The Little Black Book

Peter has had no contact with his mother for almost 8 years now. She had recently learned where he was living, and this concerned him. His mother was the type of woman who loved sabotaging good things in his life. He was frantically thinking of ideas and precautions he could take to avoid things getting unpleasant. His mother had a felony in malicious mischief so he would not put it past her to cause trouble but did not know what he could do to prevent the chaos in advance instead of having to deal with the aftermath.

One day while cleaning up his late grandfather’s estate Peter came across a little black book inside of a safe in his grandfather’s room. He had always been very fond of reading books, writing, and collecting novels, it was a hobby that brought him and his grandfather close. There was a message in the front of the book that read, “Dear Vic, I hope all is well with you it’s been a long time since we’ve seen or spoken to each other.” I wanted to give you this gift as a token of our friendship - love Julianna. He knew this had to be his grandfather’s diary. He was a little hesitant to read it further, but his curiosity got the best of him, plus he wanted to know who Julianna was. He was interrupted by his friend Tommy who came over to help get ready for the big estate sale that weekend. Peter set the book down and said, “Hey Tommy how’s it going.” Tommy said, “things are better than you look, man, what’s up?” The two men both laughed then Tommy asked Peter what was going on with him, he said, “You seem anxious man.” Peter said, “my mother found out where I live, it’ll only be a matter of time before she shows up on my doorstep.” Tommy said, “shit man, again? That is terrible! Your mom makes life hell for you!” Peter gave Tommy an anxious grin and said, “yeah tell me about it.” In the past his mother, Karen often pretended to be supportive and doting to him and his sister. In reality, his mother neglected their needs and remained emotionally unavailable to her children. Peter remembered being disgusted with how easily people were fooled by this act and yet he knew as soon as they got home the mask would fall off. Peter told Tommy, “I’ll never be able to forget how soul-sucking that woman was and today I’m struggling with the ghosts of my childhood. I have been cramming these memories into the darkest corners of my head until days like this where they flood out from their hiding spot like a river after a bad storm. My head is pounding, and I am mentally exhausted. I feel heavy from these bad memories.” “The only thing keeping my mind off it is cleaning up my grandfather’s house because the pain of losing him is worse than the diabolical situation ahead of me.”

Tommy replied, “I’m sorry Pete things are going to get better for you.” He switched his attention to the black book Peter had set down. Tommy asked, “What’s up with that black book?” You seemed very distracted by it when I came in.” Peter said, “oh it's nothing. Well, it's actually my grandfather’s diary.” Tommy said, “that’s great man, have you read it? “Peter answered, “No not yet, well I read a message at the front of the book from some lady my grandfather knew named Julianna.”

Tommy exclaimed, “Julianna?! “With a name like that you know she must’ve been a fox.” Let me see it!” Tommy grabbed the book from Peter and a small brown bag fell from inside the little black book. Peter reached for the bag and carefully opened it and poured twelve sparkling diamonds into his hand. The two men looked at them in awe.

Growing up Peter had always felt like the family’s scapegoat and his little sister could do no wrong. He wasn’t upset with her of course it was not her fault his parents treated him differently. When he was 12 years old his father died in a car accident it was extremely tragic for their family. His mom had always been a difficult woman, but she became more and more unbearable after his father's passing. As he grew older his mother made his life miserable. One time Peter moved out of his home, he took the car his dad had given him and went to live with his best friend Tommy. When his mother found out she was furious! She found him at Tommy’s house. When Peter answered the door, his mother bashed his head into the door breaking his glasses. She told him he was an ungrateful child; she’d wasted her whole life on him, and she didn’t deserve to be treated like this. She fled down the steps and used his spare keys to drive off with his car. Peter now shaken up, reached down for his broken glasses. Tommy was in utter shock! He had seen the whole thing which embarrassed Peter. Tommy told Peter that he could stay as long as he wanted to, but Peter said. “I have to go back home.” She will come here every day to harass me if I don’t. When Peter arrived home, he was greeted by his little sister who was sobbing. She ran out to her brother and gave him a big hug. They just stood there in silence holding each other, neither of them could stand living with their mother.

