The Little Black Book

One would say that going on a seven-day vacation in Greece would be the best week ever, and I agree! And what happened to me, are the things you see in movies. Trust me, what I’m about to tell you will have you booking your next flight to Greece.

Let me start from the beginning, there is no wrong way to wake up when you’re staying in a room on the Mediterranean Sea. The breeze blowing through the curtains, the smell of sea water and fresh fish fill the room. The smell of something sweet overwhelming came over me, as I looked to the left, I saw a fresh plate of baklava sitting on the table.

It was my third day in Greece, and I made the decision to venture out to one of the local markets. I love going to the local markets, I love seeing what the vendors bring. From bright fabrics to an array of spices, the market is my favorite place to learn more about a new culture. One of the locals was so gracious to show me around. I was making my way through the rows and came across an artesian that makes magnets out of rocks found in the Mediterranean Sea. Each rock, unique in size and shape, told a story so I had to buy a few. He also sold other items. Since I was his first customer, he showed me some items that were not for sale, he kindly let me pick one item. I picked a homemade bag; it was so colorful and the perfect size. I love it and knew that I would forever keep it to remind me of the man who gave it to me.

As I looked down at my watch, I remembered that I didn’t have much time to get to the bus. I was making my way to a different island for the remainder of my trip and needed to get back to the hotel to pack. It paid off making friends with the locals because he helped me make it to the bus on time by taking me through all the back-alleys streets. Running through the crowds of people, I made it to the bus with six minutes to spare.

I quickly threw all of things in my suitcase and hopped on the bus. By the time I made it to the next stop, it was dark and time for bed. I was exhausted and was ready for bed, so I went into my suitcase to get some clean clothes, and all of my new souvenirs fell out. When I picked up my new handbag it felt heavier which was odd because I didn’t buy anything else. I opened the handbag and found a little black book; I didn’t buy any notebooks and didn’t know whose it could be. I opened the first page to see if there was a name on it. Just my luck, the name was written in Greek. I decided to put the book down and will ask first thing tomorrow morning.

The next morning, I woke up rested and ready to see what this island has to offer. I got up and got dressed and headed to the lobby to see what day excursions were available. I reached in my pocket to get my phone to take a picture of all of the options, to quickly find out my phone was back in the room. I questioned for a minute if I even needed it and came to the realization the answer is yes of course I need my phone. I searched my room and couldn’t find my phone anywhere so I used the hotel phone to call my cell. I could hear a ringing coming from my suitcase which was so weird because I didn’t remember putting it there. When I opened the suitcase up, my new handbag was ringing. When trying to pull out my phone I also grabbed the little black book. Immediately I remembered, I needed someone to translate what the book said. I returned to the lobby for the second time and asked someone from the front desk to help.

As I handed the little black book to the front desk attendant , her face changed. I began to wonder what kind of book I stumbled across. She quickly asked where I found the book at. I told her about my adventure in the market yesterday and she told me it wasn’t a person's name but it was the name of a local coffee shop. She told me that the coffee shop was one located in one of the first buildings ever built here and was just around the corner. That afternoon I decided to go look for the shop. When I found the coffee shop, I decided to be brave and try to order my coffee in Greek without help.

This coffee shop was beautiful. I was amazed at all of the art work on the walls. The smell of the fresh coffee was just what I needed. While waiting for my coffee I showed the little black book to the barista staff. When they saw the book everyone’s eyes grew wide, I was a little nervous because I didn’t understand why. The barista handed me a small envelope but instructed me not to open it until I returned to my hotel. I agreed but was so eager to open the envelope that I quickly chugged my coffee and ran back to the hotel.

I got in my room and locked the door because I was nervous to find out what might be in the envelope. I reached in the little black book, took a deep breath, and peeled back the envelope flap. I quickly understood why everyone's eyes got so big, I myself was in shock. The mystery of this little black book led me to a tiny coffee shop where I received an envelope. And in the envelope was full of money and I’m not talking about twenty dollars; it was 16,629.00 Euros which equals to $20,000 American dollars! I didn't know what to do, do I shout with joy, and questioned myself do I return it to the coffee shop, go shopping, or save it because I only have one more day before I head back to the states?

I had so many questions, I had to go back to the coffee shop. They chuckled when they saw me back so soon. They knew I would have some questions, questions that unfortunately they didn’t have many answers for. What they did know is that it was given to me as a gift from the island. I still had trouble finding words that made sense. Why was I the lucky one that received all this money? The baristas last words were, “Just enjoy your time here.” I hugged every single person in the coffee shop and jumped up and down with excitement. I yelled with excitement and said, “Thank you all for helping me and giving me this, coffee is on me today, whoever comes in today let them know it’s on me.”

So now how do I start spending the money? There is no way I can spend all of this, so I decided that I’m going to share it because everyone has helped me so much throughout this week. The hospitality that this country has is overwhelming and inspiring. I knew I had to give some back to the man that gave me the little black book in the first place. I didn’t have time to go back to the other island but made some phone calls to the hotel that I was staying at and they found the man and handed him an envelope. In that envelope I put a thank you letter and a little bit of cash. That night I ate dinner with some locals, we got to eat some of the best food and enjoy conversations filled with adventures and life experiences. Those memories will stay with me forever. I knew I was so blessed to meet these people.

I spent the last day of my vacation like the way you see most vacations in the movies. And I was able to do it with all my local friends. We traveled in style, went to the best food places, and bought the coolest souvenirs. So, for my last day on vacation was one like the movies. I even had to buy a new suitcase just for souvenirs for my family. It was truly a dream come true.

Sadly, it was time to pack up, I had the best time and my trip was better than I could have ever imagined. I got to spend a lot of the money but still had a big chunk of it left, I couldn't decide what to do with the rest. Then I had an idea. I took my little black book and wrote a note in it and filled it with the remainder of the money. I decided to hide the book by the sea and the little black book will wait till the next person to discover it. I finished my little note and buried the little black notebook that brought me one of the biggest adventures of my life, under the tree next to my room’s balcony. Leaving this island, I couldn’t help but smile, knowing that the joy that little black book gave me would soon bring a smile to someone else’s face. Greece I promise I will be back soon!!