The Box, Chapter 6

The Box is a short story I wrote in 2020. It inspired my second novel, Can You Be.

This is Chapter 6.

St. Michael’s Cathedral, Charleston, SC

Read below or watch/listen to the video at the bottom of the page:

Naina knew more about angelites and spheres, but she still didn’t know who sent her the crystal or why. The crystal hadn’t done anything. No matter how much she stared at it or held it in her hands, nothing happened. She hoped it would show her the future as the Romani did on TV. Maybe she would see how to handle this date with Raiya.

Naina left work that Thursday afternoon and saw the mysterious man waiting for her at the corner of Meeting and Wentworth. He was eating vanilla ice cream on a cone and wore the same off-white linen suit and dark brown loafers as he had two days before. Naina disliked people who wore shoes without socks. There was no way to clean sweat from shoes and she was sure that when he removed his shoes his feet would stink.

“Hey there, Naina,” he greeted as she approached. His skin was glowing and had a pearl-like quality to it, contrasting with his dark brown wavy hair. There was an ethereal quality to him like he wasn’t tangible.

“Hi,” she said. She stopped two meters in front of him and clutched her purse as if he were about to steal it. She might have appeared like she was protecting the contents of her bag, but really, she was stopping herself from touching him. Naina had not seen skin so perfect on a man before. It was too tempting.

“I won’t hurt you.” He gave her the tooth-whitening smile.

Again, Naina could have sworn his teeth gave off a twinkle. She said nothing and didn’t smile back. He looked to be in his mid-forties and there was a fatherly quality to him. She squinted at him, scrunching her nose and her forehead, and narrowing her large eyes.

“You shouldn’t do that to your face. You’re more likely to wrinkle,” he admonished, still smiling. He truly belonged in an infomercial.

Naina straightened her face. She couldn’t believe her lapse in judgment. She had let herself get carried away by her musings on the man and had forgotten all about her skin. That hadn’t happened to her before. “The sun is too intense.”

“Easily resolved,” he said. He walked under the shadow of the tree at the entrance of the Grand Bohemian Hotel.

Naina followed, wondering why she had taken to following strange men without question. There was something about him that felt nurturing and safe, in an odd light-hearted way. “Did you send me the box?”

“I simply made sure it got to you.”

“There was no label.”

“That is not important. Tell me what you found out about the crystal.”

“It’s an angelite?”

He nodded in confirmation. He ate his ice cream cleanly and efficiently. Despite the heat, there wasn’t a drop that melted. She was impressed. She only indulged in ice cream while indoors.

“What do you make of it?” he asked.

“It is meant to protect me somehow or connect me with angels but I haven’t heard anything and the crystal hasn’t done anything.”

“It’s not meant to do anything tangible. It won’t come alive in the middle of the night or when you are not looking–like in Toy Story. But that doesn’t mean its energy doesn’t affect you. We are affected by everything around us. Everything carries energy. Crystal energy is subtle, yet potent.”

Naina didn’t confess she felt attached to the crystal. She carried it in her purse every time she left her apartment, taking it out only in the safety of her home.

The mystery man licked his ice cream and stared at her intently as if peering into her soul.

It unnerved her. “Why did you give it to me?”

“Continue carrying it with you, Naina. Trust. It is for your good. I’ll check in another time.” He patted her on the shoulder and walked away.

Naina was surprised that his touch didn’t cause her to tense. She was unaccustomed to people touching her. Her mother had been affectionate but the last time her father hugged her was before he shipped her off to boarding school. She was filled with a sense of ease as she watched him walk away, continuing to lick his ice cream. From that moment, she decided to call him Holy Man. At least in her head. He gave her a sense of security she hadn’t felt in years.

Naina walked further down Meeting Street and picked up a chocolate mint ice cream sandwich from Piece Pie before heading home. It wasn’t her cheat day, but she didn’t care.

Watch or listen along below: