Little Black Book

A LITTLE BLACK BOOK.

THE NIGHT WAS PITCH BLACK. IN THE CITY, I COULD BARELY SEE A GLIMMER OF A STAR IN THE SKY, LET ALONE A GLIMMER OF ANY HOPE. LOCKDOWNS HAD HIT THE CITY HARD, AND THE SOCIAL ISOLATION WAS BEGINNING TO CATCH UP WITH ME. HEAD SPINNING OUT OF FEARS OF ILLNESS, ALONE, ABANDONMENT AND A WITHDRAWAL FROM THE WORLD, I NEEDED TO REACH OUT. I WAS EXPERIENCING AN VERY INTENSE CASE OF WRITER'S BLOCK AND COMPLETELY UNISNPIRED IN MY WORK AND MY POETRY I HAD BEEN DETERMINED TO WRITE THIS WINTER. I DRESSED MYSELF UP IN MY BLACK MERINO WOOL DRESS COAT, WITH MY BLACK SWEAT SUIT ON UNDERNEATH, AND HEADED OUTSIDE FOR AN ADVENTURE AND SOME FRESH AIR. THE COLD AIR HIT MY FACE HARD, LIKE A SLAP IN THE FACE. A WAKE UP CALL- YOU NEED TO GET OUT MORE, EVEN IF IT HURTS YOU! I FELT ODDLY ALIVE, EMBRACING THE BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES. I COULD FINALLY FEEL…SOMETHING. I NEEDED TO FEEL SOMETHING. I NEEDED SOME TOUCH OF REALITY TO HIT ME HARD LIKE A COMET OUT OF SPACE, SHATTERING MY EXPECTATIONS WITH A HARD HIT OF A REALITY PILL. MY HEAD OPENED UP. I WAS OFF A SCREEN. THE MATRIX I WAS ABSORBED IN BURST OPEN, BUSTING AT THE SEEMS. I SAW A COUPLE WALK DOWN THE ROAD HAND IN HAND. A LITTLE DOG WALKED NEXT TO THEM, DRESSED TO THE NINES IN GREY BOOTIES AND A BLACK COAT, MUCH NICER THAN MINE.

I KEPT WALKING. A SAW A COUPLE RACCONS KNOCK OVER A HUGE GARBAGE BIN THAT REAKED OF ROTTING EGGS AND DINNER LEFTOVERS. NEXT TO IT WAS A LARGE BOX. SOME UNIVERSITY STUDENTS HAD THROWN OUT A BUNCH OF CLASSICS, PLATO, ARISTOTLE, DESCARTES, SO I THOUGHT I’D TAKE A LOOKED AND GRAB A FEW FOR LATE NIGHT READING. I ALSO NOTED A SMALL BLACK NOTEBOOK IN THE BOX, BOUND BY A BLACK LEATHER COVER. I WENT TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND DECIDED TO THROW IT IN MY BAG. I FIGURED I COULD USE IT TO WRITE MY POETRY IN- POETRY THAT HAD BEEN SEVERELY LACKING THESE DAYS. “NEW INSPIRATION!” I THOUGHT. I WALKED HURRIDLY BACK HOME, BEGINNING TO REALLY FEEL THE FREEZE OF THE WINTER’S AIR. AS I CLIMBED UP THE STAITS TO MY ATTIC APARTMENT I THREW THE BOOKS ON MY DESK, MADE A CUP OF TEA AND CURLED INTO MY BED. I WOKE UP THE NEXT MORNING, AND NOTICED THE BLACK LEATHER NOTEBOOK HAD FALLEN TO THE FLOOR. I PICKED IT UP AND A CHEQUE FOR 20,000$ FELL OUT FROM THE BACK. ATTACHED TO THIS SERENDIPITIOUS CHEQUE WAS A LETTER. IT SAID “TO WHOMEVER FINDS THIS NOTEBOOK, YOUR FUTURE AWAITS YOU. I WOULD LIKE YOU TO TAKE THIS MONEY TO HELP YOU WHILE YOU WRITE. I LIVED A LIFE COMPLETELY DEVOTED TO MY FAMILY WITH LITTLE TIME FOR MY WRITING. I HOPE THAT YOU CAN USE THIS TO HELP WITH YOUR DREAMS”. I WAS FLOORED- "WHAT A SHOCK!" THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED AND I WAS SO THRILLED. "HOW DID THIS ARRIVE TO ME- A WRITER? I THOUGHT OUTLOUD." "HOW STRANGE AND YET ODDLY SEREDENIPITIOUS!" I PICKED UP MY PEN AND STARTED WRITING IN IT IMMEDIATELY. "THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A NEW CHAPTER OF MY LIFE."I EXCITEDLY THOUGHT TO MYSELF. " AS THE COLD WIND SEEPED INTO MY APARTMENT THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOW, I WAS UNBOTHERED... I WAS DEEP IN THOUGHT AND WRITING WITH INSPIRATION. " THE COLD WIND BLOWS, THE THOUGHTS RUN SLOW. THE COLD WIND HEEDS, THE MIND RUNS FAST. I STOP AND THINK OF WHAT IS TO COME. THE ONLY GLANCE OF HOPE IS A SHIMMERING LANCE." AS I SAT WITH MY MORNING COFFEE, I KNEW I WAS GOING TO BE WRITING ALL DAY LONG AND I WAS ABSOLUTELY ENTHRALLED.