She ran her fingers across the lid of the box feeling the
edges. She wondered how this gift had arrived. She wasn’t expecting a
gift. It was a late January afternoon
and the clouds were closing in on another cool day. The trees blew ever so slightly
in the breeze. Miranda was a twentyish
something blonde with bright red lips. She had pale ivory skin and bright pink
nails. She sat the box in the middle of
her dining room table. It was wrapped in bright yellow paper with a bright red
bow. There was no tag or writing, just an empty white card attached at the
top. She grabbed a pair of scissors from
a kitchen drawer filled with buttons and trinkets. She made a single cut at the top of the bow.
It fell apart cascading all around the box until it all hit the table. She ran her fingers through the bow. It felt soft and velvety. She picked up the long untied bow and wrapped
it around her shoulders as if it were a scarf. Against her bright yellow sun
dress she thought she looked like the box. It fell off of her shoulders. She
went back to the package. She grabbed her scissors and started making a single
cut down the front of the box. The scratching of the scissors filled the air.
She took her left hand and just ripped the paper right in half sending a piece
across the table. There laid a wooden box. It was a rich dark mahogany box with
a brass handle. Against the handle on a white string fell a small silver key.
The key glistened in the light. It had the initials ME inscribed in cursive.
She picked up the key and tore it from the handle. On top of the box was a small round key hole.
Above it was inscribed “Know” in the same cursive lettering. She put the key
into the box and turned it clockwise once until she heard a click. The box
opened slightly. She put her hand on the brass handle and pulled up. The box
popped open revealing a white envelope. She grabbed the envelope then her
scissors cutting along the edge. She stopped. She looked at the box again and then
at the envelope. She ran her hand on top of the box again feeling the indentation
of the letters…She began to open the envelope. She then heard a knock on her
door. She set the envelope down and went to the door. The envelope laid next to the scissors then blew
off the table from a fan across the room. The envelope fell on the floor and
out came a photo. It was a picture of Miranda in her bright yellow sun dress
with a red bow. Miranda never came back to the table. Miranda did not live past the envelope hitting the floor.
