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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Fairy Tales & Fantasy
- Subject: Fairy Tale / Folk Tale
- Published: 01/09/2022
“Remember, there is only one rule. One. Just don’t open the Box.”
Gerald looked at his Mother. She was serious. But then again, she almost always was. Like she had a secret she couldn’t share, but wanted to tell. He thought for sure she would tell him today. Because today Gerald turned eighteen. And when a Shaughnessy turned Eighteen…well, their life changed. The got to find out the secret to the Family’s good fortune for going on five hundred years.
Twenty five generations of incredible luck, success, and health. Even tho the whole family was tight lipped, close knit, and wary of strangers…word had gotten out several times: there is something odd about that family. There was even a Sixty Minutes Interview with Gerald’s Grandmother. She dodged every question of the Families Wealth, the Secret to their Success, and why they lived so long without any illness, accident, or disease.
“Good food, honorable work, a reason to get up in the morning, someone to love, and the occasional “hot toddy” with just a wee bit of the Gin to sweeten the day.” Is what she said as she winked with a twinkle in her eye towards the wrinkled old man interviewing her. And that was the last time the Family had ever come into the Public’s eye.
Until Gerald.
*****
"But Mom, I have a hundred thousand followers now. They have been tracking me since I was thirteen. I promised them I would tell them what the secret to our success was. Not now. I am not stupid. (Ha!) But when I am Eighteen you have to tell me why we are so lucky. Dad said that every Shaughnessy since the 1600’s over in Ireland has learned our secret on their Eighteenth Birthday. And when I know, I will tell the world!”
His Mother had a tear in her eye when she said:
“I hope you don’t Boyo. It would be a shame.”
(Gerald was fifteen when he had this conversation with his Mother…and it showed.)
Gerald was an Influencer now. Second on YouTube in both subscribers and earnings to a character who is only nine years old and makes millions recommending toys or something. Thousands were joining his followers on TikTok, Twitter…and even some “Old School Millenials” followed him on Instagram. All were excited as the countdown to his birthday crept closer to the actual day. On Gerald’s Eighteenth Birthday, he managed to crash all major Social Media Platforms…including FACEBOOK.
He would reveal the Secret…and so what if his family would be mad at him? After all, he had millions of followers, fancy cars, multiple homes, and he played with young woman’s minds and bodies like they were lego’s to be left in disarray when you got bored with them. He could live without family. They had no right to hold onto a secret that could help everyone. He would show them all.
*****
“That’s it? THAT’S THE FAMILY SECRET?! “
Gerald was flabbergasted. More than that he was confused and angry. A box? A lousy old wooden hand carved box, not even as big as a brick. THAT crummy thing was the Family Secret? No way.
His Dad and Mom, his Grandmother, Great Grandmother and Great Great Grandmother stood silently by. He knew they were judging him as childish, immature, and churlish. But Gerald did not care. He had waited Eighteen Years to know the Secret…and it was some crappy old hand carved box from like the fifteen hundreds.
He picked the box up. He shook it. He rattled it. He turned it upside down and shook it again. Nothing fell out. The lid never even opened. It was just a lousy box. Now Gerald was mad. His own Family had pranked him for eighteen years. The hell with them. The hell with all of them. Gerald was furious.
“I am going to take a couple pictures of this worthless box, and tell the world my Family is nothing but a bunch of scammers.”
It was his Father’s quiet voice that stopped Gerald. His Father rarely spoke. He once followed his father for a week, and put the condensed version of the video online. It got a million likes. In that entire week his Father had said only one sentence. One.
“You are going to follow me around for a week? Just to please people you don’t know, have never met, and don’t care about?”
Gerald had turned red, but edited out his profane response to his Father’s ignorance about just how important everything Gerald did was to the rest of the world. Millions turned in ever day to see if Gerald’s Father would finally speak. Bets were laid that cost people thousands, and in one unproven case…perhaps their life when they couldn’t pay the Bookie. The Comment section was filled with pseudo psychological jargon, as Gerald’s followers analyzed his Father’s mental health and well being. They couldn’t imagine not wanting to be seen, or heard, or liked. So Gerald’s Dad must be Mentally Ill, or hiding a hideous life choice. Even his Gender, Faith, and Marriage were called into question by folks he had never met or seen, by the millions of followers of his son Gerald.
