The Little Black Book

“The destination is on your right”

It took about a 6-hour drive to North Carolina from Washington, DC. This was the first time I did a road trip by myself. I listened to some podcasts, sang songs, talked to friends, and in-between got lost in thought. My grandmother passed away a few days ago. The funeral was early this morning and once it was over, I did not hesitate to take a leave of absence. It’s been a hard couple of days, so I decided to visit my uncle and aunt.

I parked my car in the driveway and took a breath. I looked around and saw that it was just my aunt's car in their driveway. I grabbed my stuff, and slowly started walking towards the entrance.

~DING~

The lights turned on and footsteps came closer.

Aunt Esther opened the door, she was wearing her nightly robe and her facial expression was in between surprised and sadness.

“Riley..? Is that you?”, she asked as she reached out to my arm with a smile. I reached out and hugged her.

“Aunt Esther, I’ve missed you so much”

She returned my hug and invited me inside.

“What a great surprise! What brought you here to visit?” she asked.

“Well, today was my grandma’s funeral, and the first instinct I had was to get away. So I ended up here!” I smiled innocently while holding in tears.

Aunt Esther came closer and gave me a hug in comfort.

“Oh sweetie, I’m so sorry. Your uncle told me about your Grandmother. I’ve been meaning to call you and your mom but… I’ve been going through a few things myself and time just flies,” she admitted.

I looked up at her and realized someone was missing.

“ Where is Uncle Mark?” I asked.

Aunt Esther sighed and composed herself to explain. She led me to the couch while organizing a few papers from the coffee table.

She went on to explain what had happened between them, and the result has led them to be separated. It broke my heart to see her in such pain. I could tell she is hurting.

“I can’t imagine how difficult this must be for you. Just know that even though Uncle Mark is blood, I’m always going to be your niece,” I said, putting my hands on hers.

“I’m so glad to hear that, but you were never going to get rid of me so easily. No matter what happens, you can always count on me for anything.”

As the night went by we spent hours catching up on life. While we were talking, I noticed the papers she organized earlier. I picked them up and saw they were home listings.

“Are you looking for a new house?” I asked.

“Yes, as you know I invest in properties for a living, but lately I’ve been wanting to purchase one of these houses and make it my own. I’m in between these two houses,” she explained, as she pointed.

“That is so cool! What are the stories behind these houses?” I asked.

“Well, this brick house has only had one owner. A woman built this house from scratch in the early 50s. She died of old age about two decades ago. It was just recently put on the market. The other house is a half built home, meaning that the owner gave up with the construction and has been trying to sell it ever since. Generations of farmers owned this property, so the land alone is very rich and potentially profitable. They’re both very intriguing, what do you think?” she asked.

“I see the dilemma, they both have their own story. Although, I feel that you should select this property,” I pointed.

THE NEXT DAY…

It was 9am when we arrived to the brick house. We gathered our supplies of dust masks, gloves and goggles. It is a very old home and has not been touched in over two decades. It’s sure to contain dust, bugs, and a lot of uncertainties. Which is why we proceed with caution. We place on the protective gear and head inside.

The moment we opened the door, we saw spider webs in every corner, furniture covered with drop cloths and dust particles within every breath. We immediately got to work by removing furniture and doing deep cleaning.

I went to the master bedroom, where there was only a bed and wardrobe. I pulled the cloth over the bed and saw there was a nightstand next to it. As I got closer, I noticed that there was a little black Moleskine notebook sitting on the top. I picked it up and it left a shadow of dust on the table. I opened to the first page and saw the description: Jaqueline Thompson - 20,000

Immediately, I flipped through the pages and saw that it was filled with written entrees. I quickly left the room and showed my aunt what I found, though she was not surprised.

“Yeah, you’ll usually find things from the previous owners, sometimes personal items like wallets and documents. You can keep it if you want, but read it after you finish cleaning the bedroom so we can sleep there comfortably tonight,” she instructed.

LATER THAT NIGHT…

I was able to to clear the bedroom of the furniture and finish the deep cleaning. The wardrobe and night stand were in good condition so we decided to keep it for now.

