The Box's Secret Affair

Prologue

The sun shone through the bedroom window and ignited the air with flecks of golden dust motes. A faded duvet was piled on top of a squeaky, brass bed. The only sign of life in the brightly lit apartment was the sound of running water and an out-of-tune melody emanating from the bathroom. A boy, no older than twenty stepped out of the bathroom, covered in a towel and dripping water all over the floor. He had hair the colour of copper wires and eyes the colour of the sea on a beautiful summers day. He smelled of floral shampoo and had brilliant white teeth. His face was a mix of curves and angles: sharp cheekbones, curved jaw and full lips that were shaped into a pout but his expression was one of peace and calm. A store badge lay on his dresser and read Jason Reed.

A high pitch whining sound split the cool morning air and the boy rushed into the living room, pausing only briefly in the kitchen to grab a sandwich from the bench. He reached the phone by the sixth ring and answered without checking the number.

"Hello. Who is this?" he asked. The phone blurted out two words in a deep, menacing voice that sent shivers down his spine.

"Good luck..." and then they hung up. Jason stood motionless for ten minutes, listening to the beeping of a disconnected phone line, trying to decipher what those two little words meant and why he had a sudden feeling of gut-wrenching guilt and horror. He was expecting a call from his girlfriend, and he was going to ask her if she wanted to see a movie later but Jason just stood there in his towel, a thin sheen of sweat now covering his muscular body.

When he finally snapped out of his daze, he trudged back to his room and back into the shower, as if trying to wash away the emotions and thoughts that all came bundled up in that short sentence. Despite it only being ten o'clock in the morning, Jason felt an overwhelming urge to curl up into a tight ball and fall to sleep. He knew he should soldier on because he had a work shift later in the day but his crumpled, soft, warm duvet was too enticing and within five minutes he was fast asleep.

He dreamed of a packaging factory, not that he had ever been to one before, and knew he was being drawn to something in particular but couldn't resist the pull. His legs moved on their own accord, as if iron braces were clamped to them and were controlled remotely. Boxes lined the walls and ceiling but he didn't notice any of it. His eyes were on one thing, the one thing in front of him, the one box that truly mattered. The Box.

To anyone else The Box would just look like another of the millions of cardboard boxes in the warehouse but to Jason, this box was different. Its brown finish was perfect, no dents existed in its smooth skin, the lid fit perfectly on its body and when he picked it up, it felt sturdy and ready to face the world. This was The Box. This was his Box.

Something tugged on his back and he went flying through the warehouse, dropping the box in the process and landing... on a bed? Jason was lying in a sunlit bed with a crumpled duvet and his heart was pounding in his chest. Jason was bewildered but there was only one thing that he cared about... and there it was. Sitting on his nightstand was the one and only, The Box.

Life was wonderful for the next two weeks. Jason and The Box were truly happy together. They went on dates to the park, the movies and even went ice skating. Jason felt happier than he had felt when he was with any other girl and he knew that this was the box for him. Jason had started looking for rings to buy. He hadn't told anyone yet but he was planning to propose. Just thinking about it made him nervous but he was so excited that the nerves seemed irrelevant.

He waltzed into the living room, expecting to see The Box on the couch, watching TV but instead it was sitting on the dining room table, clearly waiting for Jason to sit down. He obeyed. He could feel the remorse thick in the air and it tasted bitter in his mouth.

He had given The Box everything. He gave up his whole life to be with The Box. He dumped his girlfriend, stopped seeing his friends, even gave up his morning workout routine just so he could be with The Box but now he could sense it was all coming to an end. All those hours wasted.

"It's not you, it's me." began the box but was cut off when a heart-wrenching sob burst from Jason's mouth.

"I don't want to hear it! Please don't say it. I have done everything for you. I stopped my life just so I could spend more time with you. What more could you want?" he finished the last word in a barely audible whisper. Silence echoed throughout the apartment for a while longer before The Box responded at last.

"I want to see the world. Being here with you is like being couped up in a chicken cage. I'm sorry Jason but I have to go. I love you."

Jason cried and cried, eventually falling asleep on the dining chair, eyes rubbed raw, voice hoarse and throat dry. He had given his life up for The Box and now he felt like a used and discarded food wrapper, tumbling into blackness, unsure of his purpose or what to do next.

The Box plagued his nightmares, his dreams, and every waking moment on the backs of his eyelids. Every morning Jason woke on the dining room floor, lying in a pool of sweat and tears.

After pushing them away, his friends gave up on him. His family was disgusted and his ex-girlfriend couldn't care less, having just met a new guy named Kyle. His life was completely ruined. Completely and utterly ruined. And The Box didn't even say goodbye...