Letters From Nobody

Chapter 1

The first note was discoverd in Benita Morales's bag on the 11 of November, 2011, at 4:17 pm exactly. Benita did not know how it got there, or who had sent it. All she knew was it hadn't got there on its own. Unless it was magical paper or something. But that's not the point. Benita wanted to know who wrote it. She wanted to know why it was put there. But, its not exactly easy, finding out who wrote a mysterious note, unless, of course, you had access to important government devices that would allow her to read fingerprints or DNA, or if you were psycic. Benita did not have access to important government technology, and she sure as hell wasn't a psycic. But, she's not the type to give up without a fight. No, Benita was determined, almost to the point of her determination being foolish. How do I know? Well, I know everything. I could tell you the most insignificant details, such as the flavor and brand of gum Benita was chewing 3 minutes before she discovered the note. I could tell you what type of toothpaste, and what color toothbrush she used. I know this entire story like the back of my hand. Do I want to? Not really. I didn't want to get involved with this AT ALL. But I did. You want to know what happened? Well, it's not exacly pretty. But who am I to deny you the pleasure of hearing. But remember, once you get tangled up in this mess, there's no turning back. So don't say I didn't warn you...

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A Note From Your Narrator:

BENITA DOES NOT LIKED TO BE CALLED BY HER FULL NAME. DO NOT CALL HER BENITA IF YOU WISH TO SURVIVE ANOTHER DAY.

She prefers Beni.

But, moving on.

 At 4:17 pm, Beni was not doing her homework, or watching TV, like a normal 16 year old girl. Beni was in her brother Miguel's bedroom. Digging through his dresser. Looking for his UCSC Banana Slug sweatshirt. She found the sweatshirt. She pulled it over her head. She felt tears poke at her eyes, asking to come out. She remembered Miguel saying he'd be back by midnight. Where was Miguel now? At the funeral home. Waiting for his family to visit him one more time before he was buried.

Have you figured it out yet? Miguel is dead. He was killed by a drunk driver two months before this story happens. He was a sophomore at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He was only 20. Why am I telling you this? Because it is important to the story. Also, that was my favorite sweatshirt she took. I hope she put it back when she was done with it.

Another Note From Your Narrator:

I am Miguel. Yes, I am technically not alive. But, without realizing it, Beni has a memory of me that she is hanging onto like there's no tomorrow. So, I live on, in her memory. Cheesey, yes, but true. Beni thinks she is going crazy whenever she thinks she hears me in her head. But, I'm there. There is nothing preventing me from communicating with the living. Sure, my body's gone, but I'm still there. Beni knows it, deep in that stubborn, diabolical, genius little brain of hers. I'm still here.

But, you will here more about this later. Back to the story.

Beni does not believe in homework. She does the absolute minimum. She never goes above and beyond. During study hall, she works like there's no tomorrow. You couldn't pull her from that desk if there was a tsunami, hurricane, earthquake, tornado, or volcanic erruption all at the same time. 99.9% of the time, she never has homework when she gets home. And that is the way she likes it. Well, today was part of the 0.1% of the time that she had homework. For art, they had to draw someone they loved. She had chosen to draw me. I wouldn't have drawn me. If I hadn't kicked the bucket, she probably would have drawn her kitten, Mittens the Evil Overlord (yeah, thats seriously its name). Then she would have gotten in to a huge argument with her teacher because of her kitten not technically being a person, and she would say that cats behave very human-like, and besides, they're living creatures too, and blah blah blah. But, I did kick the bucket, so, there she was. Drawing me.

Then, her pencil broke.

So she reached into her bag to find another one.

Her fingers groped around inside for a pencil.

And instead they caught a slip of paper.

She pulled her hand out of the bag to see what the paper read.

Probably a note that she and her friend Natalie had been passing during science.

She unfolded the note.

It was not an everyday note that two bored teenage girls had been passing.

It was downright bizzare. And random.

It read:

1. Tea Leaves and Mulberry Trees.

That was all it said.

If Beni's thoughts were shown in question marks, her thought bubble would say, "???????" Then, our sister Leonor (Leo) marched into her room without asking. Typical Leo.

"What do you want, Leo?" Beni asked. You could tell from her voice that she was tired.

"This." Leo held up a slip of paper. Beni stood up and snatched it out of her hands. She held it up to read it.

Beni said nothing. But, she showed Leo her slip of paper.

Leo's read:

2. 3rd Isle, 2nd shelf.

Leo looked at Beni's paper, then back at her own. "Are they connected?" she asked. Leo looked very worried. This was unnerving, even to me, and I'm technically not even alive, much less in the room. Leo is a year older than Beni, but acts like she's seen it all, and that she is way more worldly than Beni. Normally, Beni would be the worried, or crazy, or hyper, or loud one, and Leo would be calm, collected, and cool as a cucumber. Now, it was Beni's turn to be the normal, "just relax, I know everything" type of person. She hoped she wasn't going to blow it.