The Box, Chapter 7

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

This is Chapter 7.

Meeting Street, Charleston, SC

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

“Raiya means treasure,” he explained.

Raiya and Naina were sitting at the bar at 167 Raw. The usual crowd hadn’t yet packed in and it was quiet enough for them to hold a conversation. It was a warm evening, and Naina wore her only choice of clothing—the black dress she’d already been wearing for work. Her hair was down, and she had no makeup on, as always.

“You are true to your name. You’ve got beautiful large eyes,” he continued.

“Oh. Thanks.” Naina felt herself get warm and she looked at her hands.

“I’m not trying to flirt with you. I am gay.” Raiya placed his hand on her arm, reassuringly.

“Oh.” Naina recoiled against the touch. She felt foolish. She had worried so much about getting ready for the date and it wasn’t even a date.

“Don’t be embarrassed. I’m strangely flattered. I would have hit on you if I were attracted to women.”

“Why did you ask me out then?”

“I didn’t realize you’d think it was a date, but looking back, I should have clarified.”

“Ok.”

“There’s something about you that I find intriguing. You are weird—the good kind of weird. I like that about you. I think we can be friends.”

“Ok.”

Raiya laughed. “You don’t say much, do you?”

“I don’t have many friends.”

“I’ll be your friend.” Raiya smiled.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Start by asking questions. You ask one. I ask one.”

Naina searched for words as she looked towards the window and saw Holy Man wave at her from the sidewalk. He sipped a cold bubble tea. He reminded Naina of her crystal. She touched her purse to make sure the crystal was inside. Its roundness comforted her and she let out a deep breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.

“What’s it like being gay?” she asked.

Raiya laughed loudly. “You don’t beat around the bush, either.”

He told her he had always known he was gay, and his mother had as well. He was lucky that his parents were open-minded, a rarity growing up in India, where having homosexual sex was a crime. His mother encouraged him to embrace himself as he was. He had never had a problem expressing himself or sharing with others who he was, including his friends and family.

Naina was surprised that he was at ease with himself. Despite his intrusive behavior, she realized she felt comfortable with Raiya and wondered if it was inevitable for anyone to feel the same. There was something familiar about him.

The two dutifully exchanged questions and answers for most of the night. When Naina wasn’t sure of what to ask, Raiya provided the questions. She found it easy to speak to Raiya. He told her about going to Cornell for his MBA. He specialized in marketing, and he loved anything and everything about it.

She shared her experience at boarding school, where everyone ignored her. She hadn’t been worthy enough to be picked on. In college, it had been easy for Naina to keep to herself. She engaged the most with others while working at the real estate office.

“Why do you bother with that job? Aren’t you bored of doing the same thing?” Raiya asked.

“I think they are more bored with me than I am with them. Alice doesn’t hide that she wouldn’t have hired me. I don’t mind the work I do, but I don’t love it.”

“What do you love?”

“I am not sure…”

“What have you thought of doing?”

“I used to fantasize about becoming a lawyer, like my mother, although I don’t know what kind of law she practiced. It was long ago in India. By the time I grew curious, my mother had passed.” Her father dismissed the question when Naina asked, but she didn’t share this with Raiya.

“I’m so sorry to hear that, dear.” He held her hand.

Naina tensed at first, itching to pull her hand away, but when she saw the genuine warmth in Raiya’s eyes, she kept it there, allowing the contact.

“Why don’t you look into it? It’s never too late, you know?”

“I thought of it once. I googled the different types of law and the choices were overwhelming. I can’t do it.” She didn’t have it in her to appear in a courtroom.

As they walked home, they were surprised by a sudden rain shower and walked into Cane Rhum Bar for shelter, deciding to have a drink while they waited for the rain to stop. Raiya came back to the topic of Naina’s profession.

“I have never known what I wanted to be,” she confessed.

“There has to be something you love.”

“Skin. I love everything related to skin.”

“Your skin is flawless,” Raiya complimented.

Naina shared her routine. She used Dr. Bronner’s Castille soap for her body and hair. She cleansed her face with coconut oil, wiped off the excess with calendula hydrosol, and moisturized with a mixture of jojoba and rosehip to prevent wrinkles. She dabbed lavender essential oil on spots, also using the oil to heal and disinfect cuts and insect bites. She wore zinc-based sunscreen only if she was planning on spending more than five minutes outdoors, which was rare. She did not put anything on her skin that wasn’t absolutely necessary. She had studied this well, poring over herb, aromatherapy, and natural skin care books at the library.

To Naina’s surprise, Raiya kept his attention on her. They sat at the bar until 11 pm, far beyond the rain clearing up. It was the latest Naina had ever stayed out.

Back in her apartment, she patted the crystal, wondering if it had transferred some of its courage to her.

Watch or listen along below: