Be The Change

The little black book watched the woman carefully. It had been waiting for this moment, having been remarkably patient, watching event after event unfold. It had wanted so badly to interfere but knew the outcome of the situation must unmask itself naturally. The time had now come for the truth to reveal itself, uncovering whether the lesson it had been trying to teach, had been learned, or if its entire existence had been for nothing.

The woman was an angry creature most days. Years of bitterness had scorned every inch of her being and she no longer felt anything that resembled contentment, never mind actual happiness. She often wondered if she would ever feel again. She once knew compassion, empathy and love but those feelings were now a distant memory. She had lost everything and now she felt nothing but numbness; even loneliness had evaded her.

She had found the little black book on Sunday evening, left on her front step with no note or explanation. With the book was more cash than she had ever seen, all $100 bills, adding up to $20,000. She read the words inscribed on the inside cover:

To the one who found me:

If you accept the words written here

And take on this new endeavor

You will receive a great reward

Your life will be transformed forever

If you fail to follow this text

And avoid the tasks scribed here

Your life will remain a dismal existence

Your newfound wealth will disappear

The next page outlined the mission: perform four acts of kindness. The acts would be predetermined but the way in which the woman carried them out would be up to her. After each interaction, the woman was to come home and record the details of what transpired in the little black book.

The thought of interacting with anyone made the woman feel ill. She was not a people-person, having been an introvert her entire life. She knew what people thought of her, the miserable woman who never smiled and lacked any display of sentiment or emotion. She despised most people and their trivial problems and had an innate ability to turn people away from her within seconds of meeting them. Now this book was testing her and asking her to not only interact with those who mocked her but do favors for them no less.

The woman sat at the kitchen table for an hour, debating on what to do with this intrusive book. She ultimately decided to toss it in the trash and ignore its directives. She already had the money, why did she need to follow these stupid rules to keep it?

The next morning, the woman found the book sitting on the kitchen table. She stared at it in disbelief. How did it get back there? What kind of magic did this book possess? She opened the safe to find one of the stacks of cash had dwindled in size. Where had the money gone?

The woman opened the book to the first task, requiring her to walk to the local convenience store to buy milk, eggs and bread. While in line, she was to strike up a conversation with the person behind her and then pay for their items. The woman thought this was a ridiculous request but left the house either way. However, once she arrived at the store, she couldn’t bring herself to speak to anyone and returned home without completing the task.

When she entered the house, she saw the book had flipped itself open to the first page, the words staring back at her. She huffed and went to check the safe, finding the other stack of cash was now a half an inch shorter. The woman became angry, having realized the book was in complete control. She decided to dispose of it in a more permanent manner and started a fire in the fireplace. She tossed the book in, watching it burn until only a pile of ashes remained.

The women glanced up at the picture on the mantel above. The faces of her son, daughter-in-law and grandson stared back at her. She might not feel much anymore but she did remember how much she had loved them. They were her entire life before the accident.

Mentally exhausted, the woman decided to lie down. After an hour’s nap, she awoke to find the book was sitting on the counter, and was again opened to the first page. She checked the safe to find even more cash had disappeared. Now the woman was becoming angry. Why does the book care if she performs good deeds or not? Why does the book care what she does with her life or how she treats other people? She wasn’t sure but knew in order to keep what was left of the money, she needed to succumb to the book’s requests.

The woman spent the next few days completing the tasks the book commanded of her. She revisited the grocery store and met a kind single mother in line behind her. The young woman had recently lost her job and was using the last of her money to buy food for her young children. The woman paid for her groceries, gave her an extra $20 and wished the young woman luck. She felt an odd sense of accomplishment as she walked out the door. She went home and recorded the awkward but meaningful exchange in the little black book.

The next task involved nothing but words. She was to go out in the community and deliver words of admiration to three people who looked like they were in poor spirits. The woman decided to walk downtown, a location she knew would be buzzing with people and a place she knew she’d be able to get the task over with quickly. Once she arrived, she found the task even easier to complete than she had anticipated.

