The Little Black Notebook

It is cold and raining, Ella runs to take shelter from the pea sized drops of water falling from the sky in a furry. As thunder shakes the earth, she pulls her hood back and looks up at the thick gray clouds, she is now in the temporary safety of the bus shelter. Her decision to take cover there for a time was only by chance, because of the weather, or perhaps, it was always supposed to be. Ella turns to scan her momentary haven. She finds a little black notebook sitting on the bench.

Ella picks up the notebook. She runs her damp fingers along the rounded corners, and pulls back the elastic closure to open it, hoping that she might find a name to return it to it's owner. Unfortunately, the ‘In case of Loss’ notice on the flyleaf was not filled out. Ella thumbs through the notebook seeking information. The book is filled with random notes, shopping and ‘to do’ lists. Then she turns to the page held by the bookmark ribbon… “Bucket List” is the title to the entry. Just then the crash of thunder rumbled and startled Ella with a shake, and a small piece of paper slipped out of the inner pocket at the back of the notebook. It would gently glide down in a back-and-forth motion before coming to a rest on the wet concrete. Ella swiftly retrieved it, coming to find it was a lottery ticket.

Ella returns the ticket to the pocket of the notebook and binds the pages back up in the cover with the elastic closure. The rain subsides and she decides to take the forgotten notebook with her. It would be a few days before Ella gives any more time to the notebook as she finishes out her work week. While having breakfast on Saturday morning she decided to open the book again to read the “Bucket List” entry.

Bucket List

Travel

Write a book

Start a business

Skydive

Bungee Jump

Ella is intrigued by the list and beings to ponder. “What would my bucket list look like?” Not at all being the thrill-seeking type, she quickly dismissed any thoughts of skydiving or bungee jumping. Instead, she daydreamed of going to places in the world where she could not only see other cultures but could also help those in need. With thoughts of being able to do such things Ella pulled the lottery ticket from the back of the book once more.

She grabbed her phone and began to look up the website which she could check the ticket on. With truly little hope that anything would come of it, Ella scanned the ticket, and it began to process. To Ella’s surprise the phone light up and began to ring out with congratulations on a winning ticket. She was in shock. It took a moment to really gather her thoughts. “Did that really just happen?” The prize amount popped up on the screen, $20,000. She went from confused to excited. She felt like she could burst with joy. Then a sudden reality, “This is someone else’s ticket.” How could she ever collect this prize when it was not hers to begin with. She also felt dismay in knowing she could not possibly find the original owner of the ticket. What should she do?

Ella took time to think about her situation. She concluded that she would use the winnings to help those in need and she would use her own savings to plan and pay for a trip. She felt great about this decision. The money would be going to a great cause and she would be doing something she always wanted to do. Over the next few weeks Ella researched and planed her trip.

On a Sunday morning in June Ella caught her flight to meet with a group of volunteers in Lima Peru. As Ella emerged from the airport in Peru, she felt the warm summer air embrace her. She took a deep breath in and had a sense of peace come over her. She and the other volunteers boarded the bus to the hotel. Ella found a seat on the bus. As she made herself comfortable for the journey the gentleman in the seat beside her introduced him self. “Hi, I’m James.” James reached out his hand to Ella. Ella smiled softly, shook his hand, and introduced herself.

James and Ella spoke for the half hour bus ride about where they were from, and why they decided to take part in the volunteer program in Peru. Ella told James the story of how she came to find the winning lottery ticket. James commended her on her decision to do a charitable thing with the money. James told Ella that this was not his first time partaking in a program like the one they were currently enrolled. James was deeply passionate about giving his time to those in need and felt fulfilment in doing these types of trip.

They arrived at the hotel that would be home for the next two weeks. The accommodations were twelve ground floor units, one for each volunteer, and a common area for gathering and socialising. The buildings were made of brick, brightly painted in beautiful colours, and a set of iron gates that closed off the premises at the front. As they entered the gates, they were welcomed by a lush garden in the middle of all the units. One large tree in the center and several varieties of gorgeous plants covered by flowers in bloom and leaves with all the shades of green imaginable. A dry dusty path on the circumference of the garden spoke like poetry in nature, the garden thriving in the harshness of the unhospitable soil. Everyone went their separate ways to settle in for the night. Ella unpacked in her room and climbed into bed. She took a while to fall asleep excited about what the next two weeks would bring.

In the following days Ella and James would team up on many of their projects. Ella began to distribute the lottery winnings where she felt they were most needed. She established educational and sports programs for the children in the surrounding area and gave the teachers in schools much needed supplies. Ella and James along with help other volunteers, built homes for two local families, in which Ella provided the furnishings and comforts like towels and bedding. James and Ella lent a hand in the health clinic near by. Ella funded the clinics purchase of updated equipment to better serve the community.

In their free time they went site seeing with the volunteer group, then had their dinners alone and shared their goals and passions with one another. They laughed unceasingly and brought such joy to each other; they seem to just be in sync.

Before they knew it, they only had a couple days left on the trip. One night after dinner James asked Ella to walk with him out into the garden. As they made their way outside in the cool evening breeze, James gently reached his hand to Ella’s as they walked side by side. Their fingertips touched and Ella opened her hand to accept his. She smiled and looked over at James nervous but joyful. They walked to a bench in the garden and sat close together still holding hands. Ella sat back and tilted her head to looked up to the sky. “Breath taking” she whispered. James shadowed her movements to take in the view.

The sky was the darkest of blue, littered with twinkling stars, very few traces of clouds glowing with the light of the moon. “Almost as beautiful as you” James said in a soft loving tone. He looked over at Ella, brushed the hair from her cheek, leaned in and kissed her. They spent their last two nights in Peru doing the same thing, holding each other in loving embrace under the night sky in awe of its beauty.

On the day they would be head back to their respected homes Ella to Canada and James to the US, they sat together on the bus once again. James asked Ella if she felt that the trip had fulfilled her expectations. Ella said it was everything she thought it would be, and so much more. They arrived at the airport and it was time to part ways. Both were struggling with the reality of having to part. They kissed and held each other in a long embrace. Then Ella took the little black notebook from her carry-on bag and handed it to James.

“This is the note book I told you I found the lottery ticket in. The first few pages are the notes of the original owner, and the pages that follow the ribbon bookmark are my entries. I would like you to have it.” Ella said to James. There was a call for the passengers of Ella’s flight to board and it was time to say goodbye. Ella kisses James one more time, then had to leave for her flight home. They went their separate ways having exchanged information and agreeing to keep in touch. Not long after that James boarded his flight home as well. As he sat on the plane thinking about Ella and missing her already, he took out the little black notebook and opened it to the bookmarked page. James settled in and began to read. Ella had journaled about her trip and about meeting James. He spent his flight home reading and reminiscing his recent journey through Ella’s eyes.

The path of a little black notebook. Note and goal keeper, to facilitator of one persons dreams and helping improve the lives of many, to holding the intimate details of the beginning of a love story.