11
Number Nineteen
Dear Note
,
I’m restless and cannot sleep. To spend my time useful I write to you all the highlights of today.
It is three o’clock and the last half hour I searched in every corner of my
brain, trying to find the name of the old pianist, yes the man I was so lyric about!
I am not able to remember his name. Shame on me, blame it on the beer. The last
thing I always do after I bare my soul to your pages is checking whether all
scribbles on my scratchpad are converted to simple phrases on your pages. This is the first time I mention my scratchpad,
and that’s for a reason. For all the scribbles I want to make while cycling, I
use this little scratchpad. It is placed on top of the bag on Coco’s handlebar protected
by plastic. The scratchpad has all the wear and tear of the trip visibly present
on the cover. After a cycling day, the scribbles of that day are creased and cracked
and with dirt, but most of the time still readable. During rainy cycling days, the notes are sometimes
unreadable. Maybe because of the
amount of beer I am more susceptible and open to my imagination. I tell you this because I see some very
strange repetition in today's scribbles.
What my blurred vision strike is the amount of nineteen’s in today's scribbles.
Three in the first line and two in the last line. I also suspect a few in lines
five and seven, but due to the amount of bear I cannot think clearly at the
moment. Looking a little better I see a scary one in line three! The RK17 are
the total number of road kills. The ‘x x’ are the two of today, which made it a total of;19 ROADKILLS.
I’m tired, but also a little worried I find more unpleasant hidden number
nineteen’s, so I put the scratchpad beside me. For me, it still is just a
strange coincidence and actually two of the seven are not a real nineteen, only
if you look with a blurred vision. I don’t want to spoil this perfect day so I will
close my notebook and try to sleep now.
With love,
Number ‘19’ was the common theme in my dreams.
I was glad we planned the rendezvous for breakfast
at 11:00am11:00 because it was a short restless night.
During lunch, I showed Stephan my scribbles of
yesterday and asked him if he saw anything unusual in the scribbles.
It took him only a few seconds when
he said two words;
‘Number nineteen’.
I probably looked very surprised.
Some fanaticism resounded in
John's further explanation.
“Already my whole life I’m convinced
that there is a certain supernatural causality between numbers and real life.
I read
a lot about this phenomenon and recognize it when it shows up.”
I pointed out to the numbers nineteen that I had seen last night. But I
also told him that some were not really a 19, but it was because of my blurred
vision last night that I considered a 79 for a 19 in line one and the same
in the last line with L9.
Mesmerized he started to investigate my comments.
“First of all I believe that
what you see is what counts,” he said thoughtfully
After another few seconds, his eyes began to sparkle.
“Look at the conversion factor (miles to km) in the second line,” he told
me with excitement in his voice.
“If you sum all the numbers together 1+6+0+9+3 you will get the next 19.”
He paged back a number of days
and looked at those scribbles.
“Why do you write that number on every page?” he asked.
“That’s easy to explain,” I answered,
“Along the way everything is indicated in miles. My brain and my feelings still
work with kilometers. That's why I always want to know the number of kilometers.
With the help of the conversion factor in front of me, I can always quickly
calculate the approximate number of kilometers via head count.”
“Ok, that sounds plausible.
You also mentioned line seven
and you were right. In that line you made a note that the 190 and highway 10
crossed each other. If we add all the numbers, the result is 9 + 0 + 1 + 0 + 9
+ 0 = 19.
He flipped back and he looked
thoughtfully before he spoke again.
“I want to know more about this
number nineteen,” was Stephan’s reaction when he looked at me.
“Let’s go and visit the Public
Library which we passed when we arrived in the city yesterday”
Suddenly,
he had no more patience to finish his breakfast.
Stephan was in a hurry so we cycled
via Howard Ave. to the Loyola Ave. and within ten minutes we were standing in front
of the Library.
Inside the Library, Stephan first
made a copy of the page and went to the information desk.
Before I could protest, he showed the copy to the lady behind the desk and
told her the whole story about our cycling trip and the number 19 in my notes.
“We like to have some information
about the number 19, from books, documents or literature.”
