1- The Notebook

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He found the journal on the train. It was pure coincidence, really. He had sat down in the seat he usually sat in and had seen the journal in the seat next to him. It was nothing special. A black leather journal with a white outline of a heart stitched onto it. Yet, 2 hours later, he found himself staring at it lying on his study desk. Yes, he took it. He felt strangely drawn to it, a feeling he couldn't explain pulling him towards it. His hands itched to open it and read the contents but he was taught to respect other people's privacy, so he ignored the feeling and just stared. If he hadn't had a job and if the need to eat hadn't kept bothering him, he would have sat there all day.
For the next few days, it sat on the desk, taunting him. He could almost hear it calling his name every time he looked at it. He couldn't get it off his mind. He'd even had a few dreams about it. The obvious choice was to get rid of it, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It felt almost...sacrilegious. The white outline of the heart seemed to glow at night, mesmerising him.

He couldn't take it anymore. He was losing sleep, barely eating, slacking at work, all for this book. He just had to know what was inside.

He opened it.

January 2022

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