The Box, Chapter 1
The Box is a short story I wrote in 2020. It inspired my second novel, Can You Be.
This is Chapter 1.
Rainbow Row, Charleston, SC
Read below or watch/listen to the video at the bottom of the page:
Naina’s day started as it always did. Her alarm rang at 6:00 am and she snoozed twice. She got out of bed at 6:18 am and hopped on the Gazelle for twenty minutes. She bought her only exercise equipment in college eleven years ago because, at the time, she dreaded hurting her knees and the advertisement by Tony Little had promised the machine was low impact. Any type of injury worried her, and while exercise was a necessity, she did it in the safest way possible. She left her apartment, the same one she had lived in since she bought the Gazelle, at 7:55 am.
Naina saw a box outside her door and ignored it, figuring someone misplaced it. Her Amazon delivery day was Thursday and today was Tuesday. She walked down Hasell Street, turning left on Meeting. She had worked at the real estate office for seven years and knew it took her 678 steps to reach. That morning, Charleston was a muggy 84ºF, which made her break out into a light sweat before reaching the real-estate office.
When she settled behind the reception desk, she noticed a sticky note on her computer monitor that read, “I hope you liked it, Naina.” There was a smiley face.
Who on earth would leave her a smiley face? She barely dared to smile lest her face wrinkle. Naina took meticulous care of her skin, and at twenty-nine she had to be extra careful. She had reached the ominous age when collagen decreased and wrinkles began to appear. She looked around the office and saw no one. She was always the first to arrive and that morning was no exception.
She removed the sticky note and wondered where to place it. She swiveled a couple of times on her chair looking for an appropriate spot. She didn’t have time for it then. The office needed to be set up by 8:15 am Alice and Mark would arrive soon and Naina hated seeing their disapproving gazes, especially Alice’s, who was forever on her case. On her yearly performance review, Alice said that Naina’s simplicity negatively affected the company's image. That, coupled with Naina’s quiet demeanor and lack of friendly approach towards the clients.
Alice had suggested she wear makeup to be more presentable. Naina went to the Sephora on King St where an obtrusive lady armed with a belt full of brushes whisked Naina onto a makeup chair. The lady showed her a dizzying array of shadows, eyeliners, lipsticks, bronzers, primers, foundations, and mascara. After the makeover, Naina thought her reflection in the mirror looked like a clown. Still, she put on makeup the next day and Alice seemed satisfied. Naina would have continued using it if her skin hadn’t broken out.
Alice then suggested Naina wear jewelry. Naina’s ears were pierced at the hospital in San Francisco when she was born, but she’d stopped wearing earrings at age seven soon after her mother died. The piercings were sealed up, with no visible remnants of scars. Clip-ons hurt and invariably fell off before the end of the day.
Finally, Alice suggested that Naina do something with her hair. It was sleek and thick and fell to her waist. Naina tried bangs but her forehead broke out. She realized she would have to wash her hair every day to prevent the oils from her bangs from clogging the pores on her forehead. It wasn’t worth the effort.
Naina stuck the sticky note in her purse. She stepped away from the reception desk to brew coffee and slice the lemons to place into the water jug. Just as she finished filling the jug with ice, there was a ring at the desk. She made her way back and saw a gentleman standing, a bright smile on his face. His eyes glittered and his teeth seemed like a model for a whitening commercial. She thought she saw a sparkle on one tooth.
“Good morning, Naina. How are you?”
She wondered how he knew her name, but didn’t say anything.
“Did you open the box?” he asked.
“I haven’t checked for packages yet. I am still setting things up.”
“I mean the one I left outside your apartment door early this morning.”
“Oh.”
“Naina, please tell me you saw it.”
She couldn’t think of anything proper to say, other than, “Why?”
“It contains what you’ve been needing.” He winked and broadened his smile. “I’ll see you after you open it.”
“How will—”
The mysterious man walked out, interrupting the roller coaster of questions that sped through her mind. How would she contact him? Who was he? How did he know her name? Or where she lived? What was in the box? How did he know what she needed?
This last question hung in her consciousness. She didn’t know what she needed. How could someone else? Naina had spent most of her life letting circumstances–and people–decide what she needed and how. She followed the path of least resistance—the one that would send her into the least amount of spiraling. Life had been unpredictable in her childhood. As an adult, she craved stability. That was her priority.
As she inched closer to thirty, she began to wonder if there was more to life. What if she dared a little? What if she tried new things? What if she explored, for herself, the options that were open to her?
For the first time in her life, she couldn’t wait to get back to her apartment. She had brought her packed lunch to the office that day, as she always did, but maybe she would eat it at home.
Watch or listen along below: