Nothing is ever free... is it?
It had been a quiet morning. June had been able to get up and make her husband's breakfast before the baby woke. Her husband was working a lot of hours and needed all the rest he could get. After all, working two jobs and going to school was a lot to expect of anybody. June loved her husband and knew that he loved them too. They didn’t have much, but they were a happy family. She took in sewing whenever she could, to help out making ends meet.
While June was working quietly at the kitchen sink, just finishing up the breakfast dishes, a knock at the door startled her - a deep sense of foreboding washed over her and she just knew it had to do with Bobby Joe.
Putting away the dish she had been drying, she approached the door. Whoever had been knocking stood silently on the stoop, patiently waiting for someone to answer.
June opened the door a crack and peeked out. At the door, standing perfectly still, hat in hand, a slight smile on a most handsome face, stood a man. He was dressed in an expensive suit and topcoat. He was young, too young to afford such things, thought June. He just stood there, smiling and waiting for June to open the door all the way and invite him in. On the stoop beside him, covered by a cloth, was a square shape. June opened the door and invited him in. Although she would never have done it for anyone else.
The man picked up the box off the stoop and carried it gently into the kitchen. He looked around for a place to set it and then placed it in the middle of the kitchen table. He left it covered.
"M.Mm..may I help you?" stammered June as she glanced from the shape on the table to the man to the floor. Her eyes wanted to avoid looking at him, but she couldn't seem to keep her eyes off the shape.
"No, June." He answered in a deep bass voice, seemingly deep enough to rattle the china, if they had any. "I am here to help you." He whispered, looking amused. June jerked her eyes up and found them staring into a deep pool of sea green. How did he know her name? Who was he? Why did I let him in? she thought.
"I don't understand. Who are you?" she asked, getting her courage up. He sat down in Bobby Joe's chair and looked at the shape sitting in the center of the table.
"I am the giver of gifts." he said. "You, June Ellen, have been chosen to be offered this unique gift. If you decide to accept it, it will cost you nothing. There is no fee or expense on your part, none at all, nothing."
June had just let in a very smooth-talking salesman. Damn, she thought, I just can't seem to recognize those guys. She was about ready to throw him out, no matter how good looking he was or how expensive his clothes were when he looked up and caught her eyes in his.
"Before you throw me out, hear my offer. You just might like it. And like I said, there is absolutely no cost to you, if you decide to keep it." he whispered.
June's eyes pulled away from his and glanced at the shape. What could it be, she wondered. Maybe I could just listen, after all, I'm not paying for it she thought. Without a sound he stood and placed his hand on the cloth covering the top of the shape. "I'm going to uncover the gift now," he said. "if you decide you might want the gift, you must listen and agree to one rule. This thing will not cost you any money at all. Do you now agree to listen to the entire rule?" he asked. June nodded once, barely moving her head, and not moving her eyes from the shape.
Slowly, temptingly, he raised the cloth until June could see that the shape was a box of some type. A clear box you could see through. After he had raised the cover over the box, the cover disappeared into his pocket. June never noticed. She sat transfixed at the box, or, more correctly, what was in it.
On the kitchen table sat a square, clear glass box. It was about twelve inches square, with a strange type of hinged top on it. No latch was visible. Inside the box was money... lots and lots of money. The box was stuffed with ten, twenty, and hundred dollar bills.
"There must be over ten thousand dollars in there." June said. "How can this 'gift' not cost anything? Maybe what you want I can't give you."
"But you haven't heard the rule yet." he laughed. " Wait, it's easy. The rule involves a stranger. Someone completely unknown to you. Whatever happens to that stranger, you get to keep the money. And - That's not all." He paused, letting that much sink in. "Let me explain completely."
*****
"You, June Ellen, have been chosen to be offered this very special gift, one of a kind actually. No other person in the world is being offered this gift right now. Only you. And you have the right of refusal. If, after hearing the rule, you wish not to accept this most generous gift, I will simply take it away. Forever."
"You see, June Ellen, this is no ordinary box. You were a little off in your estimate. It contains one hundred, twenty-seven thousand and fourteen dollars. And, this is one of the things that make it so special for people that are granted this opportunity, it will always contain exactly the same amount, no matter how much is taken from it!"
*****
June wasn't sure she understood. The look of confusion on her face must have been obvious, for he went on to explain "Yes, June. It never empties. This offer is for you and no one else. Only you can accept the rule. Only you can open the box. Only you can remove the money, as little or as much as you like."
He stood there, waiting for a response. June didn't have a response. She was in shock. She had never seen so much money in her life. Wow, with this maybe Bobby Joe wouldn't have to work two jobs, maybe we could move and Bobby Joe could go to school full time, like he always wanted, she thought. She was trembling and had to grip the back of a chair to stay still. She glanced up at the man and realized he had never given his name. "The rule," she whispered, "what is the rule you mentioned?"
"Ah, the rule. You are interested enough to want to hear it, are you? Well, it's a simple rule, and as I stated earlier, it involves a total stranger. It will cost you no money, and even if it did, you would have enough to pay for it a thousand times over." he laughed. "No, the rule cost no money." He became serious. His face hard and somber, eyes glassy, reflecting the box and it's contents.
"What's the rule?" June asked again.
"The rule," he said slowly, pausing between words to ensure she heard them, "is that if you agree to keep this gift, and consummate this gift by opening the lid, then, somewhere, somehow, a stranger to you, someone completely unknown to you, will die. It's simple really."
*****
June gasped, unsure she understood him.
"Die?" she said. "Die?, What do you mean DIE?”
"Like I said, someone, somewhere, a person totally unknown to you, will die. How they die is no concern of yours. You need not even know when, nor where, nor how they die. But someone will die. Do you understand that? That is the "cost" of this gift to you. Someone will die. And you will be the direct cause of their death. No good thing ever came without cost. There is no free lunch, remember that old saw? So, do you accept this gift? I have other places to go." He glanced at his watch.
"NO!" screamed June, "I do not accept this, this…this THING. Get it out of here now! YOU get out of here!"
"Are you sure, June?" he asked. "This offer will come to you only once. I really must allow you enough time to truly consider it. I know it may be a shock to you to have a complete stranger come up and offer you such a wonderful gift as a never-empty box of money, asking only that you turn your head when a stranger dies. I mean, think of it June, it's only a stranger. It's someone that you don't even know, nor would you have ever known in your life. If you were to scour every obituary column in every newspaper you would never recognize the name."
June could not believe this was happening. What had happened to that nice, quiet morning? It seemed so long ago! Now this overdressed monster was standing in her kitchen, offering her more than they ever had, ever would have, if only she didn't care what happens to some stranger. Well, she did care…didn't she? Didn't she? June thought about that and over the shock of having this whole thing happen, came the real shock that maybe she didn't. After all, it was a complete stranger, and if she didn't know who…
"NO!" she shouted again. "No. No. NO! I can't do it! I just can't sit and not care if someone dies because I wanted a new dress."
"No, June," he said "it's not like that. It's only one time. The first time. After that, you can open the box any time you want, no rules. You've met your obligation."
"I can't. I can't." June croaked, "It's not right. Not ten times, not one time. I can't…"
"Okay, if that's the way you feel." He stood up to leave. From inside his coat the cloth appeared and he made ready to cover the box. He glanced at her and then back to the box.
"Listen," he said quietly, soothingly "I told you earlier that I must give you time to think clearly about this. Since this is a very special offer, it must not be taken lightly. While I'm sure you mean exactly what you are saying, I'm going to do this." He slipped the cover over the box, hiding its contents from view. "The gift will stay her, in the kitchen, for three days. If, after the end of three days you have not accepted the gift by opening the box, I shall come and remove the gift and you shall never see it again. If, however, you do decide to accept the gift, I shall return immediately upon acceptance and remove the gift container, replacing it with the longer term unit. This unit shall stay with you as long as you live. Do you understand this?" he asked.
June was still in a state of shock. She didn't know what to do. She didn't want the "gift" if it meant someone's death, but she did want the things it could do for them. In the end, she simply nodded her head, thinking that all she needed was to get him out of her kitchen so she could think!
"Have you given this 'Gift' before? She asked.
"Yes." He replied, and without another word turned and walked out of the house. The door shut so softly that she never even heard the latch catch. She sank down into a chair, staring at the shape in the middle of the table. As she stared, the cloth fell off, uncovering the contents of the box. She sat there a long time, staring.
*****
When Bobby Joe came home from work that night and prepared to eat dinner before rushing off to school, he found a strange shape in the middle of the table and his wife more than a little flaky. “Hey, babe,” he joked, “what’s this? A new Lazy Susan? Oh, I know, a birthday present for me!” He reached over to remove the cover. June almost dropped the supper plate until she realized with a start that 1) he couldn’t get it off, no matter how hard he tugged, it wouldn’t budge, even when he tried lifting one of the corners the cloth acted as if it were tied at every edge. And 2) it really was his birthday - the day after next - and she had absolutely forgot about it.
