The little black book, a small window of opportunity

It seemed to be some kind of avant-garde art project that had captured the world's attention. Across every continent, people were reporting the mysterious appearance and disappearance of a little black book and how it changed their lives irrevocably.

At times it was around for as short as a few hours or a day and other times weeks or months. Some say they saw vivid images, literature, poetry, coded messages and in one rare case, a secret message tucked into the binding.

While experiences often differed between witnesses there were a couple of consistent details. The first was that it would always appear in a space between two places. Some accounts recalled it being found in a doorway or gateway, a street curb, in open windows, and even resting on the edge of a riverbank. Each time it was reported to be precisely placed so that the book was resting on each side equally; for example, those found in windows would be balanced perfectly between the inside and outside.

The second detail was that everyone the book visited reported that they had been deeply changed by an experience they couldn't fully explain. Many described it by referencing terms like lucid dreams, hallucinations, and out-of-body experiences. Some reported being transported to different dimensions or places. It painted the picture that the book was somehow both physical and immaterial, able to be seen and touched except by the known laws of space and time.

These odd stories fueled rumors that the book was simply a creative stunt to express a sentiment like "Art is transformative". For Alyce, it was simply an exciting myth to believe, a great distraction from the stress of the year's challenges. In 2020 alone she had lost her home, moved into a fifth-wheel trailer, planned to move to las vegas, and when everything seemed to finally be looking up, had her plans foiled by the appearance of a pandemic that caused her to be laid off, subsequently leaving her without the funds to fix her truck which would no longer leave it's parked position and was flashing the check engine light. As of now, she was stranded in the Midwest facing a bitter winter in what felt like an adult-sized toy house.

With her situation, a trip to another world sounded amazing. She had dared to dream of it, ever since the rumors started it was on her mind. What would she do with a sudden burst of inspiration? Maybe she would start writing or drawing again. It had been ages since she touched a notebook for more than a couple of minutes.

All year she wondered but now she was face to face with a moment of truth. She had just stepped out of her trailer to take a walk to the nearest store when she saw it, lying on the border between the dirt and the black asphalt that was the road. She didn't pick it up immediately but simply stared in shock and questioned. Could it be real or...was it just a prank or imposter?

Eventually, she accepted that staring at it in contemplation wouldn't yield any answers. She lifted it carefully, picking it up with both hands. The cover was smooth and felt like hard cardboard. It had rounded corners and a thin black piece of elastic to keep it shut. Oddly enough, it was unstained by the mud of the recently melted snow.

Not knowing what might happen she took it back inside and sat at the small dinette to examine it. She flipped the cover open to reveal the first page. Inside she found…disappointment. It was completely blank. As were the first few pages. So far it was shaping up to just be a regular notebook.

"Of course, someone must have heard the stories and thought it was cute to leave this for a stranger." She sighed, still thumbing through each page one by one "Of course." she said, but deep down, she wanted to believe that something transformative could still occur. "Ugh…" she wanted to, but page after page turned up empty and served to reinforce her melancholy reality.

Almost halfway through the book, she was just about to give up when she doubled back suddenly on something she almost missed in the upper right corner of a page. In small cursive handwriting was the question What's next…? It wasn't much but it was enough to perk up her posture. She paused to contemplate the question.

What did she want next? All she could think of was feeling liberated from her restraining circumstances. From the cold, from her financial woes, from the small space where she barely had room to dance or exercise, from the depression that kept her away from the art she used to love. The idea of feeling lifted from her stress washed over her like a refreshing splash of water on a hot day.

Finally, she turned to the next page. Here, the thread holding the binding together was visible. On each side, there was a sketch of a four-panel door. The shading created an amazingly realistic effect. The doors nearly popped off the page as though they were holographic. It might not be a magical book after all but it was certainly touched by skillful hands. The door on the left was even more mesmerizing as it was slightly ajar and emanated a light between the cracks.

Alyce's attention was captured by it. She ran her fingers carefully over the door, unsure if it was sealed to prevent smudging. When she reached the crack where the light shone through it almost seemed warm to the touch, as though there was sunlight on the other side. She figured the realism was just getting to her head and tricking her senses.

Turning the page again she was taken aback by what she saw. It looked to be the perfect mixture of a moth and a butterfly. The edges of the lower wings resembled the dripping effect of a swallowtail with a pattern like a monarch while the upper wings donned a pattern that eerily resembled eyes that were wide open as they gazed. It gave Alyce a strange feeling that tingled down her spine, it made her cringe and yet she felt compelled to move towards it.

Tentatively her fingertips moved to graze the colorful wings before pulling back faster than a chameleon's tongue after catching a fly. There was a very clear buzzing sensation when she touched it, like a small jolt of electricity. Now she was starting to wonder:

Did that...really….-

However, her wondering was whisked away on fluttering wings as the creature lifted from the pages and hovered before her. At this point, she was tempted to believe she was asleep and didn't realize it. Either that or perhaps her stress had driven her to new levels of crazy. Although, wasn't it really crazy to wish for something only to give up on it once it appears?