She picked up the copy of my piece of scrap paper
and examined it.
After a minute, she looked at us
with an expression on her face like,
“Are you really serious with this
shit.”
She said nothing, but for a split second, she
had a sarcastic smile, probably thinking something like:
“Next time
you declare that the numbers are indicating the end of the world”.
Stephan did not see her sarcasm because he was
too focused.
She gave him a number and suggested
to wait until they announced the number.
We waited fifteen minutes until
a speaker informed us to go to a certain desk.
The man behind his desk listened patiently to
Stephan’s replay of what he told the lady at the information desk.
He looked at my notes. He asked
Stephan his identity papers and wrote down the number. He friendly asked us to wait
at a long table at the other side of the room.
We were not the only ones sitting at the table.
Some were reading or making notes.
There were enough (news) papers to read so time
went fast.
After half an hour, the man came
up with five books and told us we probably would find it in these books.
One of the books was a study of
the Bible with a separate chapter dedicated to number 19.
The more text we found about
the number 19 the more depressed we became.
Nineteen is definitely a negative,
even dangerous number. Stephan wrote all the quotes he found on a paper.
Here is a summary of the most important.
- After Joab returned from chasing Abner, he took a head count of the
army. Nineteen of David's men (besides Asahel) were missing or killed in battle.
(2 Samuel 2:30).
- The Hebrew word an' ash-maw’,
meaning guiltiness, guilt, offense, sin or wrong-doing, is used exactly 19 times
in the Old Testament.
- When nineteen is mentioned, it
represents divine order connected with judgment since it is a combination of
ten and nine.
- The Greek word katakrinw kat-ak-ree’-no, means to give judgment
against, to judge worthy of punishment. This word occurs precisely nineteen
times in the New Testament.
- In Japan, the 19 is a sign carrying
misfortune because it is said JUKU, which means also “sorrows repeated”.
It’s
good that I’m not ornery to this kind of coincidences.
It’s a little
scary, but not more than that.
The library gave me enough information
for a good bedtime story for my notebook.
We returned all the books and
left the Library.
Stephan showed me his poker face.
When I
asked him about the things we found-out, the only thing he murmured was “interesting,
very interesting”
At four o’clock, we were back at the YMCA.
Stephan asked me if he could borrow my scratchpad for a few hours.
We arranged to meet at the bar
of the YMCA at six.
At the bar we decided to find
us a simple but good restaurant in the center of the city.
During dinner, he was unusually quiet.
After ten minutes, he told me he was worried, not for himself but for me.
“It is better for you to stop with
your cycling trip and go home,” Stephan told me firmly.
“Back in my room,” he continued,
“I researched your scribbles in your scratchpad for two hours and found
out that all the scribbles, except for two, can be traced to number nineteen. ALL!
It was so weird that I suspected you of cheating!
Therefore, I double-checked
everything.
I gave you the start and end
time, the number of kilometers traveled and the temperature, so you are not cheating with those.
The date and conversion factor, and
the overpass (90, 10, 90) are facts, and if I look at previous notes, you are consistent
in what you describe and how you write it, no suspicious changes in the today’s
notes.
About the two dead dogs, I
found a similar note (road kill number 16 and 17) two days ago nearby Long Beach.
I told you there is more:
Let us begin with the ‘S’ in line one, meaning
Start time.
“You probably
will be surprised when I tell you that the “S” is the nineteenth letter of the
alphabet.”
I frowned, but he went on,
The scribble 1566, I think means that when we started yesterday morning
the total kilometers you cycled was at that moment 1566.”
“Yes” was a short and clear reaction.
“At first sign, 1566 has no relation
to the 19. That’s right, but at the same time also wrong.
To show
you why we have to look at the number of kilometers we cycled yesterday.
My odometer told me that we cycled
73.3 miles.
In front of the YMCA, I gave
you that number together with the time we arrived.
Using the conversion factor in
your scratchpad, I can convert 73.3 miles in 118 km.
Your total at the end of yesterday’s
cycling day is then 1566+118=1684 and with 1+6+8+4, we have our next 19.
