fridge, but there was no salmon or asparagus there. The sound of her phone ringing surprised her, and she ran back to her bedroom to answer it. It was her sister who needed her help.

When she returned home that evening, she opened the fridge expectantly, but there was no change. She had eaten a late breakfast and dinner with her sister, and wasn’t hungry, just tired from running around behind her niece and nephew all day. She had a quick shower, and then sitting on her bed, she took the notebook out of her bag. The four items were still written on the front page. She put it on the nightstand, and then lay there. Nothing about the events of the morning made sense to her. She had finally used the toothpaste, and it tasted like her usual toothpaste. She was baffled. She fell asleep, thinking about the little black notebook, and her fridge full of food.

The next morning, she picked up the notebook and opened it. She was no longer worried about the spine. It was empty. She jumped out of bed and walked straight into the kitchen. There she found two rolls of kitchen towel on the counter, and opening the fridge, she saw a bunch of asparagus and 4 fillets of salmon. She realized that she had the notebook in her hand and she stared at it. She didn’t know what to make of it. As she ran her hands over the cover again, she realized that there was writing embossed on the back in the corner. Turning it over, she read the words “Write Your Way to Success”.

She stared at the words for a minute. Then, she crossed over to her kitchen table and sat down, opening the notebook. Writing success didn’t look how she expected, but she would take it. She began to write.