His Father merely looked at him at the end of the week with a sad smile, patted his son lightly on the shoulder and turned away without a word. Gerald was more than a bit miffed. He was hoping for some epic blowout at the end of the week, maybe one good enough to track on Twitter for three or even four days. But nope. Nothing. A little part of Gerald sensed his Father was making a point of some kind…but what kind escaped his mind. So Gerald just stayed mad.
And so when his father said something, he did listen. And this time he could hear Iron in his Father’s word. Nobody but Family was present in the little basement room. The room where he was shown the box. No cameras, smartphones, or GoPro’s allowed. Just people. Family people. And the box.
“Son, all you have to do, to enjoy the good things in life. The things that matter. Love. Trust. Honor. Duty. Kindness. Health. Respect. Is to simply never look in the box.”
“What? WTF?!”
He saw that none of the Elder Shaughnessy’s were smiling. Especially after he had used the “F” bomb. He thought it was a sign that everyone older than him was out of touch. After all, it’s just a word.
His Father spoke again. The first time in Eighteen years Gerald had ever heard his Father repeat himself. He heard the words in stunned silence, but they didn’t sink in.
“Son, all you have to do, to enjoy the good things in life. The things that matter. Love. Trust. Honor. Duty. Kindness. Health. Respect. Is to simply never look in the box.”
Gerald was mad. Are they kidding? What a stupid rule. Five hundred years his family had been “lucky” and he wasn’t supposed to open a lousy box?
“I am going to open it. In fact, I am going upstairs and open it up in front of my community. “
Gerald’s Mother whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Gerald, I love you. You are my oldest child. No one here will stop you from opening the box. You have family, but your “community” is fickle. Not family. “
“You mean I can open the box and you won’t stop me?”
You would think the way everyone who had ever known Gerald all his Life, his family, that the way they looked at him would have stopped him. It did not. They looked at him the way someone being washed away in a flood must feel they are looked at. A look filled with pity, compassion, and the certain knowledge of what was to happen, and helpless to stop it from happening. It wasn’t a pathetic enough look. Gerald ran to his room to announce he would open the box in exactly ten minutes. He even put a timer on his Social Media.
Downstairs in the basement his mother cried softly into the arms of her mother and husband. Everyone else joined in. No one spoke except his Great Grandmother who only said:
“Poor child.”
*****
Ten minutes was up. Gerald opened the box with a screw driver. It was empty. Nothing, not even a note was inside. He shoed it from every angle with his Go Pro taped to his head so his hands would be free to turn the box over and over. Every angle showed the same thing. The Box was empty. Social Media erupted.
“Fake! Phony! Charlatan. Poser! The comments section was turned off on YouTube, FACEBOOK closed his Account. Twitter banned him for Life. Tik Tok was filled with ten second fake “openings” of the Box. For two weeks Tik Tok was flooded with videos of people opening boxes and having either nothing come out…or for some kind of feces to be in the box. Camel dung being the most popular. “
Gerald’s lawyer called. The Bank had foreclosed on all Gerald’s properties. His Favorite girl- Glynda, who had stood by him while he built his Empire on Social Media, ran away with his best friend. She took most of his money along too. His lawyer called again. So many lawsuits were coming in that Gerald was going to have to see everything he had just to try and not go to jail. The second week was worse.
Gerald had an Anxiety Attack, but the Press had a field day saying he was faking it, just like he faked the crappy box holding a centuries old secret. He stopped eating. His health failed. At just Eighteen years of age. Just sixteen days after his birthday…he had a stroke. At eighteen. The whole family gathered around his bedside.
At the funeral, only his Father spoke:
“All he had to do, was not open the box.”
Twitter and Certain News Outlets showed Gerald’s Coffin then switched to videos, and twitter feeds of merchandise being sold in record numbers. The T-shirts sold out in minutes. The T shirts read:
“Just don’t open the box.”
A picture of Gerald was superimposed on the coffin lid.
"just don't open the box."(Kevin Hughes)
“Remember, there is only one rule. One. Just don’t open the Box.”
Gerald looked at his Mother. She was serious. But then again, she almost always was. Like she had a secret she couldn’t share, but wanted to tell. He thought for sure she would tell him today. Because today Gerald turned eighteen. And when a Shaughnessy turned Eighteen…well, their life changed. The got to find out the secret to the Family’s good fortune for going on five hundred years.
Twenty five generations of incredible luck, success, and health. Even tho the whole family was tight lipped, close knit, and wary of strangers…word had gotten out several times: there is something odd about that family. There was even a Sixty Minutes Interview with Gerald’s Grandmother. She dodged every question of the Families Wealth, the Secret to their Success, and why they lived so long without any illness, accident, or disease.
“Good food, honorable work, a reason to get up in the morning, someone to love, and the occasional “hot toddy” with just a wee bit of the Gin to sweeten the day.” Is what she said as she winked with a twinkle in her eye towards the wrinkled old man interviewing her. And that was the last time the Family had ever come into the Public’s eye.
Until Gerald.
*****
"But Mom, I have a hundred thousand followers now. They have been tracking me since I was thirteen. I promised them I would tell them what the secret to our success was. Not now. I am not stupid. (Ha!) But when I am Eighteen you have to tell me why we are so lucky. Dad said that every Shaughnessy since the 1600’s over in Ireland has learned our secret on their Eighteenth Birthday. And when I know, I will tell the world!”
His Mother had a tear in her eye when she said:
“I hope you don’t Boyo. It would be a shame.”
(Gerald was fifteen when he had this conversation with his Mother…and it showed.)
Gerald was an Influencer now. Second on YouTube in both subscribers and earnings to a character who is only nine years old and makes millions recommending toys or something. Thousands were joining his followers on TikTok, Twitter…and even some “Old School Millenials” followed him on Instagram. All were excited as the countdown to his birthday crept closer to the actual day. On Gerald’s Eighteenth Birthday, he managed to crash all major Social Media Platforms…including FACEBOOK.
He would reveal the Secret…and so what if his family would be mad at him? After all, he had millions of followers, fancy cars, multiple homes, and he played with young woman’s minds and bodies like they were lego’s to be left in disarray when you got bored with them. He could live without family. They had no right to hold onto a secret that could help everyone. He would show them all.
*****
“That’s it? THAT’S THE FAMILY SECRET?! “
Gerald was flabbergasted. More than that he was confused and angry. A box? A lousy old wooden hand carved box, not even as big as a brick. THAT crummy thing was the Family Secret? No way.
His Dad and Mom, his Grandmother, Great Grandmother and Great Great Grandmother stood silently by. He knew they were judging him as childish, immature, and churlish. But Gerald did not care. He had waited Eighteen Years to know the Secret…and it was some crappy old hand carved box from like the fifteen hundreds.
He picked the box up. He shook it. He rattled it. He turned it upside down and shook it again. Nothing fell out. The lid never even opened. It was just a lousy box. Now Gerald was mad. His own Family had pranked him for eighteen years. The hell with them. The hell with all of them. Gerald was furious.
“I am going to take a couple pictures of this worthless box, and tell the world my Family is nothing but a bunch of scammers.”
It was his Father’s quiet voice that stopped Gerald. His Father rarely spoke. He once followed his father for a week, and put the condensed version of the video online. It got a million likes. In that entire week his Father had said only one sentence. One.
“You are going to follow me around for a week? Just to please people you don’t know, have never met, and don’t care about?”
Gerald had turned red, but edited out his profane response to his Father’s ignorance about just how important everything Gerald did was to the rest of the world. Millions turned in ever day to see if Gerald’s Father would finally speak. Bets were laid that cost people thousands, and in one unproven case…perhaps their life when they couldn’t pay the Bookie. The Comment section was filled with pseudo psychological jargon, as Gerald’s followers analyzed his Father’s mental health and well being. They couldn’t imagine not wanting to be seen, or heard, or liked. So Gerald’s Dad must be Mentally Ill, or hiding a hideous life choice. Even his Gender, Faith, and Marriage were called into question by folks he had never met or seen, by the millions of followers of his son Gerald.
His Father merely looked at him at the end of the week with a sad smile, patted his son lightly on the shoulder and turned away without a word. Gerald was more than a bit miffed. He was hoping for some epic blowout at the end of the week, maybe one good enough to track on Twitter for three or even four days. But nope. Nothing. A little part of Gerald sensed his Father was making a point of some kind…but what kind escaped his mind. So Gerald just stayed mad.
