Beyond the Box

A mass wave of nausea sweeps over Nathan as he slams down the box's lid. Never again, never again would he allow his curiosity to tempt him into opening the box. The amount of fear only outweighed by the guilt held all the conviction he needed to keep the promise he made himself.

The phone ringing causes Nathan to knock over a glass of what he only hoped was water. The shattered pieces of glass now added to the debris collection in the dimly lit apartment.

"Hello." Chokes Nathan as he clears his throat; how many days had it been seen he last spoke?

"My god, you sound like shit." Say a female voice on the other end of the line.

Nathan tried to rub the memories and regret from his mind as he used his hand to wipe his face.

"I told you, it is done. You don't have to worry about it." States Nathan firmly.

"It? I'm not worried about it; I'm worried about you."

"Oh, really." Says Nathan more harshly than intended.

"We both knew…."

"Let me stop you there. There is no we any longer!" yells Nathan as he hangs up the phone and rips the cord from the wall. In a moment of anger, he slangs the phone across the dark room; the phone hitting the wall sends a kaleidoscope of resonates throughout the dirty apartment that has now become a prison.

Nathan wipes the tears from his face as he leans against the small kitchen table covered in newspapers.

There are so many headlines, so many mistakes, and so many missteps made that can never be undone.

As Nathan glances from headline to headline, the phone begins to ring.

With a gasp, Nathan looks at the shattered phone, the torn wire, and the broken receiver, all in a pile in the corner of the room. The phone was in pieces, yet it still rang. Nathan slowly picks up the receiver and makes his way over to the phone.

"Hello," Nathan mutters, hands shaking.

"One…more…."; Whispers a voice on the other end.

Nathan throws the phone once again as his blood runs cold. Turning to run away, Nathan finds himself face-to-face with her. Alicia, the love of his life. The women he had murdered.

Her body is still dripping wet, she opens her mouth to scream, but only a deep gargle followed by a thick black liquid comes out. Closing his eyes tight, Nathan counts back from ten. When he opens his eyes, he finds himself alone again in the room. Nathan's eyes fall on the box.

The box had done it once again. The box was trying to force him to open it. But he would not; he would not give in to what the box wanted. No matter how often it called or showed him visions, he refused to open the box. A tiny light appeared from the kitchen table as if to give him some hope. Nathan scrambled to uncover his cell phone from underneath all the newspapers.

"Hello?" Nathan whimpered.

"Damn, Nathan, don't hang up on me again." Stated a female voice firmly. "I'm coming over. I need you to stay calm, and you should have never taken the box by yourself."

"Stop it! You are dead! Stop it, stop it, stop it." Yelled Nathan as he hung up the phone. The name Alicia slowing fading from the screen. As Nathan watched the light fade from the screen, he jumped from what he heard next.

Looking up, it sounded like something was crashing into the ceiling. Nathan looked out of the window, but it was too dark now to see anything. Nathan could tell it wasn't raining, snowing, or hailing, but he could hear something pouring onto the roof every few seconds. Dirty being poured on a grave. Nathan shook the thought from his head. As the pounding on the roof continued, Nathan looked at the box and shook his head. The box would fail to win. Grabbing a duffle bag, Nathan placed the box and headed for the door.

Turning the handle, the door would not open. Taking a breath, Nathan dropped the duffle bag and grabbed the handle with both hands, yet the door still would not open. Taking a step back, Nathan begins kicking the door angrily. He would not be trapped here, he didn't deserve to be trapped here. He was a good person. Everything that had happened was because of that damn box, not him. Exhausted and in pain, Nathan dropped to the floor. Grabbing the duffle bag, Nathan noticed it was empty.

Jumping to his feet, Nathan looked around the apartment but could barely see anything. Turning on the flashlight on his phone, he ignores the low-battery message as he desperately searches the apartment. Where was it? Nathan cried through items from shelves and tables and yelled out for the box to reveal itself, but the box did not care. How could it? It was just a box. Nathan stopped and took a deep breath.

"It's just a box. It is just a box." Nathan said as he closed and opened his eyes, exhaling slowly.

Making his way over to the door, Nathan looked through the peephole and gasped. There it was, the box in the middle of the hallway.

"NO!" Yelled Nathan.

Slamming his hands against the door, Nathan realized a truth he would never admit as he slowly sank to the floor, his back against the door. The box had won. The box had beaten him. He would fade away, but the box would remain. The box would be there long after he was gone.

Nathan looked over and saw the tiny glow from his cell phone that had fallen from his pocket. Tears filled Nathan's eyes as he saw Alicia's name on the screen. As Nathan reached for the phone, the battery icon flashed, and the screen went dark as the phone died.

ONE BLOCK AWAY AT THE SAME MOMENT…

Alicia held in her tears as the last shovel of dirt was placed on the grave. Alicia cradles Nathan's mom as she cries uncontrollably.

It had only been five days since the accident. An accident she felt was her fault. How could it not have been? Out of her mouth, she had told her husband he was drowning her, always hovering over her. Yes, she was pregnant, but she didn't need him watching her every move.

"Give me some space. I feel boxed in!" were Alicia's last words to her now-late husband.

That way, he was not with her when she went into labor, that is why he was at work when she called him to deliver the news, and that is why he rushed out in the middle of the storm.

As Nathan's father collects his wife, he gives his new daughter-in-law a look that only can be shared by two people who have lost a piece of their hearts. Alicia walked to Nathan's Grave and placed an item in the soft dirt that now covers her late husband. Alicia places her hand on the camera. It was Nathan's favorite, a gift from his father.

As the rain begins to pour down, Alicia doesn't even notice as someone holds an umbrella over her. With her hand still on the camera, Alicia finds it hard to let go. She thinks that Nathan would never let go if the roles were reversed. Through her sadness, a spark of anger rises. Her husband, 6 feet away from her, was trapped in a box he could never escape. That damn box was holding her husband captive. He would never let that box win.

Alicia thought back to what the police had told her. He was texting while driving, the rain was coming down hard, and he didn't see the road curve. His last text wasn't even to her; it was to his boss. ONE MORE. That was what he texted. One more headline, as a photographer for the local paper, he had taken all the front-page photos and was up for a significant award for his photos. His boss had given him the day off, but instead of taking it, there was one more story he wanted to cover, the birth of his newborn. In the middle of the night, Nathan rushed from work in the rain to make it to the hospital for the delivery of his baby daughter. On the way, he wanted to text his boss to hold the print that he had one more headline that needed to be published, one more.

Slamming her hand down, the camera sunk into the mud. Before Alicia could strike the camera again, she felt someone grab her and pull her away from the grave, pulling her away from her Nathan. The box had indeed won.

As Alicia composed herself, she sat in the family limousine. Looking over, she forced herself to smile as she saw her Mother-in-law holding her granddaughter. Alicia jumped as someone knocked on the window of the car.

Rolling down the window, two outstretched hands delivered an item into the car. Looking up, Alicia could not see who was the carrier of the gift. Taking the container, Alicia quickly rolled up the window to keep out the cold and the rain. On her lap sat a box. With shaking hands, Alicia took a breath and opened the lid.