The Time I Met A Spirit In The Black Book

Hey look guys, there goes that kid again!!

Shh! Quiet down you numbskull, before he hears you. Didn't you hear what his dad did to those people!?

Of course we have, Lucille! Everybody in this trashy ass school’s probably heard what happened by now. Why else would I even be pointing him out to you guys like this. Besides, Look at the way he’s moping down the hallway. He’s barely even raised his head from the floor since he passed by Ms. Jackson’s office.

You’re right, He moves as if we’re not even in the same realm as him… poor kid, I know things have got to be torturous for him right now, especially with his dad’s sentence being expedited soon.

Ooh, look at you using your big words… where’d you pick those up from, that secret red room you found behind your mom’s closet?

Bite me, Moron!

Heh, Someone’s feisty this morning. What’s your safe word? Mines pineapples...

Yikes…The cringe worthy tension between the two of you makes me want to vomit… No one wants to hear you two argue and we definitely don’t want to hear any of your gossiping about a kid whose father murdered a bunch of his coworkers in cold blood.

What's that supposed to mean!? It’s not like the gossip isn’t true! His dad’s basically a whole psychopath who went berserk on those guys. When the cops got there, they wouldn’t have even been able to identify the bodies if it weren’t for the charred name tags raggedly hanging from their lab coats.

……………..

I wish they would all just stop talking so much. They spread rumors right in front of me as if I’m not even here. What gives any of them the right to talk about us like that?… Before all of this happened, they treated me like I didn’t exist, but now, they cautiously whisper in corners as if my dad was an assassin waiting on my command to execute if I happened to hear something that I didn’t like. They’re all so fucking rude, no one even asks me if I’m okay... Why can’t I just wake up from this nightmare, rush through our crooked hallway leading into those rickety stairs that I hate and see my Dad whipping up his famous “golden hash browns, sausages & eggs'' while Mom sips her morning Coco Latte as she scrolls through her S&M feed?

Instead, I’m in the one place I detest the most, attempting to fight back the tears that have been blurring my vision all morning while my dad rots away in a cell waiting for his clock to reach zero. I can barely hold myself together right now when all I want to do is crawl into a ball within the darkest corner of existence and stop my heart from burrowing it’s way out my chest… Maybe then I’d get some rest from it all.

……………..

Deon, a slow learning 13 year old middle schooler, struggles to make it through the day as his father sits behind a high security penitentiary. His mother tirelessly works three jobs just to make ends meet as she cares for Deon and his little brother Jayden. Deon tries his best to help out however he can but because of his already short attention span, learning disability & the weight of all their problems, his grades take a serious hit. Needless to say, without the assistance from his father, things have become increasingly difficult in every aspect of their lives.

Throughout the weeks, Deon visits his father after school to catch up & receive help solving his homework assignments. After which, his father would assign him “ a new mission” to complete. You see, Deon always had the tendency to become easily distracted, making it difficult for him to pick up new information but he also has an affinity for detectives and finds great pleasure in solving mysteries. So, in an attempt to sharpen Deon’s wit, His father developed a detective game to play with him. He would assign him “missions” to complete with specific deadlines to reach and if time ran out, he’d fail the mission. Every time he returned to the prison, he needed to have his answer prepared so that he could move on to the next mission, each increasingly more complex & difficult than the last. The advanced missions would involve several obstacles that forced him to methodically analyze information, problem-solve various scenarios & quickly discover answers to advance into the next objective. The ultimate objective for each mission was to discover secret objects, passcodes, phrases or locations based on the given clues & riddles as well as the things within the surrounding environment of his objective.

** Months pass by as time progresses closer to the execution date. **

What’s the point of all this homework!? I swear this is all one big joke & my teachers all contemplate on new ways to serve me L's throughout my day. What the heck even is a Pythagorean theorem!? Mooommmm!! can you come he-... heh, I didn’t realize you were at my door already..

Hehe, It’s okay D, math’s hard for most people to pick up. Just try to take your time and read through the problems as much as you need too..

I know mom, but, but these problems are hard for no reason! Like, who even knows what “ 9x^2 + 12xy^4 - 67y ” is?

Yikes… so many unwanted struggle flashbacks right now. You got this champ...

Seriously, Could you please help me mom??

Yyeaahhh, that’s actually why I came to your room… I have to go-...

To work, yeah, I know… I just really need you right now!

I'm sorry son, things are just really tough right now and I need to make sure we have money to put food on the table, pay our bills, and too many other expenses to handle. Listen, just do your best and when I get back, I’ll look over your work and help fix it okay??

Okay…

Don’t be like that, D. Watch out for your brother while I’m gone okay? I love you...

