Morning all and happy new year. Are you ready for the first prompt of 2024? I thought you might be. So set those timers for fifteen minutes and let’s see where this year takes us.
Not sure what is in the package yet, but it is going to be life changing. Possibly horribly life changing, possibly good. I’ll have to figure out what’s in the box before I know the turn the story will take.
Monday, January 1st: The gift had no tag on it.
The gift had no tag on it. John shifted it around, wondering who it could be for and who could have left it. The wrapping was nicely done. All of the corners sharply and neatly tucked in with no excess paper and no jagged lines.
Every package he wrapped this year had some sort of deformity. Early in the holiday wrapping extravaganza he was careful, but still ended up with excess tape and lines not cut exactly straight. Later packages he trimmed less and just made thick folds with excess paper. He hated running short and risking exposing anything of the box underneath so he always did just a little bit extra.
This looked professionally wrapped. ‘Even the tape is lined up perfectly evenly along the edges.’
All the gifts had been given though. Everything he bought was handed out. No one looked around thinking something was missing. Now with the needles dry and brown, carpeting the tree skirt under the tree more than clothing the branches, this package was found.
John set it to the side and continued with his task. He unscrewed the tree stand from the trunk of the tree and carefully lifted it up. More dry needles fell which is why he not only left the tree skirt in place but made sure there was a drop cloth for the tree. Once the tree was on the drop cloth he bundled it up and took it outside. He set it on the back patio and returned to gather up as much of the fallen as possible.
There would be a few pin needles that would need to be vacuumed up, but he thought he did a pretty good job tidying. Once all the tree waste was in the back and the water bucket was emptied and left upside down to dry, He hauled the now unwanted tree towards the shed. The wood chipper was already waiting and this year’s Christmas tree was soon to become an extra layer of munch on the garden beds.
As he worked, John thought about that extra present and wondered who could have left it. The paper, in addition to being expertly wrapped was better quality than anyone used. Nancy had a stash of paper they all delved into for their wrapping. It was thin and covered with various stars and Christmas trees. The paper stash was a mishmash used for any gift wrapping and there was routinely at least one happy birthday package under the Christmas tree because the wrong paper was chosen.
‘Well not wrong I suppose,’ he thought. The paper was kept until all of the roll was gone. Smaller scarps were often left behind and used for smaller gifts. Sometimes bits were cobbled together. Nancy only added a new roll of paper when there was no chance of wrapping something with what they had on hand and usually those new rolls were only added when she picked them up on deep discount.
While it was a way to save money, the cheaper paper was simply paper with no real additions and after gifts were unwrapped it was fed into the fire they kept blazing throughout the day adding to the festive cheer and at least eliminating some waste while saving on the heating bill. It was one of the reasons they always got the cheap paper.
This was not cheap paper. It had some sort of metallic sheen that would make Carl hesitant about putting it in the fire. He would mutter something about chemicals in the air and set it aside. Nancy would then straighten it out and press it flat so it could be used to wrap a gift given to someone outside the house. The paper would look new when she finished trimming it and someone else would be tasked with disposal.
‘But who would have put it here?’
Ten til Midnight 