Finders Keepers

He could feel how out of breath he was becoming. As he ran, his chest was tightening and the tingling in his face told him how red his face was.

“Nicholas!!!! You can’t run forever!!! When we get to you…..you are mine!!!” screamed one of the boys behind him, chasing him.

Running furiously, Nick could feel in his chest and legs that he couldn’t keep this up. He needed to hide. He knew it was risky, but Nick decided to make his way to the nearest toilet to hide. He was desperate to catch his breath and he hoped that his pursuers would think he was still trying to run and would blindly give chase.

The toilet was empty. Going quickly into a stall, Nick locked the door. Not the end one, that was too obvious. Nick sat desperately panting as his chest drew in deep lungfuls of oxygen. He slowed his breath, trying to maintain silence so he wasn’t noticed if the boys made their way into the toilets.

Ten minutes passed, feeling more like an hour. Nick sat. His breath had slowed as he had started to calm. Nick continued to wait; he hoped that the chase will be called off once they lost the scent.

After another hour of stall sitting, Nick decided that it should have been long enough for the group to lose interest. He stood, unlocked the stall door and peered out. The room was empty. Cautiously watching the main door for the slightest movement, he walked over to the basin to get a drink. He turned the tap on and cupped his hands and took a mouthful of water. As his face lifted to look into the reflection of himself in the mirror, he noticed a book on the bench next to the basin. It was small and black with no writing or markings on the cover. He dried his hands, reached out and picked up the notebook. Its soft cover appealed to Nick’s fingertips and there was something almost enchanting about this book in his hands. He felt compelled to open it.

Nick noticed that the pages were lined and all were empty except for the very first page. That first page contained a list of six names accompanied by an address. No phone numbers or any other information.

The bathroom door sprung open with a loud bang, smacking the tiled wall and causing Nick to turn and expect his pursuers to be standing in the door way, cornering him in. Fortunately, it was a young boy, hurrying to one of the stalls. Nick’s focus turned back to why he was in the bathroom in the first place.

Escape! That was the next action.

Hoping that the group of boys had lost interest in him for now, Nick turned towards the bathroom door and slipped the curious notebook into his shorts pocket as he went.

Peering out of a slim gap in the slightly open bathroom door, Nick could see no sign of danger. He gingerly slipped out of the door and out through the building and into the anonymity of the crowd on the footpath.

Sitting under the shade of a large tree in a park near his house, Nick retrieved the little black book from his pocket to inspect it further. He sought any markings on the front and back covers with his fingertips but there were none. Nick noticed that under the filtered spots of sunlight that poked through the leaves and limbs of the tree, the black cover had a slight shimmer about it. It was almost like looking at a starlit sky and Nick was wondering who or where the notebook had come from. Opening to the page that carried the list of names, Nick gleaned the words for any clues or indications of who the book belonged to and what the list meant.

The notebook wasn’t giving away any of its secrets. Determined, Nick decided to visit the first person on the list and see if they could tell him about the notebook. At the very least he thought he may be able to return it.

After knocking on the front door of this unfamiliar house, Nick waited and tried to peer through the stained glass panels in the large wooden door for any indication of who was coming to answer it. As the door opened, Nick took a sharp breath in, bracing himself for the unknown. An elderly lady’s face greeted Nick with a smile.

“Mrs Sung? Minh Na Sung?” Nick meekly questioned.

Mrs Sung nodded in acknowledgment.

“Mrs Sung, my name is Nick Foxworthy and I found your name in this notebook….”

Nick held up the little black notebook and as it came into Mrs Sung’s view, her face changed from a pleasant smile to a blank, vacant expression. She turned around and walked in the house, out of sight from Nick. Nick could feel panic as his breathing sharpened. His mind racing, pleading to anticipate what was about to happen.

Mrs Sung returned suddenly, and silently held a thick envelope out for Nick to take. Nick stammered “But Mrs Sung, I…….” She didn’t give him the chance to finish. This elderly lady thrust the offered envelope into Nick’s hand and then closed the door without saying a word.

