Inside the Box

It was a cold, dark autumn night. Midnight was approaching silently and swiftly, like an owl on the wind. The sky was void of all but faint flickers of starlight. The Man sat quietly in his chair by the fire place. The flame flickered like a serpent's tongue, lashing this way and that. The Man was contemplating his life. His life was brief, time was racing and eternity was only moments away. How many years had flown by in his life since any major event occurred in his life? Twenty? Thirty? Forty? Were his children still living? Do his childhood friends remember him fondly? Is he in the backdrop of their minds as they are in his? He could hardly keep track of the time anymore. His agonizing loneliness was so great that the only company that he could keep were those who visited him in his dreams. He had not been able to sleep this night. Something was keeping him awake and alert. But The Man could not quite figure out why he could not rest. Rest was the only solace he gained from his monotonous waking life.

“How much time has passed?” He said to himself quietly.

As he pondered his life and the years wasted, he heard a sharp, rapid succession of knocks on his front door. The Man was alarmed and his heart sunk. Alarmed, terrified and very much awake, The Man got up, and cautiously crept towards his door. The Man reached for his doorknob and slowly turned it, opening the door slowly. When the door was fully opened, he saw nothing. He looked back and forth, perceiving this was perhaps the doing of some young troublemakers. He saw nothing to his left or to his right. But as his head returned to its resting place, lo and behold, a suspicious package wrapped in brown paper was was laid at his feet. His heart began to race.

“This was not here a moment ago! I-I-I know it-I made sure of it!” He thought to himself.

He rushed inside his home and slammed the door shut.

“What is this? What is going on?”

The Man slowly opened the door again to confirm if what he had seen was true.

There it was, the strange and unusual package. The Man collected his thoughts and composed himself.

“Perhaps the delivery man was in a hurry.” The Man told himself.

He looked around again to make sure no one was nearby. Perhaps the sender had the wrong address? The Man had not been expected anything, certainly not at this hour. His watch read 12:05. The Man, looked down at the package at his feet. The package was in pristine condition. No wear or tear of travel, as if it had been crafted and prepared by professionals not a moment before it touched his porch. The Man looked over it to see if any names were on the surface. There was nothing he could see to identify who the package was for. The Man slowly picked up the package, careful not do disturb any contents that may be inside. The man glanced around and looked up. He found himself peering deeply into the night sky. In that moment, he could feel the void of space capturing his gaze, as he became transfixed by these tiny fire flies that twinkled light years away. A single moment of peering upwards felt as though perhaps an hour had passed. He turned back after this and went back to his seat by the fire.

As he seated himself with his unusual package, he had noticed that his flames were beginning to die down. Since it was early in the morning and he hadn't yet fallen asleep, The Man figured that perhaps it was best to let the flames die down. The Man, curious of the package, decided to slowly unwrap this unexpected gift. Beneath the brown paper he found a wooden box that was made of what appeared to be made of mahogany. It was very beautiful, polished and a vibrant shade. Who in the world would have sent such a costly object to a man who had not seen any soul in what felt like aeons? The box had hinges that appeared to be as if they were made of the purest of gold. The man eyed this very unexpected find and was so very eager to open this box.

He placed his hands on the sides of the box, as a thousand thoughts ran through his mind. “Is this from an old friend? Is this from my love? Have my children remembered me?” But just as his hands touched the sides of the box, the horrid dread returned. The coals of the fire dimly glowed as the cold of the fall wind engulfed the room.

“Hadn't I closed the windows before? No?” The chill was eldritch.

The main, quivering slowly began to lift the lid of the box. At once, a glint of light and and a shimmer caught his eye. He could see a handle of pure gold. He could see ornate designs outlining the reflective metallic surface. It was a hand mirror.

He slowly picked up the mirror and looked at it. In the darkness, The Man could barely make out his own face. In the mirror he saw dark sockets on a blurred face. His heart was sinking again as he threw the paper surrounding the package into the coals of the dying fire.

At once the flames began to roar again. The Man could finally see his face.

The Man held the mirror upwards and peered into the mirror, his gaze fixed on the still darken sockets.

“How much time has passed?” He said to himself even softer than the first time he had asked this.

“All these years... of isolation.. All the years of self-reflection.. How much time is lost?”

The Man looked around his room. How close the walls seemed. Why do they seem so much closer than before?

The Man looked in the mirror again.

“What...am I doing? What have I...been doing? I have kept myself... in a box... All these years, the time I have spent in isolation... my years, my time, my experience...”

“How much time has passed?” He asked again, now looking towards his watch. It was now 7:00 exactly.

As the man saw the time he wept. Moment by moment, hour by hour and day by day, the man watched time fly. The Man placed the mirror on the desk by his chair as the flames began to start to dim again. The Man got up, and slowly made his way back towards the door. He opened up the door, expecting the dawn, but instead, he saw his old son he had not seen since many years before. The Man was astonished and his face went from gloom, to joy.

“Dad, I had not seen you in so long! It has been ages!” His son stated delighted.

“Wow! You have grown so very much! I hadn't heard from you in so long! You look just like your old man!” The Man replied, smiling more than he had in what seemed like decades.

“Of course dad, though I haven't seen you in so long, I was always sure to show others what you had taught me so long ago. In life, it is the people who are with us that matter the most. It took us forever to finally find out where you had lived.” His son replied.

“I had moved to this area many years ago when all of you grew. This place was quiet and I had figured you all had your lives to live so I didn't want to be any trouble. But oh am I happy to see my old son again!” The Man hugged his son, something he had not done in decades.

“Dad, we should get you out of this house today. I don't think you have left in ages.” His son told him, leading him out.

“I felt absolutely dreadful throughout the night. I couldn't sleep at all. There was a package, along with this darkness and cold. I felt as if death was at my very door. I had dreaded that the knock at my door was the reaper himself come to lead me to the next life. When I opened the strange package, all that was inside was a fine box with a hand mirror inside. Even as I lifted the mirror it felt as if my time was slipping away. It was midnight, then morning in what seemed like seconds.” The Man told his son.

“Dad, it's morning now. Night is over and it's a new day. I am here, we can take you out and see your old family again. Instead of focusing on what years remaining, let's make memories now and keep living.”

The Man walked outside, peering back for a moment at his desk as his door lay open. He could see the glint of the hand mirror again.

“I think... I have to reflect more of the love I have to those outside. I have been inside my box for so long. Still valuable even when in frail packaging... Son, let's go shine a little today.”

The Man closed the door behind him and wrapped his arm around his son and walked on with him. The Man looked up into the skies, now blue and spotted with clouds as the dawn peeked over the rooftops. The Man closed his eyes.

“Thank God, the night is over.” He said quietly, with a pleasant smile over his face.