A Friend For a Week

Friend for a Week

Written by: A. Jayde Bartha

Lester Devoe lived alone in a two-bedroom apartment, in the heart of Detroit, Michigan. Every week day he went to work in a small electronics shop four blocks from his apartment. Except when the shop was closed, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

Monday night when he got home, sitting on the wiry mat outside his door. Was a shoe-box sized package covered in brown butcher’s paper. Fastened together with a corded string, there was nothing else identifying about it. Cautiously he gripped the box in his hands and lifted- it was light. Actually felt like there was nothing at all inside, gently he shook the box and still he heard nothing fluttering around inside. Lester decided no harm would come from bringing the package inside.

Inside the apartment, he fetched a pair of scissors from the kitchen junk drawer and snipped the cord tying the paper together on the box. The brown paper folded apart with a crinkling sound, an off-brand shoe box was revealed. Quickly he flipped the lid open; a single polaroid photo, taped to the bottom of the box.. Tearing the photo from the box he inspected it, dark and hard to see exactly what was in the photo. All Lester could make out from the photo was that there was no lighting at all when the photo was taken and a large silhouetted structure was off to the side in the image. Flipping over the box, scanning every inch of it for any other indication what this was or where it came but it was no use. Lester set the box back on the table, tossed the image inside of it and retired to his bedroom for the night.

Tuesday when Lester came home from work, there was nothing left outside his door this time. Shutting and locking the apartment door behind him, he hurried into the kitchen to fix himself a meal. The microwave beeped, he grabbed the steaming bowl from inside the electronic oven. Lester shuffled to the living room with his hands full and plopped himself onto the sofa. Television clicked on, and he pierced the first bite of his meal with the fork.

Before he could take a bite though, a hard thud against the apartment door interrupted him. Sighing heavily, he dropped the fork onto the plate and made way to his front door. Looking through the peephole, he could not see anybody outside of the door. Unlocking the bolt mechanism, he heaved the door open.

Laying on its’ side, was another package, wrapped in brown butcher’s paper, in similar fashion to the first. Except for that this package was laying on its’ side and must have been the source of the thudding sound. Lester looked down the hallway and then turned his head to look down the other way. Nothing in the hall looked disturbed or like anyone had been there recently. He scooped up the package and carried it inside, locking the door again behind him.

Sitting at the dining table in the kitchen now, the new package unopened next to the opened package from the day before. Snipping the cord with the scissors, he tore the lid from the box before the butcher’s paper had even completely fallen open. Just like yesterday, a single polaroid photo, taped to the bottom of the box. Lester peeled the image off and squinted at it in his hands.

This photo was similar, dark and unable to make out anything in the photo except for the silhouetted object in this photo looks larger than the last. It was at this moment Lester got the inclination to lay today’s photo beside Mondays'. Together, the photos seemed to photograph the same object, from different shooting positions. Nothing else was in the box and Lester could not see any other information other than a bright colored logo on the two boxes for a shoe company he never heard of before.

Wednesday morning when Lester walked out of his front door he saw his next door neighbor also leaving her apartment.

“Hi Amy” he said, taking a few steps down the hall towards her, she met his gaze with a smile and said

“good morning Lester” he scratched his head before he spoke again

“kind of a weird question but you haven’t seen anyone that doesn’t live here hanging around the halls last night, or the night before?” Amy looked at him quizzically

“no actually I haven’t heard much noise at all this week, its been a god-send.” Amy smiled but when Lester did not return her smile she could tell something pressed him further.

“Why what is it?”

“I got a package yesterday, I wasn’t expecting anything and I assume the sender brought it themselves because there is no postal markings or information” he stared at Amy

“what was inside? Anything dangerous?” Lester shook his head

“no just some photographs I can’t make out, but that’s alright I’m sure I’ll run into the sender one of these days.” Lester flashed a halfhearted smile at Amy, turned towards the staircase and descended to the exit of the building.

That evening when he returned home from work there was no package outside of his door. Breathing a sigh of relief, he let himself into the apartment and went straight for the kitchen. Timidly he waited for his meal to beep to completion, settled himself quietly on the sofa and looked at the front door before he even flicked the television on. He stayed that way, staring at the door for several minutes. Nothing happened while he stared at it, so he switched the television on reluctantly. Brought a forkful of food to his mouth and took a bite with his eyes closed. Thinking he’d hear another thud as soon as he took a bite but there was no sound other than the sounds he made himself chewing his food. Slowly, he swallowed the first bite while looking back from the television to the door repeatedly. Still nothing, so he finished his entire plate without nuisance and went to sleep soon after.

