The no cost black book

She was in a rush when she ran down the street towards her destination. She had arranged with a stranger to purchase a used item and pick it up at a location between their respective homes. Unfamiliar with the area, she was running late for the pickup when she tripped over some unknown item. Her stumble was in such a comical manner that it caused a passerby to chuckle lightly at the sight. She got up and picked up a small black book which had caused her stumble and subsequent fall. The book was simple in nature, no title on the cover or spine. She flipped open the book and saw that on the inside cover written in her hand was her name.

She racked her mind for any memory of such a book. It was the size that could fit in her pocket if she wanted it to, but she had zero memory of buying or receiving any book even remotely similar to this one. Yet it contained not only her name, but her name in her own writing.

Her mind came back to her in a moment and she realized she was still running late for the arranged meet up. She slipped her hand into her pocket to pull out her phone and ended up pulling out the black book. She shook her head. She reached into her other pocket in search of her phone and pulled it out and illuminated the screen. There were no new notifications and she still had time. She decided to text the prospective vendor that she was running late just to err on the safe side of caution.

“Sorry, running a little behind, but I shouldn’t be too late.”

She returned her phone into her pocket and realized she still had the mysterious book in her hand. She thought about it for a moment and decided to put it into her pocket. She resumed her jaunt towards her destination and soon arrived. It was a short exchange. She put the item in her bag and retrieved her wallet to pay the vendor but the vendor looked at her in confusion.

“It’s $50, yes?”

“I mean. It is, but you already paid me.”

She looked at the vendor in confusion, “I did?”

“Yeah?” The vendor was just as confused as she was but managed an awkward laugh, “but if you want to pay me twice, I won’t argue.”

The two shared an awkward chuckle together and parted ways.

She decided to stop in at a corner store on the way home to pick up a few select beverages that were her favourite and a bag of potato chips. She took her items to the counter to pay.

The counterperson took her items and put them along with a receipt into a bag then handed them to her with a smile and thanked her for her business.

She looked at the counterperson with confusion, “thanks…” she trailed off. She could not remember paying, yet she clearly had a receipt. Surely she must have paid. She went home.

___

Upon arriving at home she flipped her laptop open and checked her finances. Her balance was not what she expected. The balance on her student loans, her credit card, all balances owing were at zero. Her brows furrowed, this was definitely a good thing, but it was also definitely a mistake. She definitely had debt. She knew she had debt. What was this error going to cost her? Anxiety rose up and flourished, speeding up her heart rate and dilating her pupils. She wasn’t sure of where to start to sort out this issue. She didn’t know who to call or what to do.

She took several deep breaths, counting the in, counting the out. She stood up and she went to the washroom where she gently rinsed her face with cool, refreshing water. She did this with attention and care, doing her best to be mindful and breathe, still counting each breath in and out. “I’ll figure it out, I’ll handle it. I am capable.”

After a variety of very stressful phone calls and a few hours later she discovered that it was apparently not a mistake. Even though she genuinely didn’t understand how her debts had just disappeared, every interaction she had over the last hours reassured her that there was no mistake.

She sat back and continued to breathe, counting each breath and forcing her body to relax into the couch where she sat. Anxiety remained, and she knew it would not dissipate for a while, but she did her best to force her anxiety to accept all the reassurances she had been given.

She decided to take a walk to clear her head, taking nothing but the keys to her apartment, leaving even her phone to avoid any distractions that would inhibit her ability to calm down. She needed the silence. She descended the stairs, heading towards the glass and metal door leading to the street. Once she moved through the door and the outside enveloped her body she took a deep breath of the outdoor air and closed her eyes. A walk would do her good.

She walked well into the night, her legs carried with her the strain of every burden she had ever felt and not been able to crush. Each step she took liberated some of the weight and left her feeling lighter, even if it also left her a little more tired. Eventually her mouth grew a little too dry for her comfort, a subtle signal that she was growing dehydrated from her walk, as calming as it otherwise had been, she needed a drink. She checked her pockets for any loose change she could use to buy a beverage for her journey home.

