The Music Box

The Music Box

I rummaged around the box that grandma had given me. She had said that these were all things that she had wanted to pass on to her children, but she had no daughters. I was the obvious choice, the only female grandchild she had. Most of the stuff was boring. There was an old, musty dress with small holes in it. It was ugly and I made a silent vow to myself that if grandma wanted me to try it on it would get “lost”. A couple various trinkets were buried in between different items. I counted ten of these small treasures. There were five buttons, four small dolls, and a tiny black and white photograph of a dog.

           “So this is Lucky…” I smiled to myself thinking of all the stories grandma told me about her old dog. They were inseparable when he was alive. Carefully putting the photo down, something else caught my eye. It glinted in the low light of my room and seemed to have an almost ominous energy. The odd thing appeared to be a box of some sort. I frowned and reached out to grab it, but it burnt my hand. Hissing in pain, I studied it from afar worried it might harm me. Weird symbols were carved into the dark wood and odd splatters of red were everywhere. The box had something off about it, but, besides it burning me, I could not place what it was.  It just felt ominous like something was about to happen. I yelled for grandma, but got no response. Figuring she had stepped outside to water her garden, I shrugged and continued studying the strange object. Suddenly, grandpa burst into the room all smiles until he saw what I was looking at.

           “Don’t touch that, Marya! It’s evil… I never understood why my love wanted to keep that terrible thing!” Grandpa warned as he waited for me to get off the floor. He smiled slightly as I shut the box of stuff.

           “Why’s it evil, grandpa?” I asked. Obviously it looked kind of scary and had some stuff wrong with it, but it was just a box. Grandpa’s smile fell as I asked. He hurried me out of the room while avoiding the question. My pressing only led to weak responses about how he had mistaken it for something else. When we reached the dining room, he left me alone and went to talk to grandma. I heard a loud gasp come from the kitchen and knitted my brows. Why would grandpa not tell me about the box? Dinner seemed to last a century as all my attempts to ask about the box were met with silence or a change of subject. I gave up after a while and chose to remain silent.

           “Marya, you may be excused.” Grandma frowned at my silence, but did not say anything else. I got up, ran to my room, and grabbed the box. Bracing myself for intense heat after realizing what I did was idiotic, I shut my eyes fast and dropped the box. Oddly, the box did not seem to be hot this time. Instead, it was fairly cold. I picked up the box again and examined it. There was a little metal thing on the bottom of the box that I had not seen before. It definitely was not there when I looked at it before. The small piece of metal made the object look like a music box. I smiled at the realization that I had finally found out what this thing was. I started zoning out, but two sharp knocks at my door startled me from my complacency. In just the right amount of time, I threw the music box back in its hiding place and covered it up.

           “Marya, love! It’s time for bed, sweetheart!” Grandma called. I grinned up at her, worried she might figure out I had been observing the forbidden box. Grandma showed no signs of knowing which made me relax slightly.

           “Of course, grandma! I’ll be in bed in just a second!” Grandma smiled at my response and left the room. I quickly brushed my teeth and climbed into bed, eager to be left alone. Grandma came in for her first check. She asked if I was okay and if I needed anything. Second check, she told me to sleep. Third check, she quickly peeked in and left. I crept to the door and looked down the hall. It was empty. Smiling in relief, I turned back to my room. There would be no more checks from grandma tonight. I grabbed a flashlight and went over to uncover the music box. It was right where I left it, but the symbols seemed to shift before my eyes. I shook my head and they stopped moving, but I felt something watching me. Shifting my flashlight to the dark corners of the room, I shrugged. Just my imagination. I still could not shake the feeling of being watched though. Turning my attention back the music box, I ran my finger over the symbols. They felt so smooth that the action was almost hypnotic. I smiled as I stared at the box. Nothing bad ever comes from boxes, I thought as my hand brushed the lid. My free will seemed to disappear as my mind focused on one thing, hearing the music from the box. I am not sure how, but I knew it would be amazing. Stroking the lid of the box, one quick swipe opened it up. The inside was beautiful. Intricate carvings danced around and the centerpiece, a miniature sculpture of Pandora, was so detailed it looked like she was breathing. I smiled. Someone put a lot of detail into this beautiful object. My fingers wrapped around the metal piece to wind up the box, but it would not budge. A little bit more force revealed that it was just a bit rusty. I winded it up as much as I could before letting it go. The music was hauntingly beautiful. It was so addicting that I did not notice the shadows leaking from the box, grinning at their savior and then quickly spreading around the globe. Their only mission was to set the world on fire as I sat there, trapped like a fly in the web of the music.