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ELIYAH ZACHERY - PANDORA'S BOX

5/15/2017

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Eliyah Zachery is currently studying for creative writing in Orlando, FL. For the last six years, he worked as a Battle Management Operator in the United States Air Force. You can follow him on Twitter at @ZacheryEliyah.


                                          Pandora’s Box

 
               I sat there, staring at the box that sat on the table in front of me. The box stared back at me, almost begging me to open it, and unleash whatever is inside of it upon the world. I received this strange gold box about a week ago with a note that read if I valued my sanity to never open Pandora. Each day I pass the box and it seemed to goad me into opening it, and each day was a little harder for me to refuse it. I even heard voices in my sleep about the box. It was to the point where I either needed to get rid of it, or I would have gone insane from my own curiosity. I sat there, contemplating what I should do with the box as it stared me down with such intensity that I turned away from it just so I didn’t have to look at it. 
           “Come on, sweetie. You know you want to open me up,” a lady’s voice said.  I saw a pair of slender arms wrap themselves loosely around me, almost as if it were trying to cuddle with me.
          Last I checked, I was the only one in the house. I could only shake my head, “Now I’m seeing things along with the voices? I must be going crazy now.” I turned around to look back at the box only to see a young woman wearing a red cocktail dress. Her long slender legs crossed over one another as she stared at me with her icy blue eyes, her lips coated in a blood red which stood out from her somewhat pale skin.
           The woman removed her arms from around me and leaned back as she spoke, “What’s wrong, baby? Don’t you want me?” She leaned forward making no effort to hold onto the front of her dress that hung loosely from her shoulders. “Don’t you want to try me out even once?”
           I turned away, trying desperately to avoid looking inside the opening of her dress. “Now why would I want to do that?” I said. I knew I was lying. I wanted to open Pandora up so badly that I could not stop thinking about it, but I knew that if I did that, I could kiss my sanity goodbye.
           The woman placed my chin in her hand, effectively turning me around to look into her eyes. She stared at me as if she were trying to find my soul. A small, yet seductive smile crept onto her face. “Oh come on. Do you really believe that?” She leaned towards my ear. “I know you want me. You want me real bad, don’t you? I can see your hands shaking."
         Damn! She had me there. My hands were shaking so badly that I had to hold them together for them to stop. Even though she was right I still had to fight the desire. Who knew if she bring destruction like the legends said, or worse if that is possible.
           As if she answered that question, she said, “I could give you anything you want,” she leaned into my ear. “Anything.”
           Whoever said that the word anything was a magic word had to be some sort of prophet. I thought about everything I ever wanted. The money… the power… I could have it all. Wait, why was I even contemplating this in the first place? Before I could answer, I was already holding Pandora on my lap.
        She sat, cross-legged still, across my lap. She caressed my face as one of the straps from her dress fell from her shoulder. She kept her eyes trained on mine, not even bothering to adjust the strap back onto her shoulder. “Come on, baby. Open me up. I’m all yours.” She wrapped her arms around me, leaning in like she wanted to kiss me.
          A scent mixture of honey, cookies and roses made its way into my nostrils. Now I know I have lost my mind if I was smelling Pandora. I looked into her eyes, officially hypnotized by them at this point. It took everything I had just to keep from opening Pandora. It didn’t help that I was being goaded on by her.
        She simply smiled at me waiting for me to open her up. “Come on, babe. I’m waiting for you.” She sat there, staring into my eyes waiting for me to make a move on her. Her eyes begged me to open her.
           Before I knew it, I had stood up from my seat, and I had placed Pandora back on the table. I uncrossed her legs, keeping my hands on her calves. She moaned in satisfaction, as I leaned in closer to her.
        She leaned back, keeping her eyes locked with mine. She licked her lips, her smile still etched on her face. “Do it,” she said. She made a sharp inhale as I placed my hands in between her legs. “Yes. More,” she said. When I finally opened Pandora, she let out a squeal of satisfaction as everything went white.
          When my vision came back, the lady known as Pandora had disappeared. I looked around only to notice that the box had disappeared as well. I thought everything had went back to normal. I wondered if anything had changed inside me, or with the world for that matter. I peered out a nearby window. Armageddon has not happened yet, so we are good there. So, what did? I decided that I had worried all this time for nothing… until I passed by a mirror. I noticed something a little different about me. Mainly my eyes… my icy blue eyes. Then the voice returned.
          “Well done, baby,” she said. “Now let me grant you all of your desires.
​
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