The Love Box

This is a story about a box that changed my life, and my perspective on life.

“Darling you need to wake up, your alarm went about half an hour ago and I thought I heard someone at the front door too?”

“Umm, ok I’ll get up. Back to the grindstone.” I said rather lazily.

I hate my job, but I’ve got bills to pay, I wish I could just inherit millions or something from some distant wealthy uncle, or something.

Oh well, back to reality from the world of dreams. I crunched on my toast and swallowed the eggs, breakfast seemed extra boring today, but I went to check out what Jenny had heard at the front door?

I opened the door and there it was a parcel, a brown box. It was addressed to me, but I don’t recall ordering anything? I haven’t ordered anything online since that scam, I lost $20, but still, it destroyed my enthusiasm.

There was tape sealing the box, similar to that tape that is at police crime scenes, the tape had these words printed on it. ‘Warning! Open this parcel only when you are ready to change your life, for better or for worse. gnimm arg orp sou ic sno cbus’

It was definitely a warning, so I thought that I could take the optimist view and open the box expecting my life to change for the better, or I could take the pessimist view and open the box to reveal a much harder life? The last part of the message was a bunch of letters, where the printer probably had a glitch, typical of quality control these days, they have no time to check their packaging. I bet that box was assembled in some mass production factory in China.

“Darling I’m leaving this box in our cupboard, I’m not interested in opening it right now.”

“Ok honey, you better get a move on. You’re going to be late.”

I went and showered, said goodbye to Jenny and went to work. On the way to work I stopped for my coffee at my local coffee shop ‘Coffee Culture.’

The place was busy but I found seat, so I sat down to contemplate the box, I didn’t really care that I would be late for work, the boss was away. The waitress left a business card with my name on it with the coffee, and I noticed her nails were green.

I turned the business card over and there was a question printed on the back. ‘Are you ready to change your life? Open the box if you are.’

Where had that waitress gone? I walked up to the front of the coffee shop.

“Hi there, where is the waitress that brought my coffee to my table?”

“Sir, we do not have any waitresses, I brought your coffee to your table.”

I looked at the young man, his fingers were manly and he was not wearing any green nail polish.

“Sir is everything ok?”

“I think so, I am sure that a waitress brought my coffee to me.”

“I am not sure what you are talking about unfortunately sir, it is only me here and my barista Lec Rap fo Renepo from the Czech Republic.

A thin blonde young man with a sharp nose and square jaw waved at me, no green finger nails, he was sporting a short crewcut hairstyle.

“Look she gave me this card with my coffee.”

“Sir that is our business card, we were hoping you would keep it or give it to someone to promote our coffee shop.”

“No but the question”

“What question sir?” He gave it back to me and the question that I was sure I had seen on the card had vanished?

I certainly had been under a lot of pressure at work recently, so perhaps I was seeing things?

Perplexed I left there and made my way into the office. Thinking about the box and the card. I looked at it again, and there were the words. ‘Are you ready to change your life? Open the box if you are.’

I told Jenny about it, and once again the card did not have the question. Jenny thought that I needed some leave, I had been tired recently. That evening Jenny and I were sitting watching our favourite show when I heard a knock at the door.

I opened the door to a short old man, bald with long bony fingers, his eyes were luminous green, he was rather bizarre in appearance.

“Sir, I am Redivorp from Ecnidivorp corporation.”

“I’m not interested thanks.”

“I’m sure you would be if you knew that I am not selling anything except your future?”

“Oh, insurance salesman hey?”

“In a way, but I don’t want to sell you anything, I want to advise you.”

“Oh really, this is a new sales angle.”

“Honey, who is at the door?”

“Hold on darling, I’m dealing with it.”

“I won’t keep you long, I just want you to know this. The box you received, can change your life, you just need to look at things from a different perspective. I mean you should approach problems from a different perspective, shake it up a little, if you see black and white, why not white and black? Rather than forwards look from the back. Reverse things. Got to go. Backwards is the key.”

He left, and I watched him disappear into the darkness, as he walked away from our front porch.

“Who was that?”

“Oh, just some weird little bald dude, I thought he was a sales guy, but turns out he said I should approach the problems that I have backwards rather than forwards, some weird stuff about changing my perspective. Oh, and he had something to do with that box I received, or so he says. He left this card with his weird name and company name.”

