The Perfect Surprise

It came in the mail. In unremarkable wrapping, a small, unprepossessing slim box about the size of an envelope. Leah rarely got the mail, so she didn't know when she received it since she only checked her mailbox every two weeks to simply toss out the junk mail that had piled up. Leah also had ADHD, and when she put it on her kitchen counter, it was quickly forgotten.

It wasn't until later that week, when she was cleaning up before her boyfriend came over for the weekend, did she even remember it was there. Assuming it was the latest trick companies were doing to get people to open up their advertisements, she tossed it in the trash and went on with her life.

The following Monday, Leah received a package. Long, thin, basic white wrapping with her name and address but no return address. It was hand-delivered, and she had to sign for it. She looked at it curiously. She couldn't remember ordering anything. She was known for drunk ordering things off her Amazon wishlist as a treat to herself. Cringing, she quickly opened her phone and checked her orders on Amazon. Nothing. Then she checked her email to see if there were any confirmations of an order. Nope, nothing.

 "What could this be?" Leah said to herself.

Instead of playing Sherlock Holmes, she decided to open it. Curious and a little excited. Her boyfriend was a simple man, she loved him dearly, but she knew surprises and gifts were not his strong suit. But maybe he was upping his game, she thought as she opened it up to find that little box she threw away last week in the center of the long box nestled in the crumbled-up white paper.

"Ok, what the hell?" Leah said with a little shake of her voice. Picking up the box and looking at it, she could see stains from the leftover pizza sauce they had made the week before. 

She placed it back on the counter, this time not forgetting about it and instead texting her boyfriend.

Did you send me this box? Leah sent him a picture of the tube attached to the text.

A few moments later, as she was frowning at the box, she heard the familiar buzz of her phone with his response; No, what's in it?

I don't know, I haven't opened it yet. But it's the same box I threw away last week, which was in this big box. She texted back with a picture of the larger box.

Are you sure? I doubt anyone would go through your trash to get it and send it back to you. Maybe just open it. He said and quickly texted; Actually...Wait until I'm there, just in case.

Ok. She responded and took in a cleansing breath. So weird, right?!

She placed her phone back down and tried to finish up her work for the day. She couldn't focus on her projects, so she shut her laptop and called it quits. It would be two more hours before George came over. So she lost herself In cleaning and starting to cook their dinner. Every now and then, she would glance around at the box.

Who could've sent it to her? She thought. She texted a few of her friends, asking if they had sent her anything, and all of them said no. She was placing the enchiladas in the oven, and George finally arrived. He looked over at the box and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"You didn't open it?" He asked with excitement, and going to the counter, he bent to look closer at it.

"No, I didn't want to in case it was like a dead bug or poop from an ex or something." Leah leaned at the counter across from the box.

"What? Poop?" George said with a laugh.

"Yeah! You can send almost any animal feces to someone in the mail. I haven't done it!" Leah exclaimed when George raised his eyebrows.

"Ok, ok. Let's open it up and see." George said.

Leah had an uneasy feeling about this box. It just felt off to her. It almost looked like a small jewelry box. For some reason, all she could think was that one of her ex-partners was sending her a gift. And it would either be something to make her feel bad or just be rude. She didn't want to open something like that in front of George where he could read her reaction. 

George and Leah have been dating for a few months, and it was going well. Her best relationship ever. To her, she felt like the hammer was always about to drop. They say the most challenging relationship after several toxic ones is the first healthy one. She was living those words daily. Knowing that it could be nothing but junk mail, she couldn't stop the slow spreading of tension forming at the base of her neck.

Grabbing scissors and picking up the box, she slit the tape around the edge. Opening it, she could see George was getting even more excited. Maybe she was wrong, and he was playing a joke to give her a cute little gift. With that thought in her mind, she opened it to find a small card with a tiny button on it to the right of a few words that said: 

Press for your perfect life.

"What the heck?" Leah turned it over to see if there was anything else on it, like a coupon or add for laser hair removal. That is the type of ploy a beauty modification company might pull. But there was nothing on it and nothing else in the box.

Putting it down, George picked it up and did the exact same thing she did, looking all over for some writing or a company logo. Even checked the edges of the card, but nothing.

"Hmmm, this is weird. Maybe it plays a song or something with a company jingle." He said, putting it back down on the counter.

