The Perilous Guide

I sat in my car watching the clock as it turned to 10:55 am. I took a deep breath and approached the old olive-green Victorian home that was recently restored into a bookstore. This was my first job after isolating myself for a few years. I lost all hope for my future and purpose, so I basically became a hermit to try and find myself again. I am different than most people. I struggle with social anxiety, know what others are thinking and feeling before ever speaking, and I like being alone. I pushed my long dark hair out of my face and headed up the stairs. I was nervous to say the least and could feel my heart pounding with every step. The familiar smell of books and coffee helped relax my nerves. I could hear my new boss, Emily, approaching as her heels clicked along the vintage hardwood floors. “Good morning, Raven!” She excitedly called out as she was making her way to me. “Good morning, Emily.” I repeated back to her. Her stunning silver dyed hair and green eyes would make her stand out in any crowd she was in. She showed me around the store and familiarized me with my day-to-day tasks. Make coffees for customers, dust the bookshelves, put books back in order, ring customers up, water the plants, and anything else I felt needed attention.

After a few weeks I started really enjoying my job. It was an introvert’s dream. Emily brought a few stacks of books in from her car for me to go through and put on the shelves. One in particular caught my attention. It was a beautiful small black book with a black raised tree on the front. I traced my fingers over the front of it and had to see what was inside. I took my break with a coffee in hand and sat over in the window nook. I opened the mysterious black book and saw that it appeared to be someone’s personal journal! It had all of their wishes and desires written out. I opened up to a page that stated: “I will meet my soul mate.” I actually like that one, I hope they did. I kept snooping through the book, feeling a bit ashamed for it but I couldn’t help myself. Another one I noticed “I will travel to a realm that I have never been to.” What does that mean?

“Hey Emily, have you looked at this book? I asked with curiosity.

“Huh, I am not sure why I grabbed this one, go ahead and keep it.

You could add your own touch to it.”

“Thank you, I guess I can give it a try.”

That evening I decided it would be fun to write some of my wishes down. “I will meet my soulmate in the next few days.” Thought I should add that one since the previous person did. Gives me something to look forward to even though I know it won’t happen. “I will randomly come into a large sum of money soon. I will wake up feeling confident and beautiful tomorrow.” That’s probably enough for tonight. The morning came quickly and I felt great. I looked in the mirror and my eyes seemed brighter than normal and my skin had a nice glow to it, rather than looking pale like normal. I smiled in the mirror and left for work. There were customers in the store when I arrived, and I actually had the confidence to help them without feeling intimidated. What was going on?! The rest of the day was slow, and I was getting ready to close until a man opened the door aggressively and stormed in.

“Uh hello, welcome in. Are you looking for anything in particular?” I wearily asked.

“Yes actually, a small black book that you stole from an estate sale the other day.” He growled out in a deep, but smooth voice.

“I didn’t go to an estate sale the other day, and I have never stolen anything in my life. That’s a bit of an accusation coming from someone that literally almost ripped the door off its hinges.”

He glared. “I need the book back. Has anyone written in it that you know of?”

Oh my god. I just realized that I have his journal. I guess in a way I did steal it, but not intentionally. I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks because I wrote in the book with pen. I can’t hide what I did now. And I’m a horrible liar.

“I uh, I honestly have no idea what book you are talking about. Feel free to look around for it if you would like.”

He chuckled but his eyes quickly turned dark. “I know you are lying. Where is it?!”

My heart skipped a beat, and my hands started shaking.

He grabbed my wrists “Where is it?! I don’t have time for this!” I pulled my hands away from his and was left in shock. His grip was so strong that he could have easily kept me restrained, but he let me pull away.

I breathed out nervously. “Yes, I do have it. And I wrote in it I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was something important.”

His eyes widened and his face paled. “Do you have the book with you?”

“No.”

He swallowed. His knuckles white from squeezing.

“Meet me here in the morning with the book.”

Before I could answer he was out the door.

What a jerk. Maybe he shouldn’t have left his journal out for grabs if it was that special to him.

