I watched Ripley begin to descend down the hallway to the stairwell. I closed the front door and pressed my hand on my head where the pain was burrowing its way out through my skull. My entire head felt like it was a giant brick, but the pressure subsided a great deal as soon as I closed the door. It wasn't that hard to figure out that the box was causing my headaches. So much for it being nice, I guess.
Fuck, man. Why this stupid fucking box, I thought.
I fantasize about changes in my life. I daydream that some day, I will have a higher purpose, aside from being a slightly deformed babysitter with social anxiety, bad bowels and a journal collection. I dream that one of these mornings, a cloaked woman with horse hooves for feet emerges from my closet and tells me that her people are in danger, and that the Wolf-King is turning her family into half-wolf slaves to work in the salt mines and feed off of sheep. I could follow her into the closet, and transport through the back into a world where I am looked at as a savior, not just…looked at. I never really expected the Hoof-Woman to show up anywhere else other than my dreams, but out of EVERYTHING that COULD have come and changed my week, I get some kind of alien cardboard crap with pink blood, a recyclable body, and mind control powers. If this were a superhero comic, and this box was the accident that caused me to get superhuman powers, I would later rip open my shirt to embarrassingly reveal a costume with a large CFB, which would probably stand for CAPTAIN FUCKING BORING…lame.
I surveyed the apartment, standing with my back to the door so I can see its entire area. There was sunlight invading the room now, reflecting off of every shard of glass scattered on the carpet amongst the feathers, and blinding me if I tilted my head a certain way. The box was cradled in the floorboards, using the carpet as a half-tunic. My journals were thrown about. The TV was now showing some kids' show with a bunch of characters with huge awkward looking heads and big eyes dancing around in front of a crudely painted landscape, singing about their adventures. I turned the volume down a little, but kept the TV on. I like having a little movement and noise in the background no matter what. It keeps me company, and it drowns out the interior noises that my body manufactures that seem to haunt me in complete silence. I can hear the blood driving inside of my arteries, my food fighting off the acid of my stomach, and my heart throwing itself against the backside of my sternum. I hate it.
Everything in the room seemed to be at a lull. Now, if I don't move the rest of my life maybe everything will be fine.
I guess there would be no better time than now to share this letter I got from Ripley 2 days later, after everything happened..(note: the letter was extremely cute looking, and this is my translation of it since it was written with a bleeding pen on a series of like a hundred napkins.)

Dear Chadam,
Thank you for telling me the new story. It was nice and but had gross words. And scary. I'm at Tab's now, in the room with the TV, and she gave me a waffle with no butter and its not even hot its gross. I don't know when you'll get this, but I think you will soon I hope. I made it down here ok, but all the weird people that usually sleep in the hallway kept staring at me and made faces like they were mad. One of the pigeons made it into the hallway but I don't know how. He was crazy. I couldn't talk to him like the other ones in your house. He pooped on one of the mad guys and it was funny and I wanted to tell you something that I saw in your house but I left before I could tell you, but it was pretty. When you pulled me up from the ground after I fell, I saw a baby tiny light come out of the top of that pigeon box, and a fly went and landed on the box where the light was and the fly looked different in the light. He wasn't a fly no more. He was prettier. And I pointed to show you but the light went away and the fly left. And he was a fly again. And Chadam when I got here mommy and Tab said to go in the TV room and when I was coming in here I heard them talking about that box. Mommy asked Tab if you opened it and Tab said like we'd all know if you did. They sounded like secrets so I didn't tell them I heard but I want you to know. I like it at your house. I wanna write you a story too. I gotta go.

Had I gotten this letter when I was intended to, it probably would have just added to my confusion. But since I received it 2 days later, it made perfect sense…