"I don't think I should press it," Leah said, stepping to the fridge to grab and pour them both some wine. 

"What if it's like one of those creepy sex trafficking AirTags, and it'll give my location to them?" Leah said, handing him the glass.

"Or maybe it triggers the next lotto numbers to be said over a recording. Or triggers HBO for free for the rest of your life." George said with a silly grin on his face.

That's why she loved him. Her pessimistic and alarmist brain always went to the negative or scary. He's always gone to the funny or the positive. He could tell when she was feeling nervous or anxious. He would very easily and quickly know how to lighten the mood and get her giggling. 

They play this game for a few more minutes, hypothesizing and daydreaming about the most ridiculous thing this button could potentially do. Drinking their way through half of the bottle, they were both laughing when the ding of the oven went off. 

"Enchiladas!" George exclaimed and got out plates and silverware to put on her hundred-dollar Ikea coffee table that served as her dining table. Living in New York City only afforded them a little space for things like a dining room table. But they had hopes and dreams of having that and so much more potential with each other.

Quickly forgetting about the button, they caught up on their weeks, ate the slightly dried chicken enchiladas, snuggled on the couch, and watched their latest show obsession. Leaving the dishes for the following day, they went to bed, made disgustingly cute love while laughing about the newest voice George could imitate, and fell asleep.

The following day George had to leave early to meet up with some friends in Brooklyn. She loved him but also loved quiet, slow mornings to herself. Leah laid in bed, scrolled through TikTok, got up, and made some coffee. And as the coffee was brewing, she looked at the button that was still sitting on the counter. She'd almost forgotten about it. 

She picked it up and read the words that promised her a perfect life if she just pushed the button. And with a laugh, she pushed it. Waiting quietly, she listened to the sounds of her apartment. The heater kicking on in her pre-war apartment, the sound of children running to the park outside, the honking of horns, and the siren of a cop car slowly driving past her street. Nothing else happened. 

Laughing again, she tossed the small card onto her counter and grabbed her cup of coffee. She heard her phone go off, notifying her of a text message in her bedroom. Assuming it was George letting her know he made it to Brooklyn safely, she picked it up with a smile. When she opened her messages, she saw a text from an unknown number. With some confusion, she opened it;

Thank you for your attention! Your Perfect life scenario has started now! Some things may be different. Some people may no longer be in your life. Some new people may appear. You may have a different job or more money in your bank account. Enjoy discovering new facets of your life! Everything that you have ever wanted your life to be begins today! Please don't worry. Everything is just as it should be! Enjoy your new life, and have a perfect day! [This is a no-reply number.]

"What the fuck?" Leah said and read it a few more times.

She put down her coffee and called George. 

"The number you are trying to reach is no longer in service…." Leah heard the dull tone of a woman say on the other end of her phone.

"No, this is silly." Leah tried George again, trying to laugh to herself, but the same voice answered on the first ring every time. 

She started to text George's friend but found his number wasn't in her phone. She swore that it had been before. Starting to freak out, she went to call her mom. She let out a grateful breath when the voice on the other end was actually her mother, and she could hear the dogs in the background howling for their breakfast. Before her mother could start on the day's tally of health concerns she and her father were going through, Leah gave her George's number and asked her to call it. Her mother said that the phone number must not be correct since it said it was no longer in service.

"Honey, are you ok? Who is George?" Her mother asked with that sweet, concerned tone all mothers have perfected.

"Can I call you back, mom? I need to check on something." Leah said and quickly hung up.

The text mentioned something about her bank account. She looked up her mobile Chase app, opened up her account, and sure enough, there were ten thousand dollars more than there usually was. Not a significant amount, enough to make her feel like she was dreaming, but sufficient to make her feel like something really was going on. 

Sitting on her couch, she checked her Instagram, she didn't post often, but she knew there was one picture of George and her on her social media platform. When she opened up her profile, she saw that the picture was there, but instead of the cheeky subject being about their night out as young new lovers, it said instead a half-drunk message about meeting a stranger at a bar and having a great time. 'Do your thing Instagram and help me find him.' With no comments or likes on the picture.