There was a little store that was reasonably close to where she was that she really enjoyed patroning. The manager there ran the store alone and was always very endearingly friendly. After selecting a 99 cent beverage she brought it to the counter. The two had a brief yet friendly conversation before she handed the manager the change in exchange for the beverage. Finally, she thought, an interaction that made sense. She took the beverage and bid the manager a good night and then returned home.

Upon her arrival at home she went to sleep, and had hazy, chaotic dreams that confused and alarmed her. When she awoke she noticed the small black book that she had found the day prior sitting beneath her phone on her stack of milk crates she used as a night stand. She realized she had forgotten to plug in her phone to charge for the night. She illuminated her phone screen to see where the charge was at and tilted her head slightly in confusion when she saw the the charge percentage was at 100%. Her brows furrowed and she looked around the room.

She put her phone back down on top of the small black book. She took a deep breath to relax and rolled her shoulders to relieve some of the tension that survived through the night and elevated through her erratic dreams. She looked down at her phone which rested upon the small black book. She raised an eyebrow and picked up the small black book. She turned it over in her hands and flipped it open to the page where her name was written in her writing and noticed a change from the day before. The page now contained not only her name in her writing, but a list of prices, $50 for the item she purchased used from an online vendor, the charge from the corner store for the beverage and snacks, and the balance that she had previously owed on all her debt accounts. As well as a note on the bottom of the page stating phone charged.

So very interesting, she thought. She pondered for a moment before she got up and out of bed, bringing the small black book with her into the main room of her apartment which contained kitchen and living room aspects in one central space. She found a pen and flipped the book open to the page which contained her name, multiple prices and item descriptions written in her writing. She took the pen and wrote in it her bank account number and “$2000”. She then took her phone and opened her bank account to check the balance.

Elated, her heart raced and she could simply not contain the smile that consumed her face. Her bank account balance had gone from $14.50 to $2014.50. She was so excited! She realized all the potential within this small black book. She subconsciously was bouncing up and down with the excitement that she couldn’t contain. She did her best to calm herself. She decided she would have to be cautious with this, she wasn’t sure if magic book money would attract the attention of tax authorities.

She thought for a few moments about all the potential this small black book contained for her. This seemingly insignificant item not only could recharge her phone, but it could recharge her bank account and by doing so, recharge her life. She had spent so much time trudging through debt, through minimum wage jobs and ultimately through the despair that accompanies unfulfilled promises. Her degree had ultimately brought her nothing but debt, and condemned her to a lifetime of poverty as she attempted to pay down a seemingly insurmountable debt on minimum wage. She had barely managed to scrounge enough savings over five years to purchase the used item from the day before.

Now she could stop worrying about the money spent on the item. She knew she could afford it. She smiled to herself. She went to the closet where her bag rested and withdrew the item. It was well used, but also well cared for and well loved. She ran her fingers down the wood of it, a few chips and scratches, but no warping or rott. She gazed at the Leviathan that stared back at her from the design on the bottom, only the slightest bit faded which no laymen would ever notice. Seven layers of rock hard canadian maple with a bamboo top. She had lucked out on this purchase, a cruiser board in such good condition for only $50, she had expected to have to spend much more.

She had always wanted to learn, she had even tried as a child, but after all the boys in her neighborhood swarmed her and ridiculed her on sight as soon as she even held a board, she had given up in her youth. Then in her young adulthood she seemed to never be able to afford any board of decent quality. She was finally going to learn, and she now had the ability to delve into all the interest that money had previously barred her from. Life would change for her, and she relished in the knowledge of that.

She took her newly acquired used board, phone, wallet, keys and small black book and left her apartment. She would go to a vacant paved lot to practice, as she was sure she would not have the balance or agility to hit the pavement safely at this point in time. She walked briskly in the direction of the lot, smiling and chuckling to herself as she moved. Her mind whirled and raced with all the possibilities of her new reality. She neglected to fully check both ways before she crossed.

The small black book flew from her pocket along with a select few other items and her shoe flew from her foot after the impact of the vehicle against her body. The paramedics would soon come, but to no avail. The police would collect her personal items for her family. The small black book would be overlooked for an undetermined amount of time, before eventually causing another stumble.