A Mysterious Black Book

This tale of mystery begins with a mansion behind an iron gate, on a hill. It is a luxurious home, not dissimilar from the home of the Orson Wells character Citizen Kane. This being said, its appearances, both external and internal, were more similar to those of the Gatsby mansion from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The resident of this mysterious dwelling was a man whose past life, and its corresponding circumstances, was an enigma to many. Although his real name was unknown to the majority of the citizenry in his area, he had the alias of Mr. Midas, owing to the fact that, like the king in ancient Greek mythology, he had a penchant for gold, and generally, for the finer things in life. This was a moniker given to him by the locals of his relatively small, though abundantly wealthy city. It was a fitting nickname, given that his palatial place of living dwarfed the nearby houses in the adjacent neighborhood. Reclusive though he was, Mr. Midas was not above occasional contact with the world outside his home. He would of course go shopping for his daily needs, primarily the basic necessities that humans and other animals need to live, namely water and food. He usually dressed in run of the mill clothing when he was outside.

Despite being difficult to spot in public, Mr. Midas would establish communication with the general public in his own way, and at times and places of his own choosing. One example was RSVP messages for gatherings at his residence. He would host massive parties at his mysterious dwelling that he proudly called home. He also had a hobby of going on quests of sorts. In fact, this man of means wanted to share the “fruitful gifts of the natural world” as he called them, with others who might share his interests. The website eBay was one source of Mr. Midas’ treasure hunts. Recently, he had purchased an intriguing item from another user of this internet site that could be considered an online yard sale. The seller claimed that he was a collector of historic artifacts, and that he had found a small black book with a treasure map inside it. This book’s map, the seller claimed, was imprinted with latitude and longitude coordinates of the starting point of a trail, that would lead one to a generalized location of where to look for a treasure. If and when a treasure hunter was able to reach the final waypoint on the map, they would be in the geographic location of a purported “real life” treasure chest. From there, they could dig in the ground to find this wooden box of valuables. Having special equipment, such as a metal detector, and/or Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), would only facilitate the process with greater technological ease. Mr. Midas even used these tools himself.

This year, Mr. Midas had chosen to invite guests to participate in his treasure hunting adventure. He sent out fifty invitations, yet only received one response, from a fellow enthusiast of hidden valuable items. This other character went by the name Mr. Sterling, after the type of silver. This was of course a nickname he would use for himself, and not his real name, which he preferred to keep discrete. Few people knew his real name. Given that Mr. Sterling did RSVP to this event, Mr. Midas knew that a special guest, with a similar name, would arrive at his doorstep. Indeed, the day arrived when these two adventurers finally met, and they each made a great first impression on one another.

“Welcome sir!” Mr. Midas said. “Thank you for inviting me!” Mr. Sterling responded. Mr. Sterling continued the ice breaking part of the introduction, stating “I see that we both like searching for treasure.” Mr. Midas smiled, replying “Treasure hunting is a fascinating pastime of mine. As I am fond of saying, treasure is my pleasure. And this year, I have a treasure that you can guard in your possession, if you are successful in locating it. You heard me right. Find it, and it is yours.” Mr. Midas then produced a black leather notebook. “What is this?” questioned Mr. Sterling. “Well, as you can see, it is a small black notebook” stated Midas. “I can see that of course” said Sterling. “Naturally. And you might be wondering what kind of book it is, and what it has to do with your visit here today” said Midas. “Indeed, I am wondering those things” said Sterling. “As would be expected” replied Midas, as he smiled. “So, what is this book then?” Midas continued. “Simply put, from a literal standpoint, it is a combination of paper, leather, and adhesives. But in a more imaginative sense, it is a key that can open a door to another way of life. By that, I mean a way of life that you would be proud to call you own” declared Midas. “And what kind of life would that be?” questioned Sterling. “It would be one of both adventure and leisure, not to mention fame and fortune, the likes of which could put you on the cover of world-class magazines and make you the star of the show. I mean this both metaphorically, and in your case, literally. You could be on TV, or in a Hollywood movie, or both. Of course, this is all plausible at this given time, and yet to be confirmed” explained Midas.