She went to her desk to see if anything had happened across the world news. When she opened up her laptop her login to her work email was the first thing she saw. But it was no longer the logo of the nonprofit she worked at. Instead, it was the logo for Meta. Leah was a designer and had big hopes of getting into the world of AI, especially in the meta-verse. But she was years from being even qualified to apply for a job like that. Out of curiosity, she typed in what she would've put as her password for her regular work login, and her inbox to Meta opened up. 

Quickly reading through the subject lines, it was numerous congratulations from people she didn't know talking about the promotion she had just gotten to Director of Creative platforms and AI. A role that she had been dreaming of for the past few years and was on her fifteen-year plan. Nowhere close to where her skillset or life was currently.

"This is too fucking weird," Leah said.

Her phone rang, scaring the shit out of her. Dropping it twice before she picked it up and answered. 

"George!" Leah exclaimed, hoping she couldn't get a hold of him because he had taken the trains and had no signal; seeing that she had called multiple times, he would've, of course, called her back.

"Leah? This is Cindy Browning. I know it's a Saturday but I just wanted to call and let you know that you got the apartment and you can move it on the first of the month. Congratulations, you are the newest owner of the penthouse apartment on Central Park West and 82nd St. I'll be over Monday to give you the keys and finish up any final paperwork as all the payments I've gone through. Congratulations Leah! Chat soon!" Cindy hung up before Leah could even respond.

With a dial tone buzzing and lazier she heard the keys on her door unlocked and saw the door push open. A man carrying coffee, and he was all smiles, walked in. He wasn't George. Running to her bedroom she grabbed the bat she kept at the foot of the bed and lunged at him ready to fight. Spilling the coffee with a yelp, the man blocked her bat swing and held it.

"Leah, baby! What the hell? Are you ok!?" The stranger exclaimed, looking at her wildly. 

"Who the fuck are you?!" Leah screamed, still holding onto the bat, about to tug it out of his grip. 

"Babe, did you wake up from a bad dream or something? It's ok, I'm here." He said, pulling on the bat to bring her into a hug. "It's me, honey, Steve. Damn, babe, you're shaking. Let's sit down."

Steve's hands felt foreign on her body as he guided her to sit on the couch. Though he was trying to soothe her, it did nothing more than cause her heart rate to jump. She could feel a panic attack starting. Apparently, he knew what that looked like because he went and grabbed her comfort blanket and her ice mask, which was her go-to routine when a panic attack was starting. But even that didn't stop the edges of her vision from blaring. She knew she was about to pass out, she looked up at this steve person. 

"It's ok, baby, I'll be here. If you have to pass out, don't fight it. Everything will be perfect." He said, smiling at her as she felt herself float away into blackness.

She woke with a jolt in her bed. It was still daylight, and she was alone in her apartment. Slowly she looked around the bedroom and everything was as it was before. After she pushed the button, nothing was different, but a stranger wasn't in her apartment. 

Before she could look for her phone she felt it buzzing on the bed next to her. Opening the message up, she cried with relief. It was George, he made it to Brooklyn safely. Taking deep breaths, she logically convinced herself it was a dream. She got out of bed and made herself some coffee. Though she still saw the button on her counter. With a vague curiosity, she opened her bank account and was grateful to see she was still broke as a joke. As the coffee brewed, she went to her laptop at her desk, opened it up, and saw she was still logged into her email at the nonprofit she worked at. She smiled and sighed with relief.

She called her mom to see how she was doing, and her mother asked about George. She smiled again with relief and had a friendly chat. Even if they did talk about the list of ailments her mother and father were dealing with this week. 

Sipping her coffee, she started her shower. She needed to shake off the rest of this bad dream. Waiting for her water to warm, she looked at her Instagram. She saw the photo was back with the correct subject she posted on their third-month anniversary. She smiled back at the faces in the picture, put her phone down, and got into the shower. She was planning the rest of her day and was excited to see George for dinner with their friends later in the evening.

As she was in the shower, her phone buzzed with a message. She didn't notice. But on the screen, the message popped up and said:

We noticed that the changes in your first Perfect Life Scenario caused more disruption than pleasure. We have put you on a second scenario closer to your current life with a slow trajectory into your perfect life. Please note that this is the only change that will be allowed. No new changes will be permitted. Your subscription only ends after your demise. We hope you enjoy this new scenario. Welcome to your perfect life! Have a Perfect day! [This is a no-reply message.]