I can even transform the 118 into
19 (1 and 1+8 make 19 or 11+8=19).
“Sorry, Stephan but until now, you gave me nothing
more than some coincidences, mixed with some number juggling.”
“Peter, I think you're right
when we look at each of the scribbles separately.
Looking at your notes as the
whole package, wherein each line can be relatively easy put into a relation with
the number nineteen, I do not agree with you anymore.
Please let me go on because there
is more!
J 90 EN 190 is the most interesting
of all your scribbles; it hides nothing less than four nineteen’s.”
“You forgot to explain the Nov (November)
in line one” I teased him.
He responded annoyed.
He didn’t like it that I interrupted
his serious plea.
“I did not mention it because you are already
a little ironic, and I thought that when I explain the relation between Nov and
the number nineteen, I will definitely lose you in my theory.
However,
if you insist, you can get it!
The “N” is the14th letter of the alphabet.
The V is the Roman number 5.
14+0+5=19.
I see
you give me a sneer, but you asked for this explanation.
Let’s go back to where I was before
you interrupted me so rudely.
I’m much more excited about J 90
EN 190.
This scribble is about the Eagle Nest
at the Junction of
highway 90 and 190.
The sum of all numbers together is 9+0+1+9+0 = 19.
E and N is the 5th
and 14th letter of the alphabet, and 5 + 14 = 19.
The next thing I did was to let
the zeros cancel each other.
As a result, we get; J 9 EN 19
Left side, we have J 9, J=10th
letter + 9 = 19.
Right side, we have a 19.
Those were four in one scribble!”
The following line gives the
measured temperature at a specific time during the cycling day.
Look at the temperature; if you
convert 66 degrees Fahrenheit in Celsius, you get 19 degrees Celsius.
“Amazing” was my only comment.
For the next one, I need your
help because I am not sure what B 15 means:
Can you help me with that one?”
“You know I’m counting the road
kills, but I am also counting the most impressive bridges I crossed.
I track both subjects at the last page of my
notebook, together with their location and the names of the bridges.
As criteria, I only counted the
bridges longer than a ¼ mile.
For instance, yesterday I added two bridges to
my notebook, the one at Henderson Point and at The Rigolets.
So including today the counter reaches
17, not 19, sorry!”
“That was what I more or less expected” was Stephan’s reaction.
“I come back to this at the end
of my story.
The last scribble on this page I
did not mention yet is the time we arrived at the YMCA.
You marked it as S(Stop) 15:13.
That is correct because I gave
you this time”
Like you know now the S can be
replaced by 19 and the 15:13…”
“I know what you are going to say” I interrupted Stephan.
“15 + (1+3) =19.
But that is typically an example
of playing with numbers till you hit a nineteen”
“Is it Peter!
Do you realize, how many nineteen’s,
we found?”
Feverishly I counted the number of nineteen’s,
4+3+1+0+4+1+1+2+2=18.
To be honest, I was a little relieved because I counted eighteen.
“You are forgetting one, Stephan
whispered with conspiracy.
In the first line we found five, not four times
number nineteen, you forgot ’nov’ !”
I was
speechless.
He went on, “The only scribble left is the start
time, maybe there is a nineteen in it but I do not yet find it.”
“Stephan you made your point and
maybe yesterday was my special nineteen days.
It is nice to know, but is it
important?
By the way, we cheated by changing
an L and a 7 in the number 1 just to make it a nineteen”
“Listen, Peter. We examined this page in your scratchpad, and it does not
matter whether the comments are right or wrong, bad writing or not.
The page is a snapshot and that
counts.
You do not place all the scribbles there with premeditation but spontaneously.
What you
and I see is what counts.
I’m also a hundred percent sure that it is not
a pre-calculated action from you. No false play!
Ninety-nine of the hundred people
who look at this scratchpad will read 19 instead of the L9 and 79.
To end the serious part with a wink I have one
extra bonus for you Peter!
Please write down the lowercase “L” as you would write it in your scratchpad
during a cycling day.”
I did.
“This lowercase L stands for the number of lines on this page.
Now I want you to write, next to the lowercase L, the number of lines on
this page.”
