Where did this box come from? I stumbled upon a mysterious box as I journeyed through the forest. There wasn’t anything particularly special about it, nothing besides the fact that it was almost perfectly placed on the center of the path I walked. It looked like it was made of wood, barely large enough to hold with two hands. The box didn’t seem very dangerous, but something about it felt off. Maybe it was due to how it was placed upon my path almost daring me to open it. My mother always told me not to accept gifts from strangers. Although I haven’t seen or heard anybody around in hours, I felt like that advice would serve me well in my current predicament. I continued past the wooden box.
Who put the box along my path? Despite looking around for anyone playing a prank on me, giggling within the trees waiting to pop out and spook me, no one appeared before me. Maybe someone hiking at an earlier time may have dropped it. There was no reason for me to think that the box was specifically for me anyways. Hell, why am I still thinking about the darn thing anyways? I came out to these woods to get away from the worries from reality. I won’t let some random box get in the way of my bliss. The trees were lush and green. The birds were chirping their favorite songs. The wooden box was lying on the smooth dirt path. Wait.
Why is the box back in my path? This can’t be the same box, right? Maybe that hypothetical traveler dropped two boxes. Two wooden boxes dropped the exact same way. Right in the center of the path. No, it’s the same box alright. What the hell is wrong with this thing? There’s no way it could possibly be following me. Maybe I made a wrong turn somewhere. The wrong turn…on a straight path. Just great. I recognized the scratches along one of the nearby trees and the way some of the rocks formed some makeshift circles along the patch of grass nearby. All things I didn’t think too much of, but they ended up being important in the worst way. I somehow walked in a circle right back to the box. Yup, time to go. I turned around and walked away from the box.
When did I last see the box? It seems like hours ago when I turned around and began my trek out the forest. I definitely should have been at the entrance to the forest by now. I don’t understand why this is happening. I’ve walked through these woods countless times. As long as I stayed along the path, I shouldn’t have any trouble traveling. Figures that now, the day I really needed to calm my head, some supernatural shit is happening to me. All the trees are starting to look more and more unnatural, almost like they are watching me. The birds have stopped chirping. Just this whispering silence follows close by as I travel through the void. Is it getting darker? An unnatural fog seeps through the forest, suffocating its inhabitants. Seriously, it was blue clear skies not even five minutes ago. I’m getting sick and tired of whatever is going on. I don’t know why, but I turn around to look behind me. Oh, for fu…The box.
What’s in the box? The question burrows deep into my mind, repeating over and over and over again. The box hums with ethereal glee. Yeah, something is definitely wrong with this box. I should back away, continue trying to find a way out the forest. Instead, I’m pulled towards this wooden abomination. The box finally has me in its grasp. I got to know. Why was it following me? Who placed it here for me to find? What’s in it? I’m now in front of the box. The smallest voice in my mind can be heard urging me to run away. Unfortunately, the question is much louder- “What’s in the box?” Bit by bit, I sit in front of the box, careful as though the slightest wrong move could cause it to detonate. I reached for the box and gazed at it in my hands. The wood of the box was both moldy and pristine. It felt both meek and powerful. Something like this shouldn’t exist. But I must know.
I open the box
It’s your fault your father died. Who are you to try and pretend like his death didn’t affect you? Walking through the forest isn’t going to change the fact he died trying to care for you. Who even are you? What have you done to deserve his love? Anyone’s love? You are worthless. Pathetic. Can’t even hold down a job. Every relationship ends in tragedy. You are nothing. Why don’t you do what you came here to actually do. FIND THE NEAREST TREE AND-
I frantically closed the box.
The voices still echoed in my head as I threw the box deep into the forest. Sweat poured out of me having just swam through a current of darkness. I can barely breathe. I can’t stay here. I have to leave. I stumble as I try to get up. As I sprint down the path, a haunting laughter follows me, bellowing into my ears. Worthless. Pathetic. I try to block them out, but it’s no use. The seep deep into my mind with each wayless word. The worst part was that these voices were ones I recognized. It was my own.
Somehow, I found my way back to the entrance of the forest. Dusk has now begun to set upon the earth despite me having begun my trek in the late morning. I don’t waste time heading to my car. I jumped in and lock the door immediately, hoping the voices couldn’t pass through car windows. I take a deep breath and begin to settle down. The once beautiful forest now smiles at me with a horrific grin. I start the car and turn on the radio to hopefully try and get my mind off the truths the voices told me. I nodded along to the music to avoid the reality of my undeserved existence. Whatever I opened seemed to have successfully bled through my psyche. I can’t even tell what’s real anymore. I know I shouldn’t listen to the voices, but it feels like their right. It feels like I should listen.
Before I can put the car in reverse, in my peripheral vision I notice the box in my passenger seat. Just like it was when I first saw it in the forest, it looked innocent and innocuous. The voices continue to swirl around me. I could just throw the box out the window. I could just drive and pretend it’s not even there. Hell, I could even…
I opened the box.