What in the world is going on with this thing?” Bobby Joe asked. “I can’t get this cover off. What’s under here anyway, Hon?”
“It’s, it’s..it’s one of the neighbor’s pets.” June answered, amazed at how easily the lie came. She had never lied to Bobby Joe. She didn’t know why she did now. All she knew was that she wasn’t ready to tell him about the ‘gift’ just yet. Even though she had said she didn’t want it, she still hadn’t definitely made up her mind. She had tried to move the box from the table before Bobby Joe had come home, but the box had refused to move, just like the cloth refused to come loose for Bobby Joe. She guessed it wasn’t meant to be, and somehow those ‘meant-to-be’s’ were becoming important to her.
Bobby Joe glanced at the shape and wondered aloud what kind of pet would live in a box all covered up like that, not making a sound. June answered that some animals, like snakes and spiders feed only every once in a while and slept a long time after eating. So that it wasn’t unusual for a pet like that to be quiet and not moving. Bobby Joe just grunted and said that “That ain’t no kind of pet to have. A person should have a dog - a big dog, if he was going to have a pet. Heck, a dog would give a person real pleasure and companionship. And a boy, well, a dog is God’s gift to a boy.” June didn’t argue with him on it and actually agreed. If they were going to have a pet, she wanted it to be a dog too. But her explanation seemed to satisfy him, and he finished eating in silence and left for school soon after.
*****
That night, laying in bed, after the love-making and small talk, Bobby Joe had asked how long would they have to keep the pet. June had said she really didn’t know exactly, but she hoped it wasn’t bothering anything. Bobby Joe said it didn’t really bother him, but there was something about it that was out of kilter, if she knew what he meant. She said she did, and that she had sensed it too, but that it would not be there too long she hoped and could he abide with it until it was gone? Yep, no sweat, darling. Great, she thought.
The next day, after Bobby Joe’s left for his morning job and the baby had been fed and bathed and put down for a nap, June sat down at the kitchen table and looked at the cloth covered box. Soon the cloth started to move on it’s own and fell silently to the table, leaving the ‘gift’ exposed. “What am I going to do?” June thought. “I want the money, but do I want someone to die so that I can have it? No. I don’t. I couldn’t live with myself if that happened. Not even if the person was a total stranger, someone I will never know of or really care about.”
After lunch, with the neighbor over to talk about the kids and how the price of milk has risen and who was that gorgeous man that was at your house yesterday? June finally was able to be alone with the ‘gift’ again. What was she going to do? She had borrowed a newspaper that morning and looked through the obituaries. God, she didn’t realize there were so many of them. She knew she was looking to see if she recognized any names, or had any feelings at all about these stranger’s deaths. She didn’t. No more than anyone else would. “Maybe, just maybe, it would not be as terrible as I thought it would be. After all, a stranger is a stranger. How many times does one really care what happens to a stranger? The only time it matters at all is when it has some impact on you or someone you know.” she thought. “And the money would only be used for good. Bobby Joe needs to have some time off. And his birthday, Oh! I forgot again... I’ve got to get him something for his birthday. The baby could certainly use some new clothes, and new shoes. He seems to grow out of his clothes daily. And a vacation.” They all needed, no deserved, a vacation didn’t they? They had never had a real, honest to god vacation before.
“What am I doing?!” June screamed, startled. “I’m thinking like I’ve done it. Or am going to do it. Well, I’m not. I’m Not! I just can’t open that box!” Her hands reached out and gently touched the lid. It felt surprisingly warm. The surface seemed to throb ever so slightly as her fingers massaged the smooth finish. Slowly, her fingers moved toward a hidden latch, stopping just short of the catch through a tremendous amount of will power. Her fingers were twitching, wanting to move, to throw open the box and take all that money into their grasp and feel the power that comes from having money when others do not.
Feeling angry, upset that she had come so close to doing what her heart told her she must not but her mind finding ways to explain why it was okay, June threw the cover on the box and refused to look at it again for the rest of the day. But she thought about it of course. She had not heard from the man at all.
