Broken Notebook

Chapter 2: Clue

The sky outside of the coffee shop turned dark gray. I knew I had to get home quickly before the inevitable hit, and I did not want to get caught in a down pour. My mom's Sudan was waiting for me in the corner of the lot. I hopped in the car and proceeded to drive back home.

My stolen notebook was the only thing on my mind. All of my words, feelings, emotions, and deepest desires were written in that broken down journal. My thoughts drifted to who must have stolen it. I don't interact with many people in this town, meaning I have no one in my life who would want to see me suffer, so what was the point.

As I got closer to my house my mind wondered back to the mysterious stranger I encountered back at the coffee shop. His piercing brown eyes would be permanently imprinted in my mind. He looked at me as if he knew exactly who I was.

I arrived back at my house and the clouds above me looked as if they could erupt at any moment. My home wasn't the nicest looking house in Dolan Springs, but I loved that it was different. The house looks like it had been weathered by storms and heat. The black shutters were subtly fading and the red paint was chipping on the door. It had character, a story, that's why I loved it.

"I'm home mom," I yelled as I closed the garage behind me. I saw my mother in the same spot she was in before I left. She didn't move much. Mainly just staring at the window, but I didn't mind. Even if she didn't tell me I knew how much she cared for me.

I got no reply from her, but I wasn't really expecting one. My mom wasn't the same after my brother, Grant, ran away from home 4 years ago. he had always hated this town, just like dad who sadly left us too. I have lived with so much abandonment in my life I have almost become immune to it. Grant was always a troubled kid. Not a day would go by without my mom getting a call from the school saying he had gotten into another fight or called out a teacher. I knew he was restless, restless to leave this town and to grow up.

The day he left, it was like my dad abandoned us all over again. I had so much hurt in my heart. My brother and I weren't close, but I felt as if he was the only one who understood my hatred for this small town. Ever since I was a little girl, I could see right through a fake personality. I soon realized just about everyone in this town was exactly that, fake, except my brother of course, he was the only real person I had ever really known. And then he left.

I was physically and emotionally exhausted and it was only 10 AM. I took a quick glance in my notebook's hiding place just to be sure I didn't leave it here to begin with, but it was gone. I didn't know what to do with myself, so I just laid on my bed until I drifted off into a light sleep.

***

The loud ringing of my phone abruptly woke me from my peaceful sleep. I groggily sat up right on my bed and saw that an unknown number was calling me. I automatically perked up at the thought of it being Joel, and all of a sudden I was a nervous wreck.

"Hello" I spoke into the phone.

"Kathleen, hi" Joel seemed very pleased that I had answered his call. "I think I found your journal, someone just left it on the counter while I wasn't looking. You said it was brown with a quote on the front right?"

I felt my whole body go into shock. My notebook wasn't gone forever, no one saw my words and my stories. "yes, yes it is!" I exclaimed not even trying to hide my pure happiness. "Can I come by the coffee shop and pick it up now?" I asked eagerly.

"We're about to close, but I am closing the shop tonight so yeah sure come by as soon as you can"

I looked out of my window wondering why they were closing so early when I realized it was pitch black outside. Who knows how long I have been asleep. "Thank you so much! I am on my way now" I replied while sprinting down the stairs. I hung up the phone and warned my mom I would be back home soon, she didn't even look up from her book.

The quick drive to the coffee shop had never seemed longer, but when I finally arrived there were no cars in the parking lot except for a gray pick up truck which must belong to Joel. I hurriedly parked and jumped out of the car and towards the door. Joel spotted me and walked toward the door to unlock it.

"Well you look rather happy" he joked as he opened the door to let me inside. "your journal is still on the counter" he paused looking thoughtfully at me before adding "I didn't open it just in case you were afraid I did."

"oh, well thank you" as I approached the counter I saw the journal laying on top of it, but it wasn't mine. I picked it up to inspect it. This notebook was the exact same copy as mine except it was new, unlike my old beat up journal. I immediately felt all of the joy rush out of my body the moment I saw it.

"What's wrong, Kathleen?"

"This- this isn't mine, but it looks identical to mine" I leaned on the counter with my head in my hand deep in thought "who would do this?" I thought out loud. Joel gently put his hand on my back in a comforting way. I tensed at his touch.

"Sorry" he said as he pulled his hand off of my back. He took the journal and opened it to the first page and looked as if he was studying it. Wasn't it just a blank page?

"What is it?" I questioned once I noticed his confused facial expression. He slid the open journal to me on the counter top and I saw what he was questioning. It was some sort of Chinese word. "That's strange" I said under my breath while tracing the bold lines of the word written in a language that was foreign to both of us. "What do you think it means?" I asked Joel.

"I think there's an app that can translate that. I'll pull it up on my phone." He pulled out a black iPhone and proceeded to find something to help us translate this word. Maybe it will tell us what happened to my journal, I internally prayed.

"Here, i just have to take a picture of it" He pulled the journal toward him and took a picture of the word. We silently waited a few moments while the app on his phone was loading with our answer.

"Patience" He stated. "The word translates to patience."

"Patience for what?" I questioned in an annoyed tone. "I don't understand why anyone would do this to me. I don't have many friends let alone enemies"

Joel slowly leaned in towards me and began to hug me "I'm sorry" he breathed into my ear. He rubbed my back to comfort me. I don't think I ever wanted him to let go. When we pulled apart I thanked him for his gracious actions and gave him a warm smile.

"Kathleen, I have been wanting to ask you" he paused for a moment studying me hard. "Have we met before, I just feel like I've seen you before, you look so familiar." He questioned.

"I was actually wondering the same thing."