Jacob walks quickly along the sunlit sidewalk with both hands in the pockets of his oversized black hoodie. His shaggy brown hair limits his peripheral vision, and his gaze is low, tracking the other pedestrians around him by their legs and feet. He gives ample space to passerby and shares the sidewalk with a courteous, but silent and avoidant manner. In his right pocket, he grips a slip of paper.
When he arrives at his destination, he pushes through the door with his shoulder and makes his way into the short lineup leading to the front desk. He pulls his phone from his pocket as he waits. Tapping and scrolling, he never lifts his head despite flowing patiently with the queue.
Minutes later, at the front of the line, Jacob is greeted by a middle-aged woman.
"Hi there. How can I help you?"
He smiles politely, briefly makes eye contact, and hands her the package slip from his pocket.
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's not here yet." She points at some text on the paper. "You see, it says here that your package will be available after 1pm today."
"Oh. Okay," says Jacob as he turns to leave.
"Shouldn't be long," she assures him.
Sitting on a shaded park bench nearby, Jacob kills time again on his phone. For months, he's been learning Japanese with the help of a language app. The octopus mascot with the monocle always amuses him. He flicks his head habitually to move hair out of the way when a glint of light catches his eye.
It came from a bronze statue in the centre of the parkette. As he only ever comes to this part of town to pick up the odd package at the post office, Jacob had never noticed it before.
The subject is a young woman. She stands barefoot in a silky dress holding a wide, shallow bowl in front of her. It functions as a bird bath, and a small, light brown sparrow flits about in the water. The woman's hair is tied in a long braid that hangs over her shoulder, and she looks down lovingly at the miniature scene before her.
Jacob is similarly transfixed. Her bronze form glows warmly under the midday sun, and she inhabits the green space, serene and peaceful, like a woodland fairy. He squints to admire the smoothness of her skin, the flowing weightlessness of her dress, and the quiet majesty of her form.
When a mother crosses between them, dragging a screaming child, the spell is broken. Jacob returns to his phone and checks the time.
Back at the post office, Jacob again reaches the front desk and holds out the package slip a second time.
"Welcome back," says the service clerk, scanning the barcode on the paper. "Can I see your ID?"
He complies.
"Okay, I'll be right back."
When she emerges from the back room holding an 18-inch box, Jacob's face lights up.
"Here you go, sir," says the woman. "Have a nice day."
"Thanks. You too," says Jacob before turning to leave, still staring down at the package.
Though excited to get home, with the box under his arm, Jacob slows his pace as he passes the parkette to get another look at the bronze statue. There she stands, as before, bathed in sunlight. His eyes drift down to get a look at the shape of her hips peeking from behind the sides of the bowl she holds. Just as his eyes begin to trace those hard curves, he bumps into a man that had stopped to drop his coffee cup into a trash bin.
"Oh! God, sorry. Sorry, I'm sorry," Jacob blurts out. He lowers his head and hurries away.
Walking through his front door, Jacob listens for signs of his roommate. He looks down at the mat by the door to see that Noah's shoes aren't there. He smiles to himself and kicks his own shoes off, then rushes through his bedroom door and closes it behind him. When he locks it, he notes the erection growing in his jeans.
Giddy, Jacob places the package on his bed, cuts the packing tape with his keys, pulls open the flaps, and peers inside.
A pool of packing peanuts fills the box. Jacob carefully wiggles his fingers into it until he can confidently grasp the large PVC figure buried within, and gently pulls it out.
"Yes," he whispers to himself, as he gently removes additional packing materials from the figure, "she's perfect."
He sets the figure on his large computer desk and sits in his leather gaming chair to admire it. She's twelve inches tall with porcelain white skin. Her large eyes and joyful grin fill her thin face, leaving only a small spot for her miniscule and pointed nose. Sky blue hair cascades down from her head, and swirls around her petite body. She wears a tight white blouse and a short, pleated black skirt that blooms behind her as she leans forward in a dynamic pose. The blouse is open at the top, revealing her firm breasts barely supported by a tiny black bra.
Jacob's chair squeaks as he leans back and unzips his pants.