Stunned, Nick was not sure what to do. He decided to knock on the heavy door again but Mrs Sung never returned to answer it. Nick turned and as he slowly walked on the path through Mrs Sung’s garden, he opened the envelope. It was cash. This lady had given him a thick envelope full of cash. Before Nick arrived at the boundary of the property and back out onto the street, he counted the notes. He had in his hand $6500. “What was this for? Who was this for? Who was Mrs Sung?” Many questions raced through Nick’s mind and he tried to grasp what just happened. Confused, curious but a little excited, Nick decided to visit the next person on the list.

The house of the second name on the list was large and the lawn and front gardens well maintained. Nick noticed there were a lot of cars parked on the long driveway and on the road nearby. Nick feared that he may be walking into trouble. He cautiously approached the house, just as he had cautiously stepped out of the shopping centre bathroom earlier that day. Stepping up onto the landing at the front door, he heard children laughing and playing in the backyard. As he knocked, he stepped back from the door to give himself a head start if he needed to run.

The lady that opened the door was still speaking to someone behind her as she turned to greet Nick. With the door open, Nick could hear the commotion of children and it was obvious there was a birthday party going on.

“Yes, can I help you?” she asked.

“Hi, umm…my name is Nick Foxworthy. I am wondering is Mr Lewis lives here? Mr Brian Lewis?”

“Yes, just hold on and I’ll get him” the lady said. She then turned around and yelled “Brian…front door” before heading back into the throng of the party.

A few moments passed and Brian Lewis arrived at the open door. Before Nick could utter a single syllable, Mr Lewis spied the little black notebook in Nick’s hand and Nick noticed his face change to one of fear. Mr Lewis stammered “OK just wait here” and then hurried back inside. Nick saw him run up the internal stairs and disappear into another room.

Waiting, Nick was asking himself “What does the book mean? What are they afraid of?”

BANG! BANG!

Nick jumped and nearly turned to run away from the house. Nick’s heart was pounding as he looked in the open door and saw children jumping and landing on balloons with their bottoms, popping them. Just then, Mr Lewis came rushing back to the front door and had in his hand, what looked to be a pencil case made form wetsuit material like Nick had back in school. Mr Lewis said just two words as he handed the pencil case to Nick, “Please go”, his eyes pleaded as he glanced nervously back into the house, and he closed the door.

Again, Nick was left confused and staring at a front door to a house he had never seen before. This time, he was holding a neoprene pencil case. He unzipped the zip and there was money, more money than the previous offering from Mrs Sung. Nick didn’t count it. He quickly did up the zip , turned and walked toward the road.

Nick visited the remaining names and addresses in his little black book and each had a similar outcome. The named person on his list gave him an undisclosed amount of money without question or reservation. After the last name on the list, he had envelopes, money bags and the wetsuit material pencil case loaded with cash. Nick made his way home and once he was inside, he counted his takings. In those few hours of visiting the addresses in that book, Nick had amassed $20,000. He couldn’t believe what had happened. After being chased by a group of bullies that morning, he now sat surrounded by cash with no good explanation or effort needed. Nick’s day had certainly changed course. And it was all thanks to the curious little black book.

Nick fell into his lounge chair, laid back, closed his eyes and recounted his experiences of the day. He had to decide what to do next? Unexpectedly, there was a loud knocking on the front door to Nick’s house. Nick’s eyes shot open and he sat up startled. Nick looked around and there was no one else in the house, nothing out of order. Except of course, for the large pile of money on the table in front of him. Nick wondered who could possibly be knocking on the door.

“Knock Knock”. The sound petulantly interrupted his thoughts again. Nick slowly rose from the chair and made his way to the front door, checking each room he passed for anything suspicious. Reaching the door, Nick turned the locked door knob and opened it to find a man standing before him. The man was older and had a thin build. He was wearing a dark blue business suit with black tie and his thinning hair was slicked back. The man had not yet looked at Nick, but instead was looking down at something in his hands.

Nick looked down and his eyes widened as he saw this man was holding, and reading, a little black book that looked to be identical to the one that brought Nick into possession of all that money.

The man lifted his gaze and brought his eyes up to meet Nick’s, then smiled.

“Mr Nicholas Foxworthy….” The man started as he snapped the little black book shut.

Nick’s mind started racing. “How does he know my name?” How does he know where I live? Does he know about the money? Does he know about the little black book?”

Nick struggled but managed to get out a simple reply… “Yes?”

Tapping the book in his hand, the man smiled knowingly and continued.

“I believe you have something to give me”