The Soul Notebooks

The Soul Notebooks

(Inspired in part by the folk tale, “The Tinder Box,” by Hans Christian Andersen)

I’d been driving my big rig all night and was looking for a place to pull over for a morning nap when I spotted a car smashed up against one of the giant saguaro cactuses that dominates this part of the Arizona desert. As I slowed down to get a better look, I saw an old woman in the driver’s seat struggling with her seat belt and grimacing in pain. I parked next to her and got out to see if I could help. She was clutching her arm and moaning while she continued to fiddle with the seat belt latch.

“Looks like you could use some help,” I said.

“Sorry, yes, I’m glad you stopped,” she said. “I’m really okay, just a sprained wrist.”

“Have you called in for help?” I asked.

“My cell phone’s dead,” she said.

“I can call for you,” I said.

“Don’t do that.”

“What? Why not?”

“Wait just a minute,” she said. “If you really want to help me, you can finish what I came here to do.”

I looked at her, then at the expanse of open desert surrounding us. “You drove here to this spot for some reason?” I asked.

“Yes. I know it’s hard to believe, but I was given a map that leads to a treasure right here.”

I rolled my eyes.

“If you don’t believe me, look at the base of the cactus I just hit.”

I peered down and looked at the area where her car had smashed into the cactus. There was a deep hole, leading down into the earth.

“I swear,” she said, “that there’s a treasure down there. My source is very reliable friend, an offbeat guy, very eccentric. He said he buried the treasure there a decade ago and invited people to search for it. Last week, my friend passed away and before he did, he drew this map and gave it to me.”

The map was spread across the passenger’s seat.

“My friend said there’s $40,000 down in that opening. If you go down there, fetch the treasure and bring it back up, I’ll split it with you.”

Forty thousand dollars, I thought. With half of that, I could finally get my wife the surgery she needed.

“If I do go get that treasure,” I said, “you won’t pull something on me and trap me down there, will you?”

“Of course not. But you really have to be serious about it.”

I hesitated before answering, “Okay, I’m serious.”

Great! That’s terrific!” she said. “So, now I should tell you about the dogs.”

By that time the desire to help my wife had wiped out my common sense. “Go ahead, tell me about the dogs.”

“After you get into that chamber,” she said, “you’ll find a passageway that leads farther down into the earth. Along the way to the treasure, you’ll come across four dogs. The first dog is a small one, but he’s still ferocious, so even though he’s chained up, be careful. He’ll be sitting on an extra-large black notebook. To get him to move off of the notebook, you need to give him a slab of meat from the bag I have in the backseat. Once he moves off the notebook, look in the back where there’s a slim pouch for storing papers. Inside the pouch you’ll find a $10,000 bill. Remove the money and continue down the pathway until you meet another dog. This one will be bigger and will be sitting on a large notebook. Feed him the same way, get the next $10,000 bill out of the notebook’s pouch, and continue on to the next dog. It’s a really big one, more ferocious than the other two combined, but also chained up like the others. He’ll be sitting on a medium-sized notebook. Do the thing with the meat, get the money from the notebook pouch, and go on to the final dog. I have to warn you. He’s bigger than an elephant. He’ll be sitting on a small black notebook but you probably won’t be able to see it until you throw him his meat. After you grab the final $10,000 out of the notebook, turn around and come back the way you came and we’ll split the money.”

I barely heard her final remarks. I was too busy imagining the joyous reaction my wife would have after I told her we could finally afford her surgery. I looked at the old woman who was still cradling her sprained wrist. “Okay,” I said. “I’m ready. Give me the bag of meat.”

She smiled. “Thank you.” Then her expression turned dark. “One big warning to you. Whatever you do, don’t stare into the eyes of any of the dogs. They will hypnotize you, then devour you.”

I nodded, then reached into the backseat and grabbed the sack of meat. Next to it was a flashlight. I grabbed that too. Then I looked at that gaping hole in the ground underneath the giant cactus. I stooped down and scooted over to the opening, tossed the bag of meat into the darkness, and jumped in. I turned on the flashlight and headed down the dark passageway.

