The Unknown

By Full Sail Creative Writing Club

Welcome to Full Sail Creative Writing Club's second anthology book. This book is comprised of many different authors and their writings that were submitted and selected to be front and present for the world to see just how amazing they are.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Full Sail Creative Writing Club
• Release date: Mar 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224947485

Book preview

The Unknown

Full Sail Creative Writing Club

Edited by Kenneth Martilik

Copyright Page

The Unknown

By Full Sail Creative Writing Club

Copyright 2023 Full Sail Creative Writing Club

First Smashwords Edition

SMASHWORDS EDITION, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied, and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to your favorite ebook retailer to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Table of Contents

About the Author

How to Open A Wedding Present

Dive Bar Divination

The Shadowed Grove

Scales

Revival of Dragons

Vision Board

The Last Bullet

The Run

Shadow of Regret

Frozen Soul

The Appt

How to Open a Wedding Present

By Bryan Lockward

Andy proposed to Jessica over the phone. It wasn’t accidental, not completely. A few months prior, he browsed through an online ring catalog and even mentioned the idea to his secretary at an office party. So, when Jessica called to discuss her awful day at work, the notion was already floating around in his head.

She fought back tears and recounted her boss’s leering and not-so-subtle innuendos. Andy was tired, but he did his best to comfort her with that’s awful or I’m sorry, babe. Despite his exhausted state, he tried to be sincere. It was during a long pause, after Jessica explained the vulgar punchline about a particularly long upward trend, that the question just sort of slipped out.

That was almost two years ago.

JESSICA WAITED BY THE phone until just after three. On Thursdays, the managers at WellRock Financial congregated at a local steakhouse for a well-earned long lunch, but Jessica wanted to get Andy just as he walked in.

It’s here, she said when he answered.

What is? Andy asked. He wiggled his ring finger toward his secretary, who sat opposite him.

Our first gift, she said. With the wedding just over a month away, the couple had yet to receive a gift from their registry. This was partly because they did not have a registry completed yet, but that didn’t worry the couple. Sure, Andy thought it was different, odd maybe, but that was because their wedding wouldn’t be particularly traditional.

For example, the couple scheduled their wedding on Wednesday, February 12th. Andy’s parents thought it was to save money on a Valentine’s Day ceremony. They offered to pay extra for a Saturday or Sunday, but money was not an issue. A coworker asked Andy if it was an anniversary. Sort of. It’s hard to explain. But it wasn’t hard to explain. Jessica wanted to share the day with Judy Blume’s birthday. According to her, including those intimate details would make the special.

I saw it get delivered on the doorbell cam, she said. It looks big.

Don’t open it without me.

Andy arrived home after Jessica. Inside, he found the box on the kitchen table. It was bulky, almost a foot and a half long, and made from glossy, white cardboard. There were no stickers or labels. Jessica stepped through the back door with their dog, Fudge (real name Farley, but Jessica hated when Andy called him that), still pulling on his leash.

What is it? Andy asked.

You told me to wait for you, Jessica said. She struggled to get the leash from Fudge. The dog shook the water from his coat and soaked the entire kitchen.

Well, who’s it from then?

There’s no name, Jessica said.

Let’s see what’s inside.

Wait! Jessica yelled. You can’t just open unmarked mail.

Opening unmarked packages could be unsafe or even a federal crime if it wasn’t meant for them. More importantly, if it was a wedding gift, the sender may not want the package opened until after the wedding.

Opening before the big day will make the wedding grey, she said.

Then what do we do?

I’ll make dinner, she said. She had stolen a beef stew recipe from their friends, Kevin, and Kiera. Why don’t you check with the neighbors? Rule out mail fraud.

Outside, the remnants of a late December snowstorm still blanketed the ground of their small neighborhood. It was after 6:00 and the winter sun already set, but the streetlights were yet to turn on. Andy tugged at Fudge’s leash, who rolled around in a snowbank.

Andy and Jessica moved in a few months ago after WellRock promoted him to manager. He was hesitant about both the house and the promotion. Andy enjoyed their apartment; with a lease they could break and a job without the commitments of meetings and subordinates. He relented after seeing the backyard and the new paycheck.

Andy walked from house to house, disturbing dinners and family television time. No missing packages. No expected deliveries. No one even noticed a delivery truck on the street.

For a moment, he thought his luck had changed three houses down, at the Salazar’s. Mrs. Salazar, a petite woman in her late 60s, batted her eyes and invited him in. She seemed ecstatic about the idea of a package, but something got lost in the translation because Mr. Salazar quickly yelled at her in Spanish. Even after their yelling, Mrs. Salazar made two plates of chicken and rice and ushered Andy to the table.

Since moving in, the Salazar’s had stopped by several times, usually just before Andy and Jessica went to bed. They typically dropped off a bottle of wine or a carrot cake and went on their way. This was Andy’s first time in their home, and it gave him the impression of a waiting room. The neatly organized room was decorated with generic art and lacked family photographs.

Oh, I can’t, he said. She waved off his disapproval and put the second plate on the floor for Fudge.

Sit, sit, she said. We must get rid of all the food. We move next week.

Where are you heading?

The Villages, Mr. Salazar said. He ate a bowl of rice