Any container can hold surprises, and jewels or keepsakes can be cursed. Beautiful and detailed or worn and dusty, it's a risk not knowing where the box and its contents came from. . .
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THE JEWEL BOX
Working in her study one morning, Madeleine heard a knock on the front door. Putting her book aside, she went to see who would call at this early hour.
She opened her door cautiously, keeping the chain link attached between the door and the wall. No one was there. After removing the chain, she looked side to side but saw no one. About to close the door, she looked down and saw the wrapped parcel. It had her name and address on the front. She felt a shiver run up her spine.
"What the . . . ?"
She hesitated, remembering Pandora's box. That box would have been better left closed. Suppressing her curiosity, she picked it up and brought it inside. Setting the parcel gently on the dining table, she carefully opened the mailing box and unwrapped the object it contained. Inside was a jewel box made of a translucent ivory material that seemed to shimmer, with delicately carved symbols she didn't recognize.
She could feel the jewel box calling to her, open. . . open. . .open. . . So she did. A gasp escaped her lips as she two items in the box and a small bit of writing on a yellowed scrap of paper. Secured with a pearl hatpin, she saw an elegant sapphire ring surrounded by diamonds, and a triple strand of pearls of a choker-style necklace. They sparkled as if new, not hundreds of years old.
The jewel box belonged to someone named Gudruun, or so it was written on a strange type of paper inside, dated 1475. So, how had it survived so many years? And more to the point, how did it get to her door? Was this charmed or cursed? Hidden under the choker she found another piece of rag paper with a warning.
A beautiful chest contains the power, which attaches to the person who receives these objects, but know that the ring will give but the choker will take away.
As she read these words, Madeliene felt a strange warmth infuse her body with a sense of contentment. Her mind was pushing her worries into a small corner and changing her resistance to put the ring on her finger. She felt no need to worry. . .
"Why not?" she said as picked up the ring. It was a perfect fit.
WC story 386
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Would you be tempted to open the box? If not, why not? If there was no warning, would you wear the jewelry, or arrange to have it destroyed?
Please leave a comment to let me know you were here. I'll respond. Thanks for reading my entry to this month's challenge.
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WEP - Write, Edit, Publish, a flash challenge
Prompt: Jewel Box
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