“Please continue sir, I’m intrigued” exclaimed Sterling, listening with rapt attention. Midas, seeing the keen sense of interest on Sterling’s face, continued his lecture. “This book has a story all its own. Imagine the explorers in days of old, traveling on their boats and other forms of transportation around our vast planet. What if you could have the modern-day version of the life of one of these famous individuals?” Sterling paused for a moment to consider this hypothetical possibility. “Well, I would be very happy indeed, or at least I could be” said Sterling. “True, you could be very happy indeed. And I think that you would be, provided that the right circumstances take place. And why wouldn’t they?” questioned Midas in a rhetorical manner. “True, I agree” said Sterling. Midas explained to Sterling how to go about this treasure hunt. The following month, after extensive preparations, Sterling went on his quest and located the treasure successfully. He dug it up intact, and brought it back to Midas, who awaited Sterling with another, very unexpected surprise to help Sterling boost his own wealth.

“I see that you found the treasure” said Midas. “Yes sir” said Sterling. “Well, I have another for you too. Do you play the lottery Sterling?” asked Midas. “On occasion, yes” said Sterling, with a mystified, yet eager face. “There is a lottery ticket with the winning combination for the jackpot, and it has your name, or at least your combination of jackpot numbers, on it. All you have to do is use a special prayer that I use in my own life. If you pray this prayer correctly, and with the right intention, then it can lead you to the manifestation of your dreams.” Sterling gave a wide-eyed stare. “What do you mean by manifestation of my dreams?” said Sterling. “Well, you could bring wealth and abundance into your life, and do the things that you have always wanted to do. This is your ticket, no pun intended” replied Midas. Sterling did as Midas instructed, with amazing results. He won several scratch-it tickets, including one with a $20,000 jackpot. Shortly thereafter, he won his native state’s large lottery jackpot. “You were right, the prayer worked!” shouted Sterling, with a level of joy that a child would have when he or she found out that his or her family was going to a theme park during summer vacation. “I knew it would. It always does for those who believe in it” said Midas. In the following months, Midas assisted Sterling with the process of establishing his investment accounts and other financial structures that he would need for his soon-to-be new life of living large. First, Sterling assembled a legal and financial dream team, consisting of an attorney, an accountant, and a financial planner. After this, he claimed his lottery winning, with a high degree of secrecy, and by default, a low degree of publicity. He even wore a disguise, in the form of a famous cartoon character with a distinct voice. Sterling had great voice impressions, yet he stayed mute during the lottery press conference, to help him in maintaining his anonymity. If he had to communicate, he did so via hand signals that were set up before the event.

Thus, began a new phase of Mr. Sterling’s life. One summer, he went on a grand vacation of epic proportions. He first took a small automotive journey in a luxury car to the local small airport within a few miles of his house, where his rented private jet was waiting for him. After taking off in this plane that few would get the chance to even tour, let alone fly in, he took an aerial journey to the opposite coast of the U.S. While airborne, he was afforded luxury foods and beverages that would inspire Hollywood A-listers, both on a day-to-day knowledge basis for everyday meals, and when selecting catering options for their future parties and celebrations. Some of these delicacies would even be seen in a popular TV show featuring some of the most expensive items one could purchase, including an ice cream sundae with edible gold leaf (among other exotic ingredients), and a diamond infused martini, both of which had price tags in the four to six figure ranges. He also sampled many of the other products and services that this TV show featured. After landing at another small airport, which was similar to his own local airport, he then boarded another type of aircraft associated with the rich and famous: a private helicopter. This rotorcraft then flew him to a nearby chartered yacht. This boat of opulence was luxurious to the point of being superfluous. If it was not floating on a large body of water, one might mistake the interior of this nautical vessel for the inside of a presidential suite in a high-end hotel, in a city such as Las Vegas or New York City. This yacht took this very fortunate man, Sterling, to destinations that most would only see in magazines, TV shows, and movies. These locations were typically located outside the United States and were hubs of luxurious activity in their given regions. For example, in Europe, his yacht took him to Monaco. In the Middle East, his yacht sailed him to Dubai. And in Asia, he went to Hong Kong. At each locale, he made a name for himself as a distinguished gentleman of worldly travels, with fine taste to match.

More often than not, he was gifted with opportunities to sample the finest of what the world has to offer, and he lived his life to the fullest on this astronomical sphere we call planet Earth. He shared his good fortune with many worldwide. And so, it is here that we reach the end of our story. One could say the final chapter of it. From this point forward, he lived out the rest of his life in a manner that many have imagined for themselves, for others, or both. But of course, few have actually reached this level of life status, for themselves, for others, or for both. That being said, those who wish to be like Mr. Midas or Mr. Sterling certainly can be. They need only start with a dream, and then find a lifepath that satisfies them, and then finally, let that dream run its course to its finale, where happiness awaits.