Now Peter’s little sister, Lindsey had brown hair, green eyes, and freckles. She was strong and athletic. She played soccer and participated in track and field. Peter was incredibly supportive of his little sister he liked going to her games and knew how much it meant to her. Since their dad had passed away, he made sure to always be there for Lindsey. Plus, he knew their mother wouldn’t dream of doing anything like that. When Karen wasn’t too busy mixing her alcohol with her medications, she could be found causing a scene that could make anybody cringe. Her greatest skillset was manipulating and putting people down especially her children. She thought playing sports was useless and made a point of letting Lindsey know it often. She wanted Lindsey to focus on her beauty and be more feminine like her.

Two years later, it was Saturday afternoon, Lindsey was sitting on the freshly cut grass in the front yard. She was watching videos on tiktak it was a trendy new app that all her friends used to post videos so naturally, Lindsey wanted to be part of all the excitement. Now it was a beautiful day in Florida, but the weather was particularly bipolar. There were a few clouds in the sky, and it began raining but the sun was still shining brightly. Lindsey decided to stay outside, so she moved under the big Oaktree in the yard to wait out the rain. Suddenly, a lightning bolt pierced through the sky striking through the big Oaktree to Lindsey! She was frozen in position; Lindsey could not move, and her body began convulsing until she eventually passed out. When she finally began gaining consciousness, everything was blurry. Bright lights and people were standing around. She was strapped into a stretcher and being loaded into the back of an ambulance. Her mother was wearing a flimsy purple dress she was hysterical and crying uncontrollably. Lindsey was rushed to the hospital where she was immediately brought into the ER. After a week in the hospital, the doctors said Lindsey’s vital signs were looking good and it was a miracle that she was still alive. She was almost back to her normal self and Peter was tremendously relieved. but only after a few days, Lindsey’s health was declining, and her doctor decided to keep her at the hospital longer. She began getting weaker and weaker. She had stopped eating because she could not keep her food down. She lost so much weight and her body became so frail within three weeks that she was practically unrecognizable. Lindsey eventually died in the hospital at the age of 16 it was two days before her birthday. Peter was devastated. Lindsey died of a very strange disease; when the lightning struck her, it had passed the black mold from the Oaktree into her body. The doctors explained that when mold gets into the human body it manifests itself as a fungal infection. When the fungus reached her bloodstream, it spread to all her organs causing her to die of sepsis. This crushed Peter and his mother. He just did not understand how such a healthy vibrant person could die from something like this. He was so angry and especially at Karen. She had been at home laying in her bed drunk most of the time while Peter was at the hospital with Lindsey every day. As time passed his mother became so mentally abusive that instead of them growing closer together it made them grow further apart. He wanted to be there for her, but she was so toxic he just couldn’t do it anymore. After a huge argument with her, he told her he was leaving for good! His mom said, “she would kill herself if he left her.” Peter was so fed up with his mother’s manipulative behavior. He wanted nothing to do with her! He moved to live with his grandfather and changed his number cutting off all contact with her.

Peter used the money from the diamonds to relocate to New Zealand, where he opened his bookstore. He met a woman and started a family of his own. He could not remember the last time he had been this happy! He took care of the situation with Karen by paying her half a million to leave him alone and he gave Tommy the other half to help him with his new business. He donated a good portion of the money to research for infectious diseases and organizations that helped children and teens who were fatally ill. He also went to therapy and sought help for the pain and psychological abuse he had endured during his childhood. Peter learned a lot about people with Narcissistic personality disorder, like his mother which allowed him to heal and eventually find peace and acceptance with his past. Before Peter left, he bought flowers to put on Lindsey’s grave. He visited his sister one last time, wishing so badly that she could be there, he said, “I’m sorry you were robbed of your life, I’ve always felt like it should’ve been me, I love you, Lindsey.”