Although the weather was hot outside, the cavern was cool. Around a turn, I spotted the first dog. He was pure black, like a Labrador, but he was as small as a Chihuahua. When he spotted me, he bared his fangs and lunged. Luckily, the chain held him fast before he could bite me. I spotted the extra-large notebook underneath him and threw him a piece of meat. While he devoured the food, I grabbed the notebook and turned to the last page where there was a back pouch. I reached in and pulled out one bill with 10,000 plastered on it along with the portrait of a guy named Chase whom I’d never heard of. Of course, I’d also never seen a $10,000 bill before. I stuffed it in my pants pocket, returned the notebook where the dog had been sitting, then crept away as the dog continued to slobber over the meat.

As I continued down the pathway, the incline became more severe and the once-cool air started to turn uncomfortably warm. I spotted the second dog sleeping on top of a large black notebook. He jerked awake and barked maniacally at me until I threw him some meat. As he devoured it, I grabbed the large notebook and retrieved the $10,000 bill from the back pouch. Then, with the dog growling and munching behind me, I sidled down the pathway, trying to catch my breath in the claustrophobic heat.

The next dog gave me a major fright. He was black like the other two and nearly as big as a cow with huge, saucer eyes that seemed to pull my own gaze toward them. I fought off the desire to look deeply into his hypnotic eyes, forcing myself to retrieve a slab of meat from the bag and throw it in his direction. When he saw the meat, he turned his gaze from me. I saw a medium-sized notebook underneath him, and I was able to shake off the effects of his stare long enough to retrieve the $10,000 bill from the back pouch and scurry away.

By that time I was drenched in sweat, not only from the fright of seeing that huge dog staring at me but also because the temperature in the cavern had risen to summer desert status. It was hard to catch my breath as I trudged along, but I was determined to get that last $10,000 bill.

As I rounded another corner, I stopped and stood in horror, as if turned to stone. The last dog didn’t even look like a dog. It was more like a black canine Godzilla, as tall as a three-story house. When it saw me, its huge, saucer eyes seemed to emit magnetic rays that pulled me closer to its tree-like front legs equipped with razor-sharp claws the size of broad swords. With great effort I managed to shut my eyes long enough to fetch a large chunk of meat from the bag and throw it. When I opened my eyes again, I saw the creature lean down its massive head and sniff the meat, then scoop it up in one bite. Before the dog had a chance do the same to me, I quickly shook the bag so the rest of the meat fell out. As the dog sniffed and gobbled up the remaining food, I grabbed the small black notebook he’d been sitting on and nearly ripped out the pouch containing the last $10,000 bill. With my eyes closed, I backed away from the beast, turned and ran.

I hadn’t taken a dozen steps when I heard a human voice.

“Well done,” the voice said.

I stopped and turned around. Instead of Dogzilla, I saw an elegantly dressed man smiling at me. “You’ve earned your money,” the man said. “Since my assistant up in the car won’t need her share, the $40,000 is all yours. But there is one stipulation.”

“Who are you?” I asked.

“I think you know who I am.”

I looked closer at him, at first impressed by his black suit, white tie, top hat, and cane, but then shuddering in revulsion as I stared at his feet. He wore no shoes. Thick hair curled around what appeared to be goat hooves.

“As I was saying,” he said, “you can take all the money, but in return, I get your soul. Remember, there’s no such thing as a free lunch, unless of course you’re a hell hound living here under the earth.”

I tried to say something but failed.

“You still want to help your poor wife get her surgery, don’t you?”

A burst of anger shot through me. “You son of a bitch!”

He smiled. “You’re right about that, but flattery will get you nowhere.”

Filled with rage, I reached into my pants pocket, pulled out the wad of $10,000 bills, and reared back to throw them in his face. But then I looked at the wad again, and back at the dapper man still smiling at me.

And I knew what I was going to do.