text: The Rose Box I’m not sure why I opened that first box. Maybe it was a greedy impulse or pure curiosity, even madness. Looking back now, I probably should have let it alone. Those little mahogany boxes changed the course of my life forever. I got the first box in the fall of my senior year. I had just turned eighteen, and I felt as if the world was at my feet. I can now see that it was just him. I don’t know why he chose that day to give it to me. Was it coincidence, or did he plan out that specific day to give it to me? It was definitely planned. He always had a plan. I was running late, so I smelled strongly of perfume masking gross body odor. In my defense, I didn’t have time to take a shower. I stumbled out of the house and onto the bus into my usual seat next to my friend Kris. He looked at me and said, “Someone didn’t hear their alarm go off.” “Is it that obvious?” I asked ominously. “Sorry, Kat, It’s pretty obvious.” I sighed and did calculus homework. When we got off the bus, I went to my locker and threw all my books into a big pile on the second shelf. As I walked to my first-period class, I had the strange feeling someone was watching me. I ignored it and made it to English 12 with three minutes to spare. When class ended, I headed back to my locker to organize all the books I carelessly cast in there as I got off the bus. When I opened it, I was astonished to see that all my books and folders were color-coordinated. “What the..” I was cut off by my surprise. On top of the folders and books was a small box. As I examined it closer, I saw that it had intricately painted roses with entangled stems. All I could muster up to say was, “Wow.” I was awestruck that someone would spend the time to make something so lovely for me. I opened the lid and tried to decipher who sent me the gift. Inside was a beautiful rose necklace with a gold chain. As I looked closer, I saw that the petals of the rose were translucent; inside were small golden flecks. I took the necklace out of the box and searched for a note. There was a little piece of pink notebook paper taped to the bottom. I ripped the article from the bottom, breaking the small white seal. It said, “To the girl who has the world at her feet.” I looked on the back for the name of the sender. To my bewilderment, there was none. For the rest of the day, my mind filled with so many questions. Why wouldn’t the person who sent me the box put his name? Didn’t they want recognition for their work? There must be a reason they sent me the necklace; it didn’t look cheap. Even though I was a little uneasy about the idea that the person who sent me the necklace didn’t include their name, I decided to wear it anyway. It was pretty, and there was no reason to leave it in the box. Maybe if I wore it to school, my secret admirer would reveal himself. For the next couple of months, I wore the rose necklace every day. After a while, I started to lose hope that he would ever come. One day while I was riding the bus home Kris asked me, “Why have you been wearing that necklace so much?” I shrugged and said, “I honestly don’t know at this point. Someone left it in my locker a couple of months ago with a note. I thought if I wore it every day; eventually, they would show themself.” “Huh, that's quite the predicament. Have you ever thought about not wearing it? Maybe if you took it off, he would think you’re losing interest and reveal his identity.” Kris said. “That’s not a bad idea, Kris.” The next day I didn’t wear a necklace. It was an unofficial screw you to this mystery guy. The day went normal, and I was disappointed to find nothing in my locker. I got off the bus feeling glum. I walked into the kitchen and upstairs into my bedroom. As I opened the door, I found a gigantic bouquet of red roses. “Finally!” I exclaimed. I ran to them and searched for the note. When I saw it, I quickly ripped it away and read it happily. The letter said, “Dear Kat, You’re probably pretty mad at me right now for not telling you who I am yet. But I promise you I will reveal everything soon. Each day I keep myself a mystery from you makes my heartache. Meet me at the park beside the school at 7:00. - Your Secret Admirer”. After reading the note, all I could think about was finally meeting my dream boy. I tried to picture how he might look, but I kept coming up blank. The truth is, I didn’t want to imagine him if I was disappointed at the outcome. 6:30, finally came, and I made my way to the park. My heart raced with every step. I decided to bring the necklace and one of the roses from the bouquet with me because I wanted to tell him how much I liked it. I got to the park, and I saw a figure in the distance that I could only assume was my secret admirer. A big smile spread across my face. As I got closer, I realized that it wasn’t him because this man was forty years old. When he started to approach me, I felt anxious like something wasn’t right. I began to walk away, but he was following me. I went from walking to running. The man was running behind me. He tackled me to the ground, and I began to scream. Then everything went black. That was the last time anyone saw Katherine Forrester. The next time I woke up, the first thing I saw was my face plastered on an old, ratty television. I started to panic when I looked down and saw I was tied to a pipe. I calmed myself by focusing on the TV. A news reporter was saying my name. As I listened closer, I made out what he was saying. It was hard, though, because I was droning in and out of consciousness. “...stolen from the park... by a man wearing a... if seen call...” Then I went back to sleep for the last time.