I love you too mom… I bite my lip hard every time I say those words. It’s almost as if I’m being mocked for feeling that way. Everything sucks right now... It’s been getting worse since our last visit together. I remember exactly what dad told me:

“Wow, your detective skills have grown quite impressive, son. You managed to complete your last mission in less than half the time it took for the rest & I honestly couldn’t be anymore proud of you. And I don't mean just for completing missions and class assignments. Every moment we’ve spent together, although way too brief, has been the most meaningful & influential time in my life. I truly appreciate the bond we share and all the time I had to help guide you in the right direction of your life. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better son. That being said… This will be the last assignment that I give you as your father. There isn’t much time left, so whatever happens to me, You MUST FINISH THE MISSION, okay?

This isn’t the time for tears, I need you to remain strong and understand that I’ll always be by your side, in life & death.” so he says, but it was harder than he knew to hold back those tears...

I know it's selfish to wish I wasn’t there but I just want to wipe my memory of all the sadness. With tears leaking from our eyes, we piled into mother’s bed and comforted each other for the rest of the night. Dad had finally been laid to rest...

The following morning Deon wakes up to see his mom putting on her work clothes… Aren’t you allowed a day or two off for mourning? … She saunters over, warmly embraces & kisses him on the forehead before replying, “baby, the bills stop for no one”.

…………………

** a few more nights pass by**

It’s night time, mom’s exhausted from work & she’ll be fast asleep any moment now. I’ve pinpointed the exact location on my map and it’s only about 6 miles across town. I just have to adjust my timer ahead of when mom usually awakes, sneak out, find dad’s stash spot & make it back home.

As soon as his Mom was sound asleep, Deon slung his backpack around his shoulder, climbed out the window & raced down the dimly lit street towards his destination…

This can’t be right, my calculations said it should be right here but I don’t see anything except trees. Oh no, Maybe I miscalculated... Wait, what's that??

Deon notice’s a small pathway leading through the densely packed tree’s before him. Without hesitation, he reaches for his flashlight and begins following the trail. Things become uneasily silent as he loses sight of the street behind him revealing the absolute darkness staring back at him. Fearfully clenching his flashlight, he moves swiftly through the path hoping to reach the end soon when he suddenly catches a glimpse of a tall industrial style structure, seemingly abandoned. “That must be it!!” Deon proclaims as he races out of the trees & into the open plain before him. Although, something was off here too… Deon cautiously approached the building as he took notice of all the damage to the area as well as the building. It appeared as if some type of catastrophe took place here. Massive craters were scattered across the ground, chunks of structural & natural debris had fallen everywhere and it looked as though something had scorched the entire building and surrounding area itself.

What the heck happened here?? Deon, detective extraordinaire! It seems we have a mystery on our hands, wouldn’t you say so yourself, dad? Don’t get too ahead of yourself son, you still haven’t found out where I hid the treasure, hehe…. You underestimate me father, my detective skills are unmatched-... ( Deon accidentally steps onto a panel and a secret passageway raises open from the ground ) Eureka!! You see, I told you I’ll find it! You see dad!? ( Deon glances around for his father before realizing he wasn’t actually there) Oh yeah, don’t worry dad, I’ll make you proud.

Pacing himself, Deon ventured into the dark corridor as lights began to flicker on, one by one. “This can’t be it, I’m sure that father wanted me to find this but it looks like nothing is here” Deon states, as he approaches a dead ended hallway. He begins to turn back but suddenly feels compelled to inspect the wall closer. As he analyzed it for a moment, ethereal markings began appearing across its surface. Amongst the markings, a handprint outline materialized as well, further compelling him to place his hand upon it.

Within an instant, the sounds of pressurized air erupted from the crevices of the wall as it sunk into the floor, revealing several walls behind it lowering in succession. Every corner of the pathway was lit by neon Blue lights, revealing a black duffle bag above a pedestal. “ Yes, this has gotta be it! ” as he opens the bag and sees a little black book and $20,000! Deon hugs the bag closely,“ This is gonna make mom so happy! She’ll finally be able to get some days off. Thanks Dad. Even in death, you’re always looking out for us... Dangit, the time! I gotta get back home before mom wakes up!”.

Deon skedaddles out of the corridors as fast as he can, making it home with only moments to spare before his mom hit the alarm clock. Struggling to lift the bag through the bedroom window as he climbed, he threw it inside, producing a heavy thud. He quickly changed into his pajamas and got into bed.

“Crap the bag!!” He leaped onto the floor, tried shoving the bag beneath the bed but it was too big. Deon quickly lifted the frame and slid it under, then hopped back into bed, pretending he was asleep.

** And the story continues **