The card stated ‘Redivorp from Ecnidivorp corporation’

Later that evening, I was lying in bed thinking about the weirdest day I had ever had in my mundane life. The parcel, the incidents at the coffee shop, the little bald dude.

I slept well and woke up with a spring in my step, I had dreamt about solving problems by looking at them differently, backwards, in my dream I had solved a problem because I analysed it backwards rather than forwards.

I decided to stop in at my coffee shop, but I would approach it from the back door, I would go around the back to see what I discover, like the man said.

I walked around the back and there she was, the waitress from yesterday. The one they said didn’t work there! I took a photo of her on my phone and walked around to the front.

“Hey, where is your boss?” I said angrily to the barista

“Good morning sir, anything the problem?”

“Yes, I saw the waitress, the one you both said yesterday didn’t work here, here is a photo of her, she was around the back.” I showed him my phone

“Backwards, it’s always good to approach things backwards.” He said winking at me.

“What the hell is going on? You are now the second person to …. Hold on what is your name again?”

“Lec Rap fo Renepo”

“Well, Lec Rap fo Renepo, don’t you lie to me again. Good day to you! And, I will not be buying coffee here today or ever again.”

After a frustrating day at work, after the liars I exposed at the coffee shop. I arrived home to the little man, sitting on my porch.

“Hello sir, it’s Redivorp.”

“Yes, Redivorp what is it now?”

“I just wanted to tell you that the box you have sets out a dilemma for you sir. You have won the lottery, but to access the forty million, you need to sacrifice the health of Jenny. Inside the box is a platinum debit card with forty million dollars loaded on it. You see for great gain you need to have great loss. If you or Jenny open the box, Jenny will be cursed with a terminal illness. You will have wealth but no love.”

“Well, I won’t. Jenny is worth more than… Wait you said ‘forty million dollars’?”

“Correct sir, now there is a way that you can access the money by cracking the code and asking the right person to open the parcel for you, and it is as easy as drinking coffee. You have twenty-four hours, before the box disappears.”

That night I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t tell Jenny that we could have forty million, because I know what she would say. She would tell me to open the box and she would deal with the consequences. I could never allow that.

The next day I decided to stop in at the coffee shop even though I had vowed not to go there.

I noticed Redivorp sitting chatting to Lec Rap fo Renepo, at my usual table.

“Ah, the man of the moment, twelve hours left!” said Redivorp.

“Oh, so you two know each other then? The weird names you both have, I bet the same area of Czech Republic correct?”

“Correct Sir.” said Redivorp

“Lec Rap fo Renepo. I am sorry about my outburst yesterday. I was just frustrated.”

“That’s ok Sir, would you like a coffee?”

“Yes please.”

As I sat there thinking about the money I would surely lose, I was happy that I had made the right decision. Jenny was worth more than any amount of money to me.

I wrote down the names of my two Czech friends Redivorp and Lec Rap fo Renepo

Then it struck me, I wrote their names backwards “provider and opener of parcel”

“Redivorp! Redivorp I’ve got it!”

“Lec Rap fo Renepo has to open the box for me!”

“Correct, sir well done, you are forty million dollars richer!”

I raced home and Lec Rap fo Renepo was with me, eager to open the box and give me the money.

Joy turned to instant sadness and aguish. Jenny was lying ill in our bed, she had opened the box.

“Sorry honey, I’m not feeling well”

“Oh no Jenny, why did you open that box?”

“I thought you had forgotten about it darling.”

“Lec Rap, is there anything we can do?”

“No, I cannot do anything.”

“Jenny, Jenny!” she passed out, she was still breathing but she had lost consciousness.

“Lec Rap fo Renepo cannot do anything for you, but I can.”

It was a resolute, little Redivorp who entered the room.

“The only reason I can do anything is because you chose love over money. The only way you can save Jenny and still receive the money is by assisting the next winner, you need to design a puzzle for him to solve, just like we did for you, it cannot be the same as ours. You will only be released from this task when the next winner solves the puzzle you design. You can choose this path or accept the death of Jenny and live with the money, I think I know what you will choose so let me be the first to say.

“Welcome to Ecnidivorp corporation.”

“Thank you, Provider.”

Immediately Jenny started to awaken and recover.

Now I spend my time gnimm arg orp sou ic sno cbus (subconscious programming) other potential winners.

I think I am going to enjoy working at Ecnidivorp corporation.