Chasing the True

First mistake

At first, they were just small, innocent glances, but glances hide many things; soon, these things came to light. The temptation grew stronger, and the resistance more powerless.

I don’t need much of an introduction. If I was a nobody before, now everyone knows who I am. I’m all over the news. Everyone’s talking about how Julia White killed her son and is now in jail.

But that’s the problem with people, they always believe everything other people say without any evidence to back it up.

That’s why I’m going to tell my story, in the hope that someone will believe me, in the hope that you will believe me.

It had been a year since I graduated from college, and it was so hard to find a job in Washington, D.C. All the law firms were filled with successful, highly experienced lawyers; no one wanted a recent college graduate in their firm.

So here I was, without a steady job, working in a coffee shop making smoothies. I’d been working here since I moved to this city to study law. I thought I’d do well, but it’s been the complete opposite.

Now I only see my family at Christmas. I’ve thought about going back home, but that would be a step backwards. My mother would look at me with pity, my father with disappointment, and my younger sister would look at me with arrogance. Her whole life is perfect. She has a successful husband, a beautiful one-year-old daughter, and she’s already expecting a boy.

No, I definitely couldn’t go home. All I had left were the awkward calls where I told Mom everything was great, when it was anything but.

I was 25 years old and had only got a small apartment, my cat Lewis and a part-time job at the coffee shop, the rest of the day I spent locked away in my books.

It was already late afternoon, almost evening, and my shift was over. I thought about buying some Chinese soup and going home, but that sounded boring, so I turned the corner and entered what I used to call my palace.

Of course, it wasn’t, but it was the largest library in Washington, with two floors, a small cafe, and most importantly, packed with amazing books.

After finding a book, I sat down at the corner table, where no one was sitting, and began to read. It was incredible how the hours flew by while I read.

“Hi Julia,” said a familiar voice behind me. Mrs. Helen sat down at the table in front of me. “Sorry, sweetheart, but it’s closing time.”

“Okay, it’s become customary for you to come and get me when you’re about to close.

“What can I say? You’re my favorite client, seriously, you come every day,” she said proudly.

“Yes, that’s my way of showing that I don’t have a life, literally, I don’t know what else to do, I came here for a reason I haven’t been able to fulfill, I killed myself studying so that everything could be summed up as working in a small coffee shop “I said frustrated.

“You know? Everything has a purpose. I think you know that, but you just don’t believe it yet,” she said as if she knew the future.

“You’re right, I don’t think so,” I said with some disdain.

“Would you like to work here as a senior manager?” the older woman asked.

“But what about Lucy?” I asked, surprised by his offer.

“Lucy quit because her husband got a job in New York and, well, you know,” Helen said.

“Everyone’s getting married and I’m stuck here,” I said sadly.

“Take the job. You could start tomorrow. This could be a big step for your future. You know you love this world. Maybe this is your destiny,” she said, confident in her words.

“I’ll think about it, Helen,” I said, standing up from the chair.

“It’s okay, take care, honey. I love you,” she said as I was leaving. It was strange, but it was the first time anyone had said those words to me since I arrived here.

“Me too,” I said, giving him a smile.

I drove to my apartment and got ready for bed, and within minutes I was able to fall into a deep sleep.

The sounds of someone knocking on the door woke me up, I quickly got up to open the door.

“Are you Miss Julia White?” the police officer asked.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, scared.

“I understand you knew Mrs. Helen. Were you related?” he asked.

“Yes, I knew her five years ago when I moved here, but we’re just friends, I replied.

“I understand,” he said, pausing, “Mrs. Helen died this morning.”

I stared at the officer for a few seconds, hoping it was a joke, but he kept a stern expression. I brought my hand to my mouth. I wasn’t a person who cried easily, much less in front of a stranger, but the tears were threatening to spill out.

“You need to come with me, there are some forms you need to sign,” he said.

“Sign what?” I asked, confused.

“Yes, just come “he said.

I got into the patrol car. I’d never been in one before, but it felt strange. We got out at the police station. Inside, an officer greeted me and offered me a seat.

“Mrs. Helen left her inheritance in your name, you need to sign some papers and that’s it”said the officer.

“What?” I asked, astonished. “There must be some mistake. We were just friends.”

“Well, maybe she didn’t have children or anything. This happens often, it’s not common, but it does happen. She left her house, some savings, and her library in your care, so they’re yours. You just have to sign. Of course, a percentage goes to the government, but the rest is yours,” she said.

“Isn’t there someone else who could take it, someone closer to her?” I asked. Anyone would tell me I was crazy to turn down this opportunity, but I didn’t think it was right to accept money I hadn’t worked for.

“We have no record of a relative of Mrs. Helen, and everything is in her name. If she doesn’t accept it, it will go to the state,” she said.

I sighed. How bad would it be to own one of the largest libraries in Washington? After all, Helen was right; this was a big change, part of the point of what she’d been talking about last night.

I signed the papers and left.

In the following days I set about arranging everything for the funeral, looking for a real estate agent to sell the house. I didn’t believe in those strange myths, but just in case, I quit my job at the coffee shop, bought a slightly larger apartment, and called my family to tell them the news, who were, of course, delighted.

Almost a month after that incident, I found myself in the library organizing some books. It felt strange to be the owner of something so large, but I was already adjusting.

“Excuse me, I’d like to return this economics book,” said a boy’s voice. When I looked up, there stood before me an elegant and handsome man, well-dressed and well-dressed. He looked like an important person, with his brown hair combed back and his light honey-colored eyes.

“Sure, may I have your name, please?” I asked, trying to hide my interest in him.

“Sebastian, Sebastian Carter, my name is on the register, I come here all the time, he said with impeccable confidence.

“Okay,” I said, and it was true, his name was there.

“And Helen?” he asked.

I looked at him for a few seconds before telling him what had happened, he looked surprised and embarrassed and then said, “Do you want to get a coffee?”

“I sell coffee here,” I told him immediately.

“Yes, but they don’t sell ice cream and that’s your favorite, he said confidently.

“How do you know it’s my favorite?” I asked, confused.

“Well, I’ve been spying on you for a year “he said and then laughed at my horrified face” I was just kidding, ice cream is everyone’s favorite.

“You’re right,” I said, embarrassed to think he was a stalker.

“What are you saying? Are you coming?” he said.

Before, I would have said no to someone I had just met, but I wanted to change, I wanted to follow Helen’s advice, so I agreed.

But that, my dear friends, was my first mistake, the mistake that started it all, the mistake that detonated the bomb.

Not to bore you with boring details about what happened next, I only have to say that after a year we got married.