I counted them and hesitated before
I wrote down the number.
“I rest my case” was Stephan’s
answer.
There was a moment of silence between both of us
and just when I wanted to react, he told me he was not ready.
“I need to be serious again.
Your road kills are the scariest part of the story.
They give you a warning.
Remember what we found in the
library about number nineteen; sorrow, punishment, dead.
The only
scribble that has a 17 instead of the 19 is the number of bridges.
Maybe you forgot a bridge during your cycling trip that fits the criteria,
but that does not matter.
It is what is on that page that matters.
It is part of a warning that this page wants
to give you.
“A chance to escape your fate.”
There was a minute of silence
before Stephan started to talk again.
“If you want to know my opinion,
I think something terrible will happen to you on a bridge somewhere on highway 90.
When I was in my room I examined the roadmap
and concluded that you would probably stay on the 90 for a couple of more days.
The road kills in combination
with what we found in the Library are suggesting the worst.
However, I’m not sure, as like the bridges, the ninety is also part of this
prediction.
Maybe when you take another
route, you will still meet the same fate.
You have to stop cycling. That’s
the only way you will defeat your fate”
I told
him I will sleep on it.
“Let’s not talk about it anymore
today, let’s go out and have fun,” I begged.
…… NEXT MORNING
After a quick shower, I joined Stephan in the restaurant at 7:00am7:00.
Stephan was already working on
his sandwich.
He looked furtively over his sandwich and asked,
“How much did you enjoy the massage?”
I was not prepared for this frontal
attack and answered with a short
“Ok” clearly showing a blush on my face.
He smiled and asked forgiveness
because he tricked me.
“It was a good-bye present from
me to you.”
I asked him how his massage was.
“Or did you leave when Amelia took
me with her.”
He only smiled and asked me if
that, in any way, matters.
With this answer, he closed his part of the
discussion about this subject.
After a few sandwiches with peanut butter and a
glass of milk, I told Stephan about the number 19 on the door of Amelia’s room.
He told
me he agreed with Amelia that it was pure coincidence.
“When I came back in my room yesterday
evening, I started to examine your notes again because I’m still fascinated by the
subject.
I will
tell you what I found out.
Let’s first summarize the highlights.
We found nineteen nineteen’s on
your Monday scribbles and that day you counted the 18th and 19th road kill.
If we look at the history of number ‘19’ it’s about; sin, punishment, sorrow and death.
You told me your next goal is Houston. I looked at my roadmap.
You probably stay on highway 90 at least until
Houston.
If I take everything into consideration, my assumption is that somewhere
on that road, between here and Houston something terrible will happen to you
and Coco.
We must look at all the bridges on Highway 90 because the only
scribble on Monday's scratch path that has no relation with number19 was the number
of bridges.
That day we counted the 16th and 17th bridge.
We both know that today, you will
cross the18th one,
the bridge over the Mississippi river and the 19th bridge will follow soon.
Again,
I strongly advise you to stop with your cycling trip.
To make it a little easier for
you, I invite you to my home in Seattle for a few days.
During
those days, we can find out the exact time and place.
When it is all crystal clear you
can decide whether you go home or fly back to New Orleans to continue your trip.”
Stephan seemed sure I would accept his offer.
“Do you think that this curse
will happen today or tomorrow?” I asked him in return.
“No, today you will cross the
bridge over the Mississippi River, which definitely is on your short list so that
is number 18.
The next four bridges are no candidates for your
shortlist.
When I
follow the nineteen, the candidate for your shortlist will be the bridge at
Lake Charles.
That is more than three cycling days away, but
I am not sure, I can be wrong!”
“Ok, this
is what Coco and I will do.
Despite your good advice, Coco
and I will go on cycling for at least the next two days.
On Friday, I will call you from
a motel and after that call; I’ll finally decide what to do.
“Do we have a deal?” I asked Stephan.
“I still believe it’s better to stop, but I understand
you do not want to quit so easily.
Back home, I will put in some more effort to find the exact place hidden
in the scribbles.
So don’t forget to call me, let’s say around 6:00pm18:00.”