"So, what's in it?" Alex dropped to his haunches and reached to lift the flap of the cardboard box. He pulled, then realized that it was still taped shut.
"I don't know." Avery raised his shoulders in a shrug. His arms hung still, almost as if in fear, at his side.
"You don't know? Why'd you bring me over here, then? What if it's something stupid, like old crafts gone badly from someone's kindergarten days, or something?" His cousin didn't look impressed.
Avery's gaze shifted to the box again and he drew a breath. "It's not. There have been some... other things I've found up here in the attic, and... this is something serious."
Alex looked at him with a skeptical glaze in his eyes, but Avery didn't look up as he got to his knees and slit the tape. Both were still a minute, wishing the other would be the one to move first and open it. Finally, Alex sighed and mumbled something to the extent of, "How bad can it be?" He flung open the flaps and the boys stared down at the contents.
For a moment, nothing would have compelled them to touch anything inside. But neither were they ready to turn away.
"It's..." Alex began to state the obvious, but decided to ask something more important. "But why?" He lifted his gaze from the box for the first time since it had been opened and stared at the boy that had brought him up there.
Avery remained silent for a few moments more, gathering the right words to sum up the picture. When he spoke, he whispered. "Because someone didn't want Margaret's family to remember her. But they didn't want to remember the times she wasn't theirs, either. And most important, they didn't want her to remember."
Hey, guys! I used the picture prompt, and it's 301 words. I won 2nd place last week! I know this is a little vague, so sorry. It's a continuation of the stories about Margaret Johnson I wrote: this one, and Forgetting. Hope you all have a lovely week! And if you want to join the Monday's Minutes Challenge, go here!
- Maddie
Ooh! Chills. Good job, Mads.
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