Nathan Xavier

April 11, 2020 5:00 PM

Prompt 6 - A dusty box by Nathan Xavier

6). A student finds a dusty box in a dark corner of the dormitory. Describe what it looks like and the investigation that follows.

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Valentine Duell

April 11, 2020 9:10 PM

What have we here? by Valentine Duell

Valentine almost didn't notice it. She had just finished unpacking her luggage as she moved into her new dorm room. This was going to be her new home, and it should be just right. It was her first real, extended time away from her parents, and she was quite nervous.

The strange box was in a dark corner of her new closet. She hadn't really seen it, she had found it when her luggage wouldn't go the whole way back into the closet's corner. It was the size of a jewelry box, and covered in dust. Had it belonged to the girl who had lived here before her? Val wondered who that girl had been. The amount of dust hunted that the box had been here longer than that though.

She took a breath and blew the dust from it, coughing as the dust swirled about her. It was made of a dark wood and weighed about a pound. Curious, the first-year brought it over to the light to get a better look. Her fingers traced over the delicate carvings in the lid and sides of the box. The carvings were leaves and vines, growing all over the surface.

There was a definite line separating the lid from the rest of the box. However, there was also a small keyhole on one side. This, Val assumed, is why the box refused to open when she gently tugged at the lid. Perhaps the key lay in her closet as well, she went back to investigate. Who's was it, and why was it left behind? A few moments searching the closet floor turned up a small, glimmering key. She smiled as she gazed at the box and then spoke alound, "Now what would Pandora do?"
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