Excerpt:

A Mysterious Box Arrives with a Special Message

 

My doorbell rang. No one was there. A plain brown box lay at my door.

 

I picked it up and heard loose pieces of something possibly broken inside.

I brought it in.

 

I carefully opened the box and saw countless pieces of a puzzle spread out in a mess of abstract shapes and mixed colours.

The only thing missing was the usual completed picture on the front box cover, which was entirely blank.

 

“Who would send this to me? Is it a mistake?” I wondered.

 

It was a disturbing mystery.

Why was it left for me and by whom?

Was it some kind of joke?

There was no one at the door. No card or return address was included. I wondered if it was someone’s weird gift.

 

But why?

 

My spouse had recently died.

The innocuous puzzle box seemed out of place and inappropriate somehow.

The scattered jumble of pieces reminded me of my present life.

It brought tears to my eyes.

 

On the inside lid of the box,

I saw a message written in big block

letters that read: …