And so when his father said something, he did listen. And this time he could hear Iron in his Father’s word. Nobody but Family was present in the little basement room. The room where he was shown the box. No cameras, smartphones, or GoPro’s allowed. Just people. Family people. And the box.
“Son, all you have to do, to enjoy the good things in life. The things that matter. Love. Trust. Honor. Duty. Kindness. Health. Respect. Is to simply never look in the box.”
“What? WTF?!”
He saw that none of the Elder Shaughnessy’s were smiling. Especially after he had used the “F” bomb. He thought it was a sign that everyone older than him was out of touch. After all, it’s just a word.
His Father spoke again. The first time in Eighteen years Gerald had ever heard his Father repeat himself. He heard the words in stunned silence, but they didn’t sink in.
“Son, all you have to do, to enjoy the good things in life. The things that matter. Love. Trust. Honor. Duty. Kindness. Health. Respect. Is to simply never look in the box.”
Gerald was mad. Are they kidding? What a stupid rule. Five hundred years his family had been “lucky” and he wasn’t supposed to open a lousy box?
“I am going to open it. In fact, I am going upstairs and open it up in front of my community. “
Gerald’s Mother whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Gerald, I love you. You are my oldest child. No one here will stop you from opening the box. You have family, but your “community” is fickle. Not family. “
“You mean I can open the box and you won’t stop me?”
You would think the way everyone who had ever known Gerald all his Life, his family, that the way they looked at him would have stopped him. It did not. They looked at him the way someone being washed away in a flood must feel they are looked at. A look filled with pity, compassion, and the certain knowledge of what was to happen, and helpless to stop it from happening. It wasn’t a pathetic enough look. Gerald ran to his room to announce he would open the box in exactly ten minutes. He even put a timer on his Social Media.
Downstairs in the basement his mother cried softly into the arms of her mother and husband. Everyone else joined in. No one spoke except his Great Grandmother who only said:
“Poor child.”
*****
Ten minutes was up. Gerald opened the box with a screw driver. It was empty. Nothing, not even a note was inside. He shoed it from every angle with his Go Pro taped to his head so his hands would be free to turn the box over and over. Every angle showed the same thing. The Box was empty. Social Media erupted.
“Fake! Phony! Charlatan. Poser! The comments section was turned off on YouTube, FACEBOOK closed his Account. Twitter banned him for Life. Tik Tok was filled with ten second fake “openings” of the Box. For two weeks Tik Tok was flooded with videos of people opening boxes and having either nothing come out…or for some kind of feces to be in the box. Camel dung being the most popular. “
Gerald’s lawyer called. The Bank had foreclosed on all Gerald’s properties. His Favorite girl- Glynda, who had stood by him while he built his Empire on Social Media, ran away with his best friend. She took most of his money along too. His lawyer called again. So many lawsuits were coming in that Gerald was going to have to see everything he had just to try and not go to jail. The second week was worse.
Gerald had an Anxiety Attack, but the Press had a field day saying he was faking it, just like he faked the crappy box holding a centuries old secret. He stopped eating. His health failed. At just Eighteen years of age. Just sixteen days after his birthday…he had a stroke. At eighteen. The whole family gathered around his bedside.
At the funeral, only his Father spoke:
“All he had to do, was not open the box.”
Twitter and Certain News Outlets showed Gerald’s Coffin then switched to videos, and twitter feeds of merchandise being sold in record numbers. The T-shirts sold out in minutes. The T shirts read:
“Just don’t open the box.”
A picture of Gerald was superimposed on the coffin lid.
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Kevin Hughes
01/10/2022Hey Gail,
If I ever get an old Irish Box from centuries ago, I shall regift it. LOL Thanks for the kind words.
Smiles, Kevin
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Lillian Kazmierczak
01/09/2022That was really good Kevin. All he had to do was leave the box shut...it shouldn't have been that hard. Some people! You are getting quite good with this flash fiction!
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Kevin Hughes
01/10/2022Thanks Lillian, I like Flash Fiction and someday want to get some of them down to just a single paragraph! Have a great day and thanks for the kind words.
Smiles, Kevin
COMMENTS (2)