I went to unlock my car but found something underneath the front tire. It was a scratch it ticket. Already scratched, must be trash. When I went to throw it away, I noticed that it had three matching symbols and $20,000 next to it. “Wait.” I said out loud. “Did I just win 20 grand?!” I couldn’t breathe and was too afraid to look at it again. I grasped the ticket, put it in my purse and left for home. “What the hell is going on?!!”

I quickly dug through my dresser. My hands were shaking, I could barely open the little black book. But I had to confirm with my eyes what I had written last night. It was true, I was feeling more confident than usual today. The thing that scared me the most was the fact that I won a large sum of money, even though I still don’t believe it. When does that even happen? I couldn’t sleep that night. Is this book magic? Am I a witch or something? My mind kept spiraling out of control with every question you could possibly think of. I decided to add one more thing to the wish that hasn’t come true yet. Might as well. “When I meet my soul mate, he will automatically know my name without me telling him.” That’s how I will know this is real.

The sun finally rose over the horizon. So, I put some clothes and makeup on and headed out the door. The book was sitting next to me in the passenger seat and I didn’t want to give it up. Imagine all of the things I could accomplish with it. I could be happy for once. My heart ached at the possibilities.

He was at the bookstore already, sitting on the steps. His dark jacket over a grey hoodie complimented his striking black hair. He was even more attractive than I remember. Which made me even more nervous. He rushed over to my car and opened the door. “Hi. Thank you for doing this.” I was pleasantly surprised he actually just thanked me. “Yea. Um before I give you your precious book, I have some questions.” I said, a bit annoyed. “I knew you would. Can we go inside?”

I could barely grip the keys to open the door. I was shaking so much. “Here give me them.” He grabbed the keys from my hand and unlocked the door. How did he even know which one it was? I can’t read this guy; I don’t know if he’s a murderer or just moody. I made us some coffee and sat in my favorite window nook while he decided to stand. He leaned his shoulder on the corner of the nook, while holding his coffee. “Your eyes look golden in the sun, they are beautiful.” He said with a smirk. I tried to hide my embarrassment with my hair. “Thanks.” I said meekly. “So Raven, what do you want to know?” “Well, I…” wait, did he just say my name? I never told him my name, well at least I don’t think I did. I was starting to feel a bit scared now. “How do you know my name? What is this book? I won a ton of money yesterday because of it. What is going on? How did you know where to find it again?” My eyes met his and he gently smiled. But then his eyes turned dark again. “You told me your name. I’m glad money is the only thing you received. This book is dangerous and bad things can happen to those that use it. I found it again because I am not stupid. Does that answer your questions? Because I need to go.” His energy completely changed. He was back to his dark self. “You need to hand me the book and tell me I can have it,” He growled. “What if I don’t?” My eyes fixated on his. “Can you just please do what I ask?” “Just grab the book yourself and go,” I said angrily. “I can’t!” He slammed the wall with his hand. “Please.” He quietly whined. “Fine! Take your stupid book. I don’t want it. You can have it.” My eyes glued to the floor; I couldn’t look at him. He pulled my chin up so my eyes would meet his gaze. His stormy gray eyes made my heart melt. When looking into his eyes I felt safe. Like I have known him before. His energy felt familiar. But he hid behind a dark persona making it hard to understand him. His warm hand dropped from my chin and he returned back to how he was standing before. I stood up and realized how tall he was. He bent down to my ear and gently whispered “Thank you.”

Months had passed and even though I don’t know his name, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I dreamt about him each night and my heart would sink every time a customer would come in and it wasn’t him. He was such a jerk and was beyond arrogant, but I couldn’t shake my feelings. I felt an emptiness within me, and my heart longed for someone that I knew wasn’t for me. I put the money I had won into a savings account since I still didn’t feel like it actually belonged to me. I was scared to lose it, but also too afraid to use it.

The sun was setting, and the last customer had just left. Before locking the door, I saw a few books out of place that needed to be adjusted. My back was to the front door and I felt a presence behind me. Preparing myself for the worst, I quickly turned around with a metal candle holder in hand. It was him. I chocked on my breath. An aura from the setting sun shined behind him making it difficult to see his features. He slowly walked towards me and stopped inches from my body. I put the candle holder down and he rested a hand on the shelf purposely making his face level to mine. “You never actually did tell me your name. I lied.” He let out with a smug smile.