She quickly came across an old man sitting on a bench alone, his face as long as a fiddle. He was staring aimlessly at the ground with a forlorn look in his eyes. The woman complimented him on his nice leather shoes and was caught by surprise when his eyes lit up. A few feet away, a young woman was sitting near the fountain, wiping away tears. The woman complimented her on her beautiful dress in which the girl smiled and thanked her. Across the street, a boy was playing hopscotch on the sidewalk by himself, morosely watching a group of kids playing together in the nearby park. The woman told him how impressed she was with his hopping skills and encouraged him to join the others. He looked uncertain but trotted over to the group nonetheless. Within a minute, he was playing along with them.

Once she returned home, the woman was surprised at the results of her second mission, bringing a smile to each face as she complimented them for one thing or another. The people really seemed to be genuinely thankful in hearing her kind words. The woman thought she felt a twinge of emotion in her chest, unaware that it was compassion beginning to surface.

The third task was to visit the children’s unit at the local hospital. She had planned to make it a quick visit, not wanting to spend a lot of time with the frail sickly children she was about to encounter. Once she arrived however, she found herself fascinated with their resilience and cheerful faces. She was expecting to see depressed eyes and forsaken expressions, but these looked like some of the happiest children she had ever met. Once home, the woman went straight to the book, eager to detail what she had just experienced.

The fourth task, which seemed simple at first but ultimately was the most daunting, was to provide food, drink and warmth to the homeless. Sadly, the city was now a haven for beggars who were down on their luck so this wouldn’t necessarily be a difficult task. The woman went to her kitchen to prepare the items she would bring along with her. Within ten minutes, she had made steaming hot cocoa, heated up leftover shepherd’s pie and grabbed an old blanket from the closet.

The woman walked the five blocks to tent city, the run-down part of town known to be home to many unfortunate folks. She attempted to make her deliveries, telling the vagrants of this magical mission she was on. She was stunned when she was met with resentment and anger with each person she approached. She was appalled that the beggars refused to take a thing from her. She didn’t understand why they wouldn’t want her help. Didn’t they see that she was trying to make their lives better?

The woman decided to ask around and learned the homeless didn’t want the pity of an observably miserable woman who didn’t seem to be helping of her own accord. To them, she appeared to be mocking them with her stories of magic and greed along with her simple gestures, thinking they would really make a difference in their lives.

As she was about to return home, she saw a man and woman with a young child huddling together under a blanket. They reminded her of the family she once had. These people had nowhere to live and nowhere to go, alone on the street’s day after day. How could she have been so foolish to think she could solve their problems with some measly cocoa and meat and potatoes?

The woman thought about what to do. She realized she really could offer them more. She had a big house all to herself that could provide this poor family a home. She invited them back with her and offered them a place to stay. The family seemed unsure at first but ultimately accepted. It turns out the child was sick and being homeless was exasperating his symptoms.

Once they returned home, the woman wrote about her final good deed in the little black book. Today she made a family smile again. Smiles that usually made her cringe, had now made her feel the tiniest bit of something. She knew it was love, beginning to grow inside her again.

Throughout this process, she had learned compassion and sympathy. She had learned that good deeds, although not entirely altruistic, were humbling. She was a different person.

She made her way to the safe and saw all the money had been restored. All the things she would buy with the $20,000 passed through her mind as she prepared food for herself and the family. As she was making plates for everyone, she overheard the family speaking in hushed voices. She could barely make out the words but did hear the phrases “our poor boy”, “too expensive” and “hopeless”. The woman was not too naïve to know these people had real problems, not trivial at all.

She learned the boy was battling a rare blood disease and needed a blood transfusion. The procedure and care would cost them $20,000 but they had no insurance and no way to pay for it. The woman thought about the money she had just received and knew she had to make the ultimate sacrifice. This boy needed the money more than her so she offered it to the family.

The book was proud of the decision the woman had made. It knew it had accomplished its purpose. She was once a bitter and broken woman but was now someone who felt joy and happiness. Where she once had a stone-cold heart, she now felt empathy for the pain of others. She had changed and the book knew she would never be the same again.

The little black book knew it was time to go. Time to move on to the next soul who needed saving. Time to continue to work towards the ultimate goal: restoring love, kindness and faith in humanity.