The Book

The Book

A Short Story by G.S.Vasukumar

Note: - Based on 100 Fiction I had written sometime back.

Frank Willis bought a book with blank pages which was leather bound from an antic shop. He had thought penning down his thoughts in it. It had been quite sometime since he had written a short story.

When he reached home, he sharpened his writing pencil, flipped through the blank pages of the note book. He was surprised to find something written in one of the pages in the middle of the book.

Frank got curious and went back looking for that particular page and found it. He was surprised reading what was written on that page:  ‘Would you like to know your future, my friend?’

‘If yes, then just write ‘Yes’ below this with that sharpened pencil you are holding in your hand right now!’

Bewildered, Frank looked at his pencil and then at the page. However, he wrote ‘Yes’ on the page. The book flipped to the next page by itself. He jerked back in fear. He came forward and peered at the page.

‘I think you lost something which you had found while traveling in the train a few days back. Would you like to know where it is?’

‘Yes’ He wrote again on that page. The book flipped to the next page and it was written:

‘Well, then go to the maple tree in the garden and you’ll find it!’

Frank rushed outside his house, into the garden, towards the beautiful maple tree that stood in the middle of his garden. He looked below the maple tree and found the chain with the beautiful locket lying on the grass.

He came back inside, opened the locket and glanced at the beautiful face of a young woman, who was smiling in the little picture embedded in that little locket. Incidentally, he had found that chain with the locket in the train he was traveling a few days back. He had even seen the young beautiful woman to whom that chain belonged to. But she was lost in the crowd, by the time he started looking for her to give it back.

The book flipped to next page and on it was written:

‘I think you have fallen in love with Anna Lane, isn’t it?’

‘Anna Lane? Who is she?’ He wrote, with a frown on his face, quite surprised.

The book flipped to next page…

‘You are staring at her picture in that locket right now! Am I right?’

‘Yes, I think I have fallen in love with her…ever since I got this locket, I have been looking at her picture every day. Also when I am down….it brings back the happiness to my heart and smile to my face….I had felt as if I had lost something precious when I had lost it a couple of days back..’ Frank wrote.

The book flipped to next page….

‘I know it, my friend. You know something she is depressed ever since she lost this chain with the locket. As the picture on the other side is of her mother, whom she loved a lot, and whom she had lost a few days back….Anna has been looking for it desperately from past few days…it is her last gift from her dying mother…so, it would be really nice if you could return it back to her…who knows, love may blossom in her heart too after you do it...so would you like to meet her and give it back to her?’

‘Yes!’ Frank wrote.

The Book flipped to next page…

‘Well, get ready then! You have to catch the 10.30 am train to meet her…all the best!’

Frank went to the subway railway station, found her waiting for the train.

‘Hi! I think you have been looking for this?’ Frank said, taking out the chain, and showing it to her.

‘Hi! Oh my god!’ Anna said, taking it, opening the locket and looking at her mother’s picture. A drop of tear fell from the corner of her eye and he caught it in his palm. It glistened in the morning light. He folded his fingers to feel her drop of tear.

‘Thanks a lot!’ She said, smiling at him, ‘Shall we have coffee?’ She asked him.

‘Sure…’ He said, following her.

‘You know something… I have been looking at your picture in the locket for the past few days…I would miss it now since I have given it back to you.’ He said, sipping his cup of coffee.

‘Really?’ Anna asked.

‘Yes… ever since I got this locket, I have been looking at her picture every day. Also when I am down….doing that brings back the happiness to my heart and smile to my face…’

‘That is one of the nicest thing I have heard so far in my life…I would share my picture with you…switch on your Bluetooth..’ She said, smiling at him, taking out her smart phone from her hand bag and switching on the Bluetooth. She shared her snaps with him.

‘Would you like to have mine?’ Frank asked, after seeing her snaps.

‘Already got it!’ She said, smiling and showing his picture she had just clicked on her mobile camera.

They chatted with each other as if they were long lost friends. Before parting, they even exchanged their contact number.

When Frank reached home, he wrote on the page what had happened that morning.

The book flipped the page and a big smile appeared on the next page…he flipped next page and saw…

‘I’m really happy for you, my friend. As expected, your love story has just begun…but I have a bad news for you…would you like to know it?’

‘Bad news? What is it?’ He wrote.

The book flipped next page….

‘You’ll meet with an accident and perhaps, even die!’

‘How? When?’ He wrote, as the pencil lead broke off.

The book flipped next page…

‘No one can change what is yet to happen…If you try to change it then it would have adverse effect on something else…so it’s better I don’t tell you..I wish you could get out of it…wish you luck and Good bye!’

He sharpened his pencil and wrote…’Why? Good Bye?’

The book didn’t flip to next page…he waited for sometime and then turned the page himself…but saw only a blank page. He fell asleep after sometime. While sleeping he felt heat and opened his eyes. He was bewildered to see his entire apartment engulfed in flames. There was no way he could do anything to stop the fire; even he couldn’t reach his main door. He rushed to his writing desk, took the book and flung it at his window; it flew out breaking the window glass. He jumped out after it. A huge explosion was heard and everything came down in smoke.

Later, he searched for the book, but couldn’t find it anywhere!

He took out his mobile and looked at Anna’s picture on his screen, and he smiled.

The fire engines rushed to the spot and they tried to put down the fire, while he walked away from that place.

Frank Willis wrote ‘The End’ at the end of the page, after he completed writing the above story. The evening breeze blew in through the window and flipped the page of the book and he saw something written on that page…

‘Nice Story! Would you like to know your future as a writer?’