Nicholas Sparks - The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

by

Nicholas Sparks

WHO AM I? And how, I wonder, wil this story end?

The sun has come up and I am sitting by a window that is foggy with the breath of a life gone by. I'm a sight this morning: two shirts, heavy pants, a scarf wrapped twice around my neck and tucked into a thick sweater knitted by my daughter thirty birthdays ago. The thermostat in my room is set as high as it wil go, and a smal er space heater sits directly behind me. II clicks and groans and spews hot air like a fairy-tale dragon, and stil my body shivers with a cold that wil never go away, a cold that has been eighty years in the making. Eighty years. I wonder if this is how it is for everyone my age.

My life? It isn't easy to explain. It has not been the rip-roaring spectacular I fancied it would be, but neither have I burrowed around with the gophers. I suppose it has most resembled a blue-chip stock: fairly stable, more ups than downs, and gradual y trending upwards over time. I've learned that not everyone can say this about his life. But do not be misled. I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name wil soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with al my heart and soul, and to me this has always been enough.

The romantics would cal this a love story: the cynics would cal it a tragedy. In my mind it's a little bit of both, and no matter how you choose to view it in the end, it does not change the fact that it involves a great deal of my life. I have no complaints about the path I've chosen to fol ow and the places it has taken me-the path has always been the right one. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Time, unfortunately doesn't make it easy to stay on course. The path is straight as ever, but now it is strewn with the rocks and gravel that accumulate over a lifetime. Until three years ago it would have been easy to ignore, but it's impossible now. There is a sickness rol ing through my body; I'm neither strong nor healthy, and my days are spent like an old party bal oon: listless, spongy and growing softer over time.

I cough, and through squinted eyes I check my watch. I realize it is time to go. I stand and shuffle across the room; stopping at the desk to pick up the notebook I have read a hundred times. I slip it beneath my arm and continue on my way to the place I must go.

I walk on tiled floors, white speckled with grey. Like my hair and the hair of most people here, though I'm the only one in the hal way this morning.

They are in their rooms, alone except for television, but they, like me, are used to it. A person can get used to anything, given enough lime.

I hear the muffled sounds of crying in the distance and know who is making them. The nurses see me and we smile and exchange greetings. I am sure they wonder about me and the things that I go through every day. I listen as they begin to whisper among themselves when I pass.

"There he goes again." I hear. "I hope it turns out wel ." But they say nothing directly to me about it.

A minute later, I reach the room. The door has been propped open for me, as it usual y is. There are two nurses in the room, and as I enter they say "Good morning" with cheery voices, and I take a moment to ask about the kids and the schools and upcoming vacations. We talk above the crying for a minute or so. They do not seem to notice: they have become numb to it, but then again, so have I.

Afterwards I sit in the chair that has come to be shaped like me. They are finishing up now; her clothes are on, but she is crying. It wil become quieter after they leave. I know. The excitement of the morning always upsets her, and today is no exception. Final y the nurses walk out. Both of them touch me and smile as they walk by.

I sit for just a second and stare at her, but she doesn't return the look. I understand, for she doesn't know who I am. I'm a stranger to her. Then, turning away, I how my head and pray silently for the strength I know I wil need.

Ready now. On go the glasses, out of my pocket comes a magnifier. I put it on the table for a moment while I open the notebook. It takes two licks on my gnarled finger to get the wel -worn cover open to the first page. Then I put the magnifier in place.

There is always a moment right before I begin to read the story when my mind churns, and I wonder, wil it happen today? I don't know, for I never know beforehand and deep down it real y doesn't matter. It's the possibility that keeps me going. And though you may cal me a dreamer or a fool. I believe that anything is possible.

I realize that the odds, and science, are against me. But science is not the total answer. This I know, this I have learned in my lifetime. And that leaves me with the belief that miracles, no matter how inexplicable or unbelievable, are real and can occur without regard to the natural order of things. So once again, just as I do every day, I begin to read the notebook aloud, so that she can hear it, in the hope that the miracle that has come to dominate my life wil once again prevail.

And maybe, just maybe, it wil .

It was early October 1946, and Noah Calhoun watched the fading sun sink lower from the porch of his plantation-style home. He liked to sit here in the evenings, especial y after working hard al day, and let his thoughts wander. It was how he relaxed, a routine he'd learned from his father.

He especial y liked to look at the trees and their reflections in the river. North Carolina trees are beautiful in deep autumn: greens, yel ows, reds, oranges, every shade in between, their dazzling colours glowing with the sun.

The house was built in 1772, making it one of the oldest, as wel as largest, homes in New Bern. Original y it was the main house on a working plantation, and he had bought it right after the war ended and had spent the last eleven months and a smal fortune repairing it. The reporter from the Raleigh paper had done an article on it a few weeks ago and said it was one of the finest restorations he'd ever seen. At least the house was.

The rest of the property was another story, and that was where Noah had spent most of the day.

The home sat on twelve acres adjacent to Brices Creek, and he'd worked on the wooden fence that lined the other three sides of the property; checking for dry rot or termites, replacing posts where he had to. He stil had more work to do on the west side, and as he'd put the tools away earlier he'd made a mental note to cal and have some more timber delivered. He'd gone into the house, drunk a glass of sweet tea, then showered, the water washing away dirt and fatigue.

Afterwards he'd combed his hair back, put on some faded jeans and a long-sleeved blue shirt, poured himself another glass of tea and gone to the porch, where he sat every day at this time.

He reached for his guitar, remembering his father as he did so, thinking how much he missed him. Noah strummed once, adjusted the tension on two strings, then strummed again, soft, quiet music. He hummed at first, then began to sing as night came down around him.

It was a little after seven when he stopped and settled back into his rocking chair. By habit, he looked upwards and saw Orion, the Big Dipper and the Pole Star, twinkling in the autumn sky.

He started to run the numbers in his head, then stopped. He knew he'd spent almost his entire savings on the house and would have to find a job again soon, but he pushed the thought away and decided to enjoy the remaining months of restoration without worrying about it. It would work out for him, he knew: it always did.

Cem, his hound dog, came up to him then and nuzzled his hand before lying down at his feet. Hey girl, how're you doing?" he asked as he patted her head, and she whined softly, her soft round eyes peering upwards. A car accident had taken one of her legs, but she stil moved wel enough and kept him company on nights like these.