Thursday meant there were only two days of work left till days off and Lester was ecstatic thinking about this while he readied himself for the day. Pulling his jacket on, he swung open his apartment door with enthusiasm, took a step into the hall and heard a loud crunching sound. He retracted his foot back into the apartment doorway immediately and looked down to see, a third package covered in brown butcher’s paper. Except this package had been crushed in the middle by Lester’s shoe. Lester grabbed the box from the hallway and shut the door behind him quickly. He did not have a lot of time before work, but he had to know what the next image would be.

Tearing open the paper, he fumbled with the cord because he did not cut it this time in his haste. The lid of the box and butcher’s paper fell to the floor at his feet while he looked into the box. Grabbing the photo by the corner, he stripped the image from the single loop of scotch tape that held it in place. Next he set the third photo down with the others. It was much the same as the second photo he received, seemed like the dark unseen object was now taking up the entire frame of the photo.

He thought maybe, he could see what looked like a reflection of light from a window or similar object in the top right corner of the photo. Frustrated and now late for work he pushed the images away from him, leapt up from the table and hurried out his apartment door once more.

Merlin Grove owned the electronics shop that employed Lester, Merlin is a elderly man. Today he noticed that Lester seemed rather distracted, for starters he was late for work which normally did not happen.

Merlin approached Lester near the end of the day to ask if there was anything wrong

“are you feeling alright today Lest?” Lester did not take his eyes off the shelf he was currently stocking with earbuds to answer him;

“yes I’m alright just a little anxious to get home today, one more day closer to the weekend after all” he chuckled, Merlin chuckled back

“alright my friend, when you’re finished up with those earbuds you go ahead and head home for the night” he smiled and slipped away behind the cash register without a word further.

After work at the apartment, soon as he left the staircase to his hallway he could see it, a fourth box with the crisp brown butcher’s paper wrapped neatly around it. Lester stopped completely in his tracks for a moment in disbelief. Ahead he heard the unlocking of another door and looked up. He hadn’t even noticed Rodney, who lived next to Amy, was also returning home for the day. Lester unsure whether he was accusing or just looking for information hurried down the hall towards Rodney, who turned when he heard his footfalls.

“Rod! Hey when did you get here? I didn’t even see you ahead of me on the stairs” Rodney laughed

“I probably got in just a little before you did heard you coming up” Lester did not believe Rodney would do anything nefarious even as a prank.

“Did you happen to see anybody else inside the hallway today? Or even in the lobby you didn’t recognize?” Rodney closed his mouth for a moment while he stopped to think.

“Nope nobody in the lobby, no one in the hallway. Only commotion I heard was you” Rodney offered

“alright well thanks Rod, let me know if you do happen to see anyone” with that Lester turned towards his own door and Rodney called out behind him

“you got it.”

Shutting his apartment door with a slam, dead bolted it and sat down at the table with the new package. He used scissors to snip the cord, pulled the paper apart. This box was white, with no indications at all. Lester opened the lid of the box and chucked it aside. Removing the photo from the box, and sliding it in-line with the other photos next to it, he saw the full silhouetted object but still could not make out what it was. It simply took up the entire space of the bottom frame of each photo except for the first. Not knowing what to do next, he crawled into bed, exhausted from the entire week.

Lester blinked his eyes and squinted against the harsh bedroom lighting, he must have been so tired when he went to sleep he didn’t even shut off it off. He took a step into his den space and he heard the very familiar box crunching sound again. Alarmed he stepped backwards into his bedroom and saw the new package, covered in butcher’s paper. This time the package was left inside his apartment, cautiously he looked out of his doorway into the apartment. The front door was ajar, he didn’t know whether he locked it last night or not. Lester bent down to open the package right where it lay. Ripping off the brown paper, immediately he removed the lid;

Another, single, polaroid photo. Not taped to the box, and loose. The image was the same as before except illuminated. What was being photographed in the images could be seen clearly.

Lester lay crumpled in a heap asleep on his bed, the now illuminated structure in the photo. The reflecting light- had been the window on the far side of his bedroom.

Lester sat in terror as he stared at the neglected closet he never used, sat on the side of his bedroom, opposite to the window in the photos. Which he now noticed like his apartment door, was slightly ajar.

THE END