Was it Worth it

A sharp rap on the door jolted me from the book I was reading on the couch, it was finally here! My best-friend and I had recently began our journey into the dark web, and had mustered the courage to order a mystery box. I waited a few moments for the delivery man to drop off the package and leave, before springing the door open to collect my goods.

Outside my door sat a plain brown box, smaller than I was expecting. I remembered to put on a pair of plastic gloves, as I had been advised to just in case and brought the box inside. My body tingled with a strange sense of anticipation and nervousness as I placed the box on a table and sliced open the packing tape. I carefully opened the box and began slowly pulling out the packing paper until I finally felt something, a small black book neatly bound in twine. I put the book aside and continued searching through the box, but there was nothing more. Disappointed, I had been expecting more, I took the box out to the recycle and called my friend. No answer, they must have been busy.

I came back to the book and decided to open it, unwinding the twine and cracking open the first page. In very neat writing in black pen was a handwritten message “This book contains my greatest wishes and sins, which have become far too much for me to bear alone. I leave it to you to share my burden all I ask is that you read this book from cover to cover to share in my secrets, and you will be rewarded at the end. My only condition is that you must promise that my secrets are now your secrets, if you betray me I will know”. A chill raced through my body and I felt and irrational sense of dread, but I was curious now; I began reading.

As I read the second page, titled “My wish for the world”, I recoiled in disgust. This was a truly sick individual and I wanted to stop, but a morbid curiosity now consumed me. As I turned the page, I was suddenly filled with terror as glued to the page was a polaroid photo. A wave of nausea overcame me as I realized what I was looking at and slammed the book shut, it had to be fake. Foolishly I convinced myself that it could not be real and steeled myself to open the book back up and continue reading. Page after page, it was nothing but horrifying photos with the words “It is done”. As I read deeper into the book I noticed the handwriting changing, deviating from neat print to almost illegible scrawls. As I reached the end, there was another note, barely legible as if it had been written without lifting the pen from the page. “You have no doubt convinced yourself that this is fake and I applaud you for your perseverance, I knew you were too curious to stop. I am delighted to share my secret with you and I am sure you now realize that everything you see is real, I have lived my dream. Never forget your promise.”

My entire body felt numb as I turned to the last page. Stapled to last page of this little black book was a cheque in my name, my numbness turned to disbelief as I saw $20,000.00 in the amount section. As I gently pulled the cheque off the page a small photograph fell and fluttered to the floor. I bent over to pick it up and screamed; it was a photo of me on my couch reading a book, taken just minutes prior to answering the door. On the back of the photo, in still drying ink, were the words “Was it worth it?”.