The Nebulous Gift (an excerpt from a forthcoming short shory by Matt Amyx)

Barry walked the distance from his apartment to the apartment mailboxes in hopes that getting out would clear his head of the bad dream he’d just had. Being a Sunday, he knew there would be no mail, but he couldn’t think of another destination that wouldn’t just be a fruitless walk bearing him nothing but stupid exercise.

The weather that day was nice. Overcast skies and a cool breeze were exactly the kind of things that he’d loved about the spring. The way the grey clouds contrasted with the newly green leaves that made the newness of the season appeal to his more poetic side. Maybe a little bit longer walk would be nice and exactly what he needed, but out of sheer habit he walked up to his mailbox, inserted the key and turned.

Not expecting the box to be occupied, he was surprised to find a package inside. Posted to “Berry Fishman”, Barry rolled his eyes at the millionth time his name was incorrectly spelled this way and looked for the address of the sender. There was none. Whoever had sent it would have to wait to be revealed until he returned to his apartment and opened it up.

The walk back seemed to take an eternity as he wondered about the contents of the package. He cursed his inability to break with habit and not wait until he returned home to tear into the unexpected parcel. What could it be? He’d not ordered anything on the internet and he certainly had no reason to think that someone had just sent him a gift. His imagination ran wild and he began to bite his fingernails in nervous anxiety of the thought of all the random items that might be contained within. [...]

(((03))) (photo by .eyebex)