It was a box. Or possibly a crate - wooden sides with a bit of plastic on the side containing what I'd think was a packing slip. No visible marks otherwise. No 'fragile' (which my mind nearly always reads mentally as fra-jill-ay) or other stamped text. Just a decent sized box (crate?) sitting on the second step of the little concrete steps leading to my front door. I stare for a bit and then push it slightly with my foot. Slightly heavy but not bad. I haven't ordered anything lately so what was the deal?
I shrug and open my door. The sun is starting to set behind me and it's been a long day at work so I decide to figure it out inside. With a drink. People at work aren't the easiest to deal with and drinks often help. Relaxing with a drink, closing my eyes and temporarily imagining a fantasy world where I tell my bitchy coworkers exactly what I think of them rather than smiling woodenly and nodding my head. Feeling my heart race and cursing myself for wanting to just run from the lady in purchasing or whoever is yelling at me at the moment.
The box isn't as heavy as it looks so I drag it into the living room and set it down in front of my couch. I'm curious but tequila is calling my name so I leave it and put together a little sweet mixed drink in my small kitchen. The house I rent is perfect for me - a bedroom, small office, living room big enough for a small flat screen TV, couch and recliner and a kitchen big enough for a microwave. And stove. I guess. I even know how to turn the stove on and off and I call that an accomplishment. I recognize some people use them to cook food but that seems akin to black magic and I'd rather not deal with it. I try to tell myself that the pudge around my waist and general lack of definition is due to getting close to 30 (still 27, dammit!) and not all of the ramen noodles I eat. Or the drinking.
So, I take my drink, ice clinking in the glass, back to the couch. Sitting hunched over, I stare at the box but my mind wanders. It's the same every evening. Kicking myself for being a pussy. I know I should man up and deal with my coworkers better but hindsight is what it is. Easy for me to think of what I should have done but when I'm there and having to deal with people, I get a little mini panic attack. Fight or flight and I always back down. Working in the credit department and having to tell sales people why we can't sell to a particular customer is stressful. I can almost feel the sweat and shakes starting at just the memory. Such a stupid thing to get worked up about. I'm doing my freakin' job, making sure we don't sell to someone that's going to bail but I have to deal with pushy sales people rolling their eyes at me and giving me shit for it? Fuck. But the part that pisses me off the most is that I take it. Cowed. When all I'm doing is my job.
My drink is almost halfway gone already and I take another quick swig of it. I can feel my cheeks heating up and everything is slightly softer around the edges. Perfect. Just where I want to be. Fuck work. I lean forward, open the plastic pouch on the side of the box and pull out the packing slip. It's blank except for my full name at the type in simple typeface. Nothing else at all. I turn it around but the whole thing is completely blank other than my name. I'd wonder if it was a prank but who would go to this kind of effort? I don't have friends. I've lived in the town for a few years and never bothered making friends. Most of the ones I had growing up still live on the East Coast and have their own lives. And children. And whatever. I hardly even talk to them online.
My nearly empty drink goes on the end table next to my used, cheap couch and I lean forward to pull slightly on the top of the box. It's sturdy but a hard tug lifts it. A harder tug with my out-of-shape muscles and a loud creak makes the top give way. The top is off but I can't make anything out inside of the box. A large plastic bag and something brown. The bag looks like a garment bag from a dry cleaner. I reach my hand in and it's all soft. Fuck it. I grab and pull it out.
And then drop it again. A large wolf-like head stares up at me. It's not real. I can see that. It's close to being real but it's not. It's big. I know what wolves look like and this isn't it. And the head is connected to something.
Full disclosure time. The biggest reason I'm shocked is because I have a thing for werewolves. Were-animals. Furries aren't my thing. What are those? People that dress up in typically large plushy outfits almost like large stuffed animals. Nothing against them but it's never been my thing. They don't look real to me and that's what I want. Realism. That's what turns me on. So I see this head and that's what I see. Werewolf. A real, well-made werewolf head.
Now I do look around. I have werewolf porn on my computer. Mostly pictures, some stories and a few video clips. My kneejerk reaction is to wonder if someone is snooping on my computer and sent this as... what? Blackmail? When I calm down I realize how much that doesn't make sense. Why would they? Why pay money for something that looks that realistic and then send it to me? If they were going to make fun of me or make me feel bad, a letter or something would've done it.
Too many windows in here. I leave the lid but pick up the box and bring it to my bedroom, closing the door behind me. The two small windows are already closed so I close the door and take a minute to look around for the bogeyman. It's a stupid thing but it makes me relax. Only now I feel like checking the rest of the house, calling myself stupid the entire time. My hands are sweating and my heart is racing. Closets are empty, doors are locked and windows are closed. Nothing under the bed or in my cupboards. Back to my room and the box.