Midnight
I shouldn’t have opened the package. It clearly stated do not open until midnight. But I’m a curious person; I have no patience; I am impulsive. So I opened the package and it was empty.
She promised me that all my wishes would be granted. That the riches that I desired would be attained. I just had to wait until midnight.
Was it a lie? Was it a test? What would have happened had I waited until the appointed hour. I’ve read a number of folktales about a fisherman brought to the underground palace of the Sea King, who falls in love with the King’s daughter. He returns home temporarily to see his family one last time and is given a gift by the princess which he is told not to open. He eventually does open it and loses everything. Why didn’t I learn from that story?
It had been a chance meeting at a social gathering. She was being bothered by others. I stepped in and freed her from her torment and was rewarded by an evening of companionship and pleasure. And then came the gift. It was a plain cardboard box, sealed with tape, and with a simple request, do not open until midnight and all you seek will be found. Her hands in mine, her beautiful hypnotizing face, her sweet-sounding voice, my eyes glazed over, staring at her and then the box. Hands released and then she was gone and I return home with the package.
An empty box! What could it have held? I never even got her name. So here I sit, both forlorn and confused. Did it really happen?
As the clock strikes midnight, there is a knock at my door. With much anticipation, I go to the door and throw it open. There stands a portly man in brown clothing. In his hand is a package with an arrow in the shape of a smile on it. He hands me a package and a letter. He leaves.
I close the door and slowly open the letter. It reads, “I knew you couldn’t wait. You get what you deserve.”
I pick up the package and open it. In it is a gift certificate for Amazon, with a picture of a wallet that looks exactly like mine. There’s another note which says, “To replace the one you lost. Thanks for the fun evening. It’s usually not this easy.”
