The Box

It arrived in a seemingly ordinary gift box. Standard sized. Nothing pretty or special about it. The contents, however, turned out to be a bit strange.

When Natalia went to leave her apartment for the day, she tripped over the small box that had been thrown against her door. Annoyed at the carelessness, she picked the box up and tucked it under her arm. She was already late for work and she knew that her boss, Lady Grizz, would already be impatiently waiting. Natalia could just imagine Lady Grizz now, with her haughty expression and pinched eyes. She was probably leaning against the counter, clucking her tongue as she watched the minute hand bring her ever late employee one minute later to work. Her grey streaked hair was most likely pulled into a high and tight bun, pulled together so tight that Natalia was sure her head would pop open one day.

“Stupid alarm clock,” Natalia grumbled under her breath.

Once again it had not gone off at the proper time, resulting in her rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to scramble to get ready and out the door. Then she had tripped over the box, which only put her further behind schedule. Natalia could not wait for the day that she could open her own cozy little box store and not have to worry about being late, because then she would be the one in charge. Not some overly tight, scowling grandma.

Natalia arrived at Grizz’s Books Galore precisely fifteen minutes late for her shift. The stores OPEN sign flashed brightly in the window surrounded by mounds of books and magazines. The store itself was not anything pretty, it was ordinary as far as bookstores went. Shelves upon shelves were line with books from Romance to Thriller to Self-Help Guides.

The doorbell chimed loudly as Natalia scurried in with her head down, because on top of running late it had begun to poor on her way. Shaking as much of the water off her as possible, she darted her eyes around the store. There was Lady Grizz, standing exactly where she had thought she would be, scowling angrily underneath large, bushy eyebrows. The store itself was empty of customers as many preferred not to come and deal with the store owner until after they had several cups of coffee.

“You’re late. Again. Third time this week.” Lady Grizz spoke together in a jumbled mess that came off as both angry and confused at the same time. “Shall I just consider that you are quitting?”

“Now, Helga.” Natalia only called her by her first name when she was being too much. “I told you about the stupid alarm clock earlier this week. I even warned you I may be late a few times until pay comes in when I can go and replace the darn thing.”

Lady Grizz clucked her tongue and shook her head. “Well, now that you’re here, see to it that you get the new arrivals priced and placed on the appropriate shelves. Don’t mark any of them down and if you need me, I’ll be in the office reading one of the new books myself.”

She shook her head one last time and disappeared around a tower of books.

Natalia sighed and set her purse down. As she did so, the box fell from her arms with a loud clang. She had forgotten all about it. Picking it up now, she inspected the box. It was made of a solid wood and seemed to have little weight to it. There were no markings of any sort on the outside to indicate who it was for or where it had come from. Intrigued, and figuring since it was on her doorstep that it must have been meant for her, she opened the lid.

Inside, nestled among brightly colored paper strips, was a small black notebook and a thick looking envelope with her name written in cursive. Natalia opened the envelope first and dropped it. She clutched at her chest and took a moment to steady herself before picking it back up. Inside of the envelope was easily 200 crisps hundred-dollar bills.

Confused and believing someone may have sent the box to her on accident, she opened the little black notebook to the front page. There was a note that read.

“Natalia, I am sending you this gift to do what I and so many others around town, have seen you have a passion for. I hope that you will take it and open your very own bookstore and bring the town a place where everyone can gather and enjoy literature. I only have a few requirements. I need you to hold a copy of Bollington’s Madness and Sasha’s Charades for me until I can come collect them after my vacation. Sincerely, Mayor Harold.”

Natalia smiled as tears ran down her face. This was it. This was exactly the break she had been waiting for. The rest of the notebook was blank but there was an additional instruction to write down rare books as a reminder to get them when she could.

Natalia gathered her things and ran out the door of Grizz’s Books Galore, not daring to stop or explain to Lady Grizz, knowing full well the woman would try to guilt her into staying and would probably even demand some of the money.

She went straight home and got online. She would begin her dream of owning a bookstore immediately, starting with a list of must have books.