My Husband Sent Me A Christmas Gift From Dubai. The Office Janitor Saw The Ribbon And Told Me Not To Open It. She Might Have Just Saved My Life.
The Green Fire
The conviction in the weary woman’s eyes shattered my last shred of composure. I nodded, gesturing for her to follow me to my car. We drove out of the downtown loop, the car gliding through the empty night streets heading towards the industrial outskirts of the city, to a place with deserted canal banks where few people ever went.
The silence in the car was thick, broken only by the hum of the engine and the heavy breathing of two women carrying an unspoken, amorphous fear. We stopped at a desolate stretch of the Chicago River, where weeds grew rampant and the dim yellow light of a lone street lamp cast a sickly glow on the black, still water. The river wind whipped against our faces, cold and biting, carrying the pungent smell of mud and refuse.
I held the gift box, feeling as if I were holding a ticking time bomb, wanting to hurl it away yet morbidly curious about what was inside. Zola stood beside me, shivering in her thin jacket. She urged me on, “Throw it, Miss! Throw it in the river! Don’t worry about the gift. Your life is what’s important.”
I bit my lip and with all my strength swung my arms and threw the box as far as I could. It traced an arc through the air before landing with a loud splash in the dark water, sending up a spray that shattered the night’s silence.
Zola and I held our breath, watching. One second, two seconds, three seconds passed. The water’s surface was calm; nothing happened. I turned to Zola, about to chide her for being overly anxious, when a horrifying spectacle unfolded before my very eyes.
From the spot where the box had sunk, the water began to bubble furiously as if it were boiling. A thin white smoke rose, carrying the suffocating smell of bitter almonds that hit our noses even from dozens of feet away. A deep, muffled pop echoed from beneath the river, and then a bizarre blue-green flame erupted violently on the water’s surface. Burning like a willow-the-wisp, incinerating what was left of the box in an instant.
My legs went weak and I collapsed onto the cold concrete, my eyes wide, staring at the ghoulish fire dancing on the water. If… if I had opened that box in my sealed living room… if I had eagerly cut that ribbon… I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now. I would have been burned to death or suffocated by that deadly almond scent, and no one would have ever known.
A Call from the Killer
Just then, the phone in my coat pocket buzzed violently, shattering the deadly quiet. I shakily pulled it out. The screen lit up with the beloved name I had been longing to see: My Love. It was a video call.
Zola looked at me, her eyes burning with a mixture of hatred and grief. She nodded, signaling for me to answer. I used both hands to hold the phone steady and swiped to accept the call.
Caspian’s handsome, scholarly face appeared. He was sitting in a luxurious room with a fireplace roaring behind him. The smile on his face was as bright and warm as the morning sun. He waved at me, “Happy New Year, my love! Did you get the gift? Have you opened it yet? Were you surprised?”
Looking at that smile, hearing that sweet voice, I felt an overwhelming wave of nausea. The man I had loved and trusted for so many years, the man I was always so proud to tell everyone about, now seemed so foreign, so terrifying. I forced myself to swallow the bitter lump in my throat and mustered the most twisted fake smile of my entire life.
“I got it, honey. The box is so beautiful. I haven’t had the heart to open it yet. I’ll wait until I get home.”
A flicker of disappointment crossed Caspian’s face, a glint of coldness in his eyes that vanished as quickly as it appeared. He maintained his caring smile, “Okay, you can open it when you get home then. Just be sure to call me. I want to see your expression when you see the surprise inside.”
I quickly nodded and ended the call, unable to endure another second of his repulsive hypocrisy. I turned and threw my arms around Zola, tears streaming down my face. I knew from this moment on my life had taken a sharp turn onto a completely different path, one that was dark and fraught with peril.
After the brief video call with Caspian, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. My stomach clenched violently, and I vomited right there on the windswept riverbank. Zola rushed to my side. Her rough hand patted my back gently, a comforting gesture from an elder that I hadn’t received in a very long time. She said nothing, just silently handed me a bottle of water she had brought with her.
