Day 10: Gifts
The box on the outside stayed the same over the years. It was always the same wood box, with the same lid with a mirror inside, and with the same little drawer. And except for a tiny crack in the mirror, and a broken pull on the drawer, the box stayed the same all that time. After surviving several moves, it was a little worn, with a nick in the wood finish, but overall, it was the same.On the inside of the box, precious treasures were hidden. At first, trinkets. Cracker Jack prizes. Cheap rings purchased with nickels begged off impatient parents at the Woolworth store – so cheap they left dirty green marks almost instantly. Knotted chains with broken clasps. Tokens for Country Kitchen restaurants and Dairy Queen treats. But treasures, nonetheless.
An agate stone. A tiny, machined metal cross. The fortune from a Chinese cookie. Secret notes passed between friends.
Later, an opal ring occasionally found safety inside the box. Then a Black Hills Gold pendant on a fragile chain, a reward for confirmation, was kept there. A watch. Gold stud earrings.
Later still, a class ring – five sizes too big – on a long chain made a temporary home of the box. A strand of liquid silver, adorned with a delicate cross, found respite, too.
A bracelet engraved with two names was hidden in the box and never worn.
For a time, the box was forgotten, left behind. The treasures inside abandoned. Until one day, the lid was opened, the contents rearranged to make room for a circle of gold.
A pair of petite diamond earrings.
Soon, a small box was kept in the drawer. A lock of hair. Then tiny bits of enamel were collected there. Another box found its way to the drawer and sheltered its own mementos.
Then a pair of pearl earrings to match an inherited and long-coveted strand of pearls.
On a long-forgotten Christmas, a distant relative gave a drug store jewelry box to a child. There was no way to know that, at the time of the giving, a box of such insignificance would hold a lifetime of precious gifts.
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