"Well...no use in wasting chances." She resolved, holding up her hand and hoping the beautiful creature would land there so she could get a closer look. It began to move closer until it rested on the back of her hand. There was the familiar electric sensation again, only it was more intense this time. Its wings opened and closed slowly while it sat. The patterns became hypnotizing as she stared into its eyes.

As she stared, she started to notice the electric sensation begin to spread from just the surface of her hand to the rest of her body. It wasn't alarming but rather soothing, gently melting away any muscle tension in her body. At some point, she closed her eyes to fully enjoy the feeling and she noticed that there was a fractal rainbow swirling in the dark space behind her eyes.

Startled, she opened her eyes only to find the butterfly was gone. In its place, a woman with brown mid-length hair was staring at her with a concerned expression.

"Alyce...are you still with me?"

Alyce found herself ignoring the woman as she looked around frantically for the signs of her small trailer, but instead she found the crisp, modern contemporary design of what looked to be an art gallery. A nearby window was letting in so much sun she could feel it on her skin. She had to shield her eyes to see beyond the glare, at which point she noticed the black notebook was clutched in her right hand. Using it as a visor she noticed that the sidewalk was clear of snow and full of people walking about without the masks that had become so common due to the pandemic. She was clearly not living in the same time period she remembered.

The woman held an amused but caring expression as she couldn't help but laugh. "This must be your first big check. Everyone takes it a little differently so I understand." Now, she had Alyce's full attention.

"Big...check?" She asked

The woman shook her head as she lightly chuckled before replying with the same compassion as before.

"Yes, absolutely! Tucked right there into your notebook if you don't believe me but again Congratulations! It's not often new artists get such high bids at auctions but I must say, it's not hard to see why. Your butterfly has such a…" her hand wafted through the air as though she was trying to gather the thought from the atmosphere. "Ethereal feel. It's really moving."

"Butterfly…" Alyce thought aloud. Looking over the woman's shoulders with a less frantic eye she could see it. A 24 x 24 inch canvas depicting the butterfly/moth creature rendered with black marker and color pencil. She held up the black book thumbed quickly through the pages and found a check placed where the thread could be seen in the middle of the book.

"I...um…" She attempted to find words. The check was for $20,000 which was, for her, a life-changing amount. "Thank you...I don't know what to say". The woman smiled before pulling Alyce in for an unexpected hug.

"Oh, you are just so adorable! Listen, you are welcome here anytime, hun! We look forward to having more of your work around here, okay? So don't be a stranger!"

Alyce nodded vigorously to agree, although, speaking of being a stranger, she didn't even know this woman's name.

"I won't!" She rang back, glancing at the woman's name tag before she disappeared from sight.

"Lauryn Bell." She said to herself. Committing it to memory. Now that Lauryn was gone she took a moment to look through the sketchbook in her hand. It was filled with intricate drawings that looked similar to her own style but… She couldn't remember seeing them before.

"This must be… Those hallucinations people mentioned...heh…" She wasn't sure whether to be excited or concerned. How long was the hallucination supposed to last?

In any case, the woman was right. The drawing definitely had an ethereal feel to it. Somehow, it gave her the feeling that it was moving even though it was clearly still. The idea that she could accomplish this was truly fulfilling. She stared at the drawing for a while, committing it to memory as well. Even though this was a hallucination, it was still something to cherish. Truly, it was the inspiration she had been looking for. The hope that she could still create some beauty from her hopeless situation.

After a while, she started to feel a bit tired. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, expecting for it to only be a moment. However, the swirling fractals of color appeared again and she found herself waking suddenly at her dinette. The drool seeping from the corner of her lips alerted her that she was, in fact, in a deep sleep.

"No way…" Alyce spoke groggily in disbelief as she wiped the moisture from her face. It felt too real to be just a dream and yet here she was, dripping onto the table with no little black book in sight. With a bittersweet sigh, she realized she must have wished herself into a lucid dream. It was certainly random enough to be a dream when she thought about it.

Although, she still had a clear memory of the winged creature and the drawings she saw while asleep. Looking at the clock it was 2:35 pm which meant she still had a couple of hours left of sunlight. If she left now she could make it to the Dollar Save up the street and find a little black notebook to start a new project with her renewed sense of vigor.

She had fallen asleep wearing her coat and mask so she only needed to grab her shoes and purse to be on her way. It wasn't long before she made it to the border between the street and the dirt. She couldn't help but see the memory of the little black book as she reached the spot where she found it in her dream. Taking a moment to stare at the spot and smile she started to feel her phone buzzing in her pocket.

Checking the name it was her best friend Shariya and so she answered it without a thought as she continued to walk. "Hey Riya, bae! What's up?" She answered

"Hello, my love! I just got some news I think you'll want to hear! Since you're stuck out here for a while anyway, I've got a friend who says they might be able to get our art some exposure." Alyce laughed, maybe her dream was just a premonition of this conversation.

"Oh wow, it's so funny you mention that after the dream I just had. Who is this friend?" Alyce asked.

"His name is David Bell. I just met him recently but he says his sister works there and is helping them look for new artists to feature in an event coming up in late August. I know you said you were struggling to get back into your art but you should totally try! What do you think?"

Alyce stopped in her tracks, completely flabbergasted. It was too much to be a coincidence.

"Hello...? Alyce? Are you still with me?"