"The Small Black Box" by Chiquitita A.

     I was walking around the neighborhood when I passed by a new antique store. Intrigued by it, I walked in and a tall man greeted me. As I walked around a small black box caught my eye. I picked up the box and was surprised by its heavy weight. I tried to open the box but it wouldn’t budge. 

   “Don’t bother trying to open it, I’ve tried too.” Said the tall man in a heavy Geordie accent. 

   “Why not?” I asked. “You can have it for free.” 

    I tried to ask him more question but he walked away and ignored me. Rude, I thought. I placed the box in my bag and left the store. When I got home, I positioned the box on my desk and stared at it. Why did he give it to me for free? I decided not to worry about it and went to sleep. The next morning, I went on with my daily routine and found myself staring at the box again. I picked it up and examined it. As I did so, I noticed a glowing red dot on the box. That’s weird, I thought as I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. I placed the box back in its place and went on with my day. Days passed, I haven’t picked up the box ever since I discovered the glowing red dot. I feel uneasy, as if someone was watching me. It became hard for me to sleep. Now, my nights are filled with tossing and turning. I had a conspiracy that the box was actually the cause of my sleepless nights but that’s just me talking crazy. Should I throw the box away? I thought to myself. More days passed and I became paranoid. 

     I threw the box away but nothing changed. I feel like I’m being watched every second of the day. I stopped going out, I only stayed in my room. I’m going crazy, I said to myself. I laid down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Suddenly, the lights went off and I heard the front door open, a voice said “Where are you, pet?” I recognized that voice, it was the tall man from the antique store. I panicked and tried to open my window so I can escape. The window wouldn’t open. I heard him walking down the hallway. Tears rolled down my face and my heart started to beat faster. I heard him laugh as he walked to me. 

   “Where do you think you’re going?” he said as he pushed me down. “You see that box right there?” I shook my head yes. “Did you know that it was a camera?” He said as he stooped down over me. “Surprised, aren’t you?” I tried to scream for help but nothing came out. “Sweet dreams.” He said with a daunting laugh. That’s when everything went black.