That night Bobby Joe never mentioned it and June ignored it. But after Bobby Joe went to sleep, June lay awake, her mind and soul in direct competition. “Tomorrow.” she thought. “Tomorrow it will be gone and all will be as it was. We were happy, are happy!” But June knew that she could never go back to the way it was. Even if she were to refuse the ‘gift’ it would always remain as a what-if? A thing to wonder about and agonize over if it was the right decision. Every time something happened that could have been avoided if only she had not refused would haunt her. She would become bitter, angry, and always resentful. Besides, while money itself was not good, a good person could do good with money.
*****
The next day dawned cold and dreary. Bobby Joe was grumpy, seemed that somebody had kept tossing and turning all night, keeping him from that deep, rumbling sleep he so enjoyed. June apologized, saying that maybe she was getting a touch of hay fever, since she hadn’t been able to sleep much, if at all. He gave her a quick, gentle kiss, wishing her to get well and he would see her later and out the door he went off to his day job. June didn’t even bother to clean up the breakfast dishes before sitting down with the baby to stare at the box. The baby didn’t even to seem to notice the box on the table. And Bobby Joe had acted as if it were the most natural thing in the world for it to be sitting in the middle of the kitchen table. “Maybe it was meant to be.” thought June.
After lunch, June put the baby down for it’s nap and went back to the box. Standing over the table, hands jammed into her pockets, June studied the box. It sat there, not doing a thing.
At two o’clock June reached out and touched the box. Again, her hands were drawn toward the latch. She quickly withdrew her hands and left the room.
She was torn about this and surprised that the turmoil would even exist. She never would have believed that she would even consider doing something as ugly as causing someone’s death, even someone she didn’t know. How could she?!
By four o’clock June was frantic. She had not told a soul about this and the weight of making such a decision alone was driving her crazy. She couldn’t eat or sleep. And Bobby Joe was beginning to question her sanity.
At six o’clock the man entered the kitchen, quiet and ghost-like, his shadow casting a dark pal over June.
“You’re too late.” she said without looking up. She motioned to the box. “I opened it an hour ago.”
On the table the box sat as it had for three days, only now it’s top was open and a single, solitary bill lay crumpled and thrown on the table beside it.
“Take it away!” June cried. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want it! I don’t want the money. I don’t want your damned money!”
“It’s too late for remorse, my dear lady. And I am precisely on time. The person that was to die did so the exact moment the bill was withdrawn from the box. So you might as well go ahead and take as much as you can now, June. It would be shame that they had to die for only a dollar. I would have thought you placed a higher value on a person’s life, my dear.”
“I DO!” she screamed. “God, I do! Why… why was I chosen, anyway??”
“Because you would most likely accept it, dear.” he said. “We always try to only offer the gift to those that are most likely to accept it. Sometimes we make a mistake, but not very often.”
“You see, June, there exist in most people that little desire to have as much as they can possibly can, no matter how much they already have. It’s called greed and it makes my work very easy.” he chortled.
“And now, I must go. There is another I that I must now offer the gift.”
“Wha..? Who? I don’t understand. I thought I got to keep the money?”
“Oh, you do. For as long as you live, you may keep and spend as much as you wish.” he stated. “I only will take this box. I will leave behind this ‘long term’ unit in its place. You see June, after someone either accepts or rejects the gift, another offer must immediately be made to someone that is a complete stranger, someone totally unknown to the last person to accept the gift. You can understand that, can’t you, June? After all, who wants to be responsible for the death of someone they know, right?” and as he spoke he looked June directly in the eyes. June was horrified to realize that she understood exactly what he meant.
June had wanted to believe that the person required to die had been ready for death, someone not associated with the gift. Perhaps an old person or accident victim or someone who’s fate had decided they would not live. Now she knew the truth. Fate had not selected the victim, the last person to open the box had. And now, she had selected the victim. But this time the victim was not a complete stranger. Not someone she didn’t know. She would not be able to read this person’s obituary column. Her fate was already decided. She was going to die, the instant the next recipient of the ‘gift’ decided that a stranger’s death was no big deal and accepted it.
“What if your next person refuses?” she croaked. “What if no one accepts?”
“Well, let’s put it this way, June.” The next person could accept this most generous offer immediately, leaving the stranger very little time. But they have three days, just as you did, to decide. If they should wait three days and then refuse, good for the stranger, they have longer to live, but then I make the offer to another. Believe me, June, I have made this offer many times. Not many refuse it."
"And there will always be an another offer to be made.”
