Sunday, April 26, 2009

Curiosity

She had just come back from a discussion and he had walked her over to her office. The elevator door had suddenly opened and people streamed out, and she had turned on her heel and gotten in. It had cut short their goodbyes, and she suddenly remembered how disappointed he had looked. As they were speaking, he had been hesitant; and he had leaned forward, his voice lowering till it was barely a whisper. She wondered if he had wanted to kiss her; but the sudden stream of people coming out of the elevator interrupted the moment and he had pressed a package into her hand and walked away. The package! She had almost forgotten about it.
It was a small white box with no markings whatsoever; and she looked at it, wondering if she should open it. The elevator was packed with people, and she wondered that the fact that he gave it so discreetly meant she should open it in private. She turned the box over and over, wondering what it contained. She sniffed it, but there wasn't any distinctive scent; and she weighed it in her hand and it didn't quite feel very heavy. Her curiosity began to fuel a sense of excitement and her mind began to wander, planting ideas and more ideas of what could be in that box. She put the box into her pocket, and she smiled at herself at all the silly things that may be in that box and patted it.
Back at her desk, she peered out to his room and saw that he still wasn't in. She took out the box and admired it, wondering what may be inside. She traced her finger on the corners of the box and she placed it on her desk. On one instance she wanted to wait until she reached home to open it, then curiosity got the better of her and she wanted to open it immediately. She giggled at herself, feeling somewhat silly at the schoolgirl excitement. She loved getting little gifts like this, and its been a long time since she received one. She again wondered what it was, and held the box against her cheek, imagining him packing little bits of diamonds and gold, kissing each little piece as he placed it into the box. She found the idea immediately silly and she felt silly once again smiling to herself. She wondered for the umpteenth time what in the world he could have gotten her.
Unable to contain herself any longer, with trembling hands she opened it. A little red velvet box, lined with gold thread, lay inside the white cardboard box. She drew it out slowly holding her breath, wondering if it was really what she thought it was. Impossible! She almost didn't want to look at the contents as she lifted the velvety lid with trembling fingers.
She let out a gasp and nearly dropped the box as she covered her mouth in surprise at what lay in the box. She laid it down on her desk and stared at it as she took a deep breath. She suddenly felt cold.
Lying in the tiny box was a string of gold, intertwined with white surrounding a huge red ruby ensconced in diamonds that exploded in a flash of rainbow being next to the ruby. She gingerly took it out and looked at it, speechless. She put it on and looked at herself from her powder compact mirror; even in the tiny mirror, it was gorgeous. She looked up as she heard his room door open, and saw him entering his room and closing the door behind him.
He had just sat in his desk and was stacking the papers on his desk when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in!" he said, without looking up. He heard the door open, and quietly close. Then there was silence. Puzzled, he looked up.
She stood there, her hands behind her against the door, not saying a word. She looked at him, smiling. Her blouse was unbuttoned, save for the lowest, and pulled apart at the shoulders, exposing her chest. And, complementing the sparkling in her eyes, awash in a flaming glow in the center of her chest, was the ruby and diamonds he had gotten her.

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