Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #18 September 2015 | Page 80

suspiciously.

“You come forward, one at a time. Choose
a box. Take as many as you can carry, as simple as
that.”

“Don’t worry,” he laughed, a much lighter
laugh than Jayne would have expected from such an
old man. “The boxes were made to open tomorrow
once they are picked.”

Some of the kids laughed at that, but quietly.
Jayne moved forward a little to get a better view, but
Sharon hung onto her like a limpet, pulling her back.
Joe turned, looking at his friends, counting
heads. His half-smile returned. He winked at them and
turned back to the old man, cracking his knuckles and
rolling his shoulders like a boxer about to enter the
ring.
“Okay, we’re up for that,” he said. “There’s
eight of us. I’ll do that deal. You get rid of that barrier,
and we’ll settle for what we can carry. I’ll go first.”
“Ah,” said the old man, “a true leader.”
“What do you mean by that? Are you trying to
be funny?” Joe snapped.
“Absolutely not, no, no, no, it’s your one redeeming feature. You may just have changed tonight’s
outcome, which I, for one, am most happy about.”
“What?” asked Joe.
“Never mind, just step forward and choose a
box, my boy.” The old man never moved, pipe dangling, a faint smell of apples and autumn drifting over
the little group.
Joe shrugged and stepped confidently forward,
his easy stride quickly reaching the first partition.
Jayne saw his lips moving as he seemed to get excited, but not a word was heard. He charged from box to
box. Some boxes seemed heavier than others, some
bigger, some smaller. Eventually, he chose one from
the centre pile and carried three heavy looking boxes
towards his friends.
Everyone crowded round to see what was in
them. Joe put two of them on the floor and tried to
open the third. It didn’t open. Joe eyed the old man

Joe relaxed. Why not, nothing else was going
to plan tonight. He sent the kids in one at a time to
make their choices. He never moved from the invisible
wall, body alert, arms folded, looking as though he
was guarding their exit. Jayne glanced at the statue in
the corner. Did it move? It hadn’t had a sword in its
hand earlier, had it?
Then it was Jayne’s turn. She was after Sharon,
who had run forward, grabbed the first three boxes
she could reach, and ran back in seconds, much to
everyone’s amusement. Jayne took her time, pushing
through the invisible wall, all sound from behind her
ceased, she could now hear the old man sucking on
his pipe. She glanced at him, and he winked back with
a smile playing around his, suddenly youthful, jadegreen eyes.
Turning her attention to the boxes, she approached the first pile with caution, picking up the
nearest box, she became conscious of how beautiful it
was. From a distance, they looked to be made of plain
dark wood. Up close, in her hands, the box felt warm
and soft, shallow carved whorls and intricate patterns
creating delicate designs all over the wood. A soft aroma lifted up, a taste almost, of honey and newly baked
bread, delicious.
As the lid opened a stronger scent emerged, but
that was all. The box was empty. Jayne looked over at
the old man. He didn’t seem quite so old this side of
the barrier. His eyes sparkled, and a soft smile played
on his lips. Putting the box down, she moved to the
next pile, then the next, all of the boxes were empty.
She reached the furthest partition. This one felt different. Reaching for a small box, Jayne knew that she had
found something.
The patterns on this box were deeper: animals,
people, and fantastical creatures flowed through the

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