En route somewhere

Her thumb was getting sore from all the failed attempts of getting a ride. Casia couldn’t quite remember how she got there, but she knew there was an important place she had to be at. Just how would she manage to get there?

A deep breath and a quick break would do her well. As she steps away from the pavement, she shivers (the first few drops of rain are falling) and then feels as though someone is watching her. After scanning the place, Casia’s attention is drawn to the dirty ground, where a blank page stares at her from an abandoned notebook.

Running, she catches the used, little black notebook, seeking to find shelter underneath another abandoned (where the hell was she?) bus stop. Taking in the fact that she would likely not make it on time for her destination, she stares back at the book. Despite its use and being soaked due to a few raindrops, it seemed to be well preserved. In fact, she thought, this was no ordinary book. It was a small treasure, full of valuable information. Had it been owned by some important person? Perhaps a businessman that stored all of his passwords in there? Could it have been da Vinci’s sketches, now worth a fortune? She had to find out.

Fuelled by her curiosity, Casia promptly opens the notebook to find… Absolutely nothing. It was a great disappointment to see nearly all the pages were empty, except for the last one. What a strange author, to begin his writing on the last page. So she continued reading:

This notebook belongs to Isaac. Written words, when mastered, shall become a reality. That’s how I’ve lived many great lives within my one lifespan. Use with caution, for many times the most important is the why, not the how.

What a bunch of nonsense. Casia turned to stare at the rain and reflected on the words she just read. What did that even mean? She paused for a few seconds. She could see the importance of the “how”: the means to an end, how you get to places, and she needed to get somewhere. The "how" was her most important prophecy, ever since she could ever remember. She did not need to know the “why”, that was utterly unimportant. But she absolutely needed answers to the “how’s”.

Casia suddenly realizes that the book’s underlying promise is that written words would become a reality. Was that really true? She wasn’t the type of person to believe in mystic happenings, she was a pragmatic doer. Anyways, it couldn’t hurt to try, so she pulled her black fine-tip pen out of her bag and wrote down on the notebook:

I may get a ride out of here.

Casia looked around blankly, half expecting something to happen, the other half pitying herself for such naivety. She had to master the words, she remembered. So she scratched off her previous note and tried again:

I will get a ride to my destination in the next thirty minutes.

Curiosity peaked. Still, she couldn't help but feel silly to consider that something magical might happen. As the rain faded, Casia went to the side of the road and put her thumb up again. There were nearly no cars passing by; no small glimpse of hope of getting to her destination. Casia repeated the words she had written in the notebook to herself. She started to set her mind to it, visualizing it. Within minutes, a car pulled over. She could not believe it!

As Casia got into the car, she realized the driver was an old high school friend whom she had lost touch with lately. They were both overjoyed by the reunion and kept on driving to wherever Casia was headed (she couldn’t remember why she had to be there, but she knew it was definitely important to be there).

After catching up with her old friend, Casia’s mind was drawn back to the notebook and the fact that her words had indeed become a reality; she had been waiting for at least a couple of hours before finally getting a ride. And on top of that, she gets to see an old friend? Maybe there was some magic in it, after all. So she decides to give it another try:

My friend’s car will break down in a few minutes… And then we will get a Ferrari borrowed for the day.

She could feel tingling in the fingertips. Would it really happen? Could she have discovered an actual magic source? Casia goes on chatting with her friend about their former classmates and where they are at in their lives. She couldn’t help but feel small, knowing that everyone else was successful at their jobs and relationships. As for herself… All she had was an old book.

A smell of burnt brought Casia back to reality: the car’s exhaustion just broke down and they had to pull over. In disbelief that her words became reality again, she tried to hide her excitement by being overly upset. Casia screams to the skies and tells her friend she would find a way to get them out of there.

“Do you have any idea or even tools to fix this car?” - Her friend cries back.

“I am… resourceful. I will find a way, promise.” - Casia was convinced the notebook actually worked, and that this was not all a bizarre coincidence. She decides to seek help and goes for a walk.

A few hundred meters away, Casia runs into a parked Ferrari (she was feeling absolutely shocked and in a rush by now) and, to her surprise, the keys are inside. Without a second thought, Casia hops on and drives away, picking her friend up along the way and speeding to her destination. Her friend is so amazed about riding a Ferrari that no questions were asked about the car's origin.

Along the drive, Casia notices a road sign to Brandy Waterfalls, a place she had long wanted to go to (her Instagram had a special folder containing saved posts from other people’s photos at that waterfall), but she had always been too busy to make her way there. She hesitates, considering her time and destination, and finally decides to make a turn.

They find themselves standing in front of the most unique waterfall, surrounded by gigantic rocks, delicate greens, and a handful of visitors. They quickly undress and go for a swim in their underwear. Starting off with a small cliff jump, Casia takes the dip in: she feels the flow of the water through her fingertips and the goosebumps in her skin as she gets used to the wet temperature. It was a great spot for swimming. She smiles without realizing it, glad to have decided to take on an adventure on a whim.

Once they return to the car, Casia takes in the view while her friend takes over the driver seat. Her friend is excited to drive a Ferrari for the first time and they go on to the original destination. Casia suddenly thinks of the book (she’d almost forgotten it in the midst of their adventure) and decides to put it to test once more. Wanting some solid proof that the magic worked, she wrote down:

I will have twenty thousand dollars in this notebook in the next hour.

Casia’s friend notices her frantic writing and asks her what’s up. Casia shares her story of running into this old little black notebook that seems to have powers, and how she was testing it out. Her friend questions why she wants so much money and what she'd use it for.

So Casia was left speechless. She had no answer. She had no reason for wanting the money, she didn’t know why she needed it, it was just something people would typically wish for. Digging hard for an answer, Casia suddenly realized: She wanted to fulfill her dream of taking a year-long break abroad because she loved exploring new cultures and getting to know herself better. But something had stopped her, she just couldn’t remember what it was. As soon as Casia opens her mouth to share it all with her friend, there is a loud crash. All she sees is a bright light.

The room is extremely quiet. Casia can hear herself breathing and is aware of every single inch of her body. Everything hurts. She wiggles her toes, opens her eyes and looks around the room. She finds herself in her bedroom… Where she had been for the last thirteen hours, the longest night’s rest she’s ever had. Casia had been recovering from a car accident that happened a few weeks ago, where she lost her best friend. It was bittersweet seeing her friend in the dream for one last time.

Casia wishes she could go back to the dream, where she could live many adventures. Instead, out of habit, she looks around for her journal. She realizes that her notebook looks just like the little black book from her dreams, only in a newer condition.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Casia tries to picture all of her adventures actually happening in real life. She decides that if she sets her mind to something, just like in the dream, it would eventually become real. She longed for many experiences, a life full of adventures and stories to be told.

Casia turns her attention towards the first page of the journal. Reading over and over again, she suddenly realizes that Isaac is an anagram to her own name. That could be no coincidence: She was Isaac, only in a twisted, dreamy, yet real way. She goes on to write on the first page of the journal, which so far only contained “This notebook belongs to Casia”:

This notebook belongs to Casia. Written words, when mastered, become a reality. That’s how I will live many lives within my lifespan.

She now thought of the “why” and the “how”, realizing the importance of having a reason behind her actions: her adventures would’ve been empty and shallow if she had no purpose. She had found her purpose.

Casia casually turns over to the last page, where she finds an envelope with $20,000. She gasps. She decides she would not waste this opportunity, she would take destiny in her hands. The accident had already taken too much away from her. Connecting to her laptop, Casia opens up the browser and books a one-way ticket to Rome for the next day.