It was 10:06pm, Aunt Esther and I were in the room with our sleeping bags. While she slept I went through the journal. With chills down my spine, I felt that his journal was written for me.

THE NEXT MORNING…

I had saved the last page of the journal for the morning. It felt as if I was binge watching a show all night. I woke up to the smell of pancakes and eggs. I got up and sat down in the living room next to my aunt and saw that she had prepared our breakfast.

“Why did you go to sleep so late, were you reading the journal? ”she said with a smirk.

I then started to explain the story behind Jaqueline Thompson, or at least a portion of her story within this journal. I grabbed the book and read out-loud the final entry written:

March 2, 2000

As I reach the end of this journal, I fear that this may be my last. For this book was mostly a summary of my life this journal comes with a purpose. Even though my name is unknown, it soon will be in the future. I worked hard throughout the majority of my life. I believe I am an example that a woman can do things any man can. A woman can be independent and does not need to have a husband or children to be deemed successful in life. My only regret in life, was not being bold enough to share my story and help others like me. This house was my first big purchase, my pride and joy for which I worked hard to repair and sustain. In my will, I designated my lawyer to place this home on the market after a certain amount of time. Within this house, there is a box that contains my story. My stories contain my treasures. I hope that whoever reads this book, uses my treasure wisely. My only ask is that you not do this for me, but to do good in the world and inspire others to be great. I’m not afraid of death, I lived a long happy life with friends, achievements, loves, and heartbreaks. What is next to look forward to is my new chapter in the afterlife. My dream has always been to help let women know, that it is possible to achieve your dream, no matter the circumstance, no matter what generation you are in or what people say. I hope whoever reads this takes something out of it and believes in themselves to do the impossible.

After reading the journal entry out loud, we were both baffled at the request of Miss Jaqueline Thompson. It’s like she knew that in the dear future someone would have obtained these journals as she predicted. I looked at my aunt and ask her opinion on what she thinks we should do. She responds to me by saying:

“ I think it’s very clear what Miss Jaqueline wants you to do.”

I knew what she was referring to. In the journal entry, she noted “treasures” within this house. Who knows what it may be but, she clues that there are multiple journals within this house and I want to obtain them.

Soon after, we searched throughout the home to find her treasures. We searched throughout the kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedrooms, garden, front porch and even the shed outside but, there was no luck. As a last attempt, we look through the journal to find clues of the location. Apparently, the final blank page of the notebook was stuck to the back cover. Once we carefully pulled it apart, there was a pocket with a piece of sketch paper found. The sketch had seem to be a blueprint drawing of the room where the journal was first found.

"X" marked the spot.

The X was placed where the wardrobe is still located. The drawers were empty, and there was no underneath to search. We decided to move it to get a better view, and once we did, we noticed there was a hidden vent. It looked to be tampered with, which could only mean that someone had used it before. We pulled the vent carefully and grabbed a flashlight to look deep inside the wall. Towards the left, was a 12x8 metal box. It was fascinating to experience this so called treasure hunt.

“Why would miss Jaqueline go through such lengths to hide this box?” I asked, thinking out loud.

We both sat next to each other side by side with the box on my lap, ready to be opened.

When I opened the box, I did not believe my eyes. The box was filled with what looked like to be 10 more Moleskine notebook journals and two full straps of $100 bills. I was speechless.

“ Oh my… this Is $20,000…” I said astonished.

“ Wow, I cannot believe my eyes. She actually had a treasure well hidden within this house. If you weren’t here to read through that journal, I would have thrown it away with the rest of her belongings. What are you going to do with it?” she asked

“What do you mean? This isn’t mine, if anything this is your house now, it is your property.”

“While that may be true, you’re the one that chose this property for me. You made the effort to read her journals and found her treasures in the end. It’s almost as if she knew that one day, a young woman was going to find her journals and discover her story. The question now is, what will you do now?” she asked.

$20,000 is a lot of money, and I could very much use it to cover my pending debt. Nonetheless, if Jacqueline Thompson has taught me anything, it's that there is always a bigger picture in life.

Once the house is remodeled, I will fulfill miss Jaqueline’s dream of having her story published and have her name out there in the world.

Where will Jaqueline Thompson take me?