The “B-side” of Life

Delilah felt like she was living the “B-side” of life. Just like old 45 records, the A side was popular and the B-side was… not.

Everything about her life was average. She had a regular uneventful job that paid the bills, but didn’t fulfill her. She had a nice, but uninteresting boyfriend. Even her wardrobe was middle of the road, nothing exciting. She trodded through the blahs of life, day after day, year after year, wondering if her vanilla road would ever intersect with excitement.

One day she was at the grocery store buying Lean Cuisine frozen meals, bran muffins, almond milk and a few other items she purchased every single month, when her cart knocked into an object in the middle of the aisle. She went around the cart and found a brown paper wrapped box that said “For YOUR Eyes ONLY.”

She was intrigued. She picked up the box and looked around for someone who could have dropped it, but no one was there. She put it in her cart and as she traveled through the rest of the store, she kept looking at the box. Delilah couldn’t take her eyes off it. At first, she planned to bring it to the lost and found, but a curiosity sparked in her and she decided to take it.

In the checkout lane, she was anxious, glancing quickly left and right to see if anybody was watching. Her heartbeat sped up a little bit and she felt a little out of breath as she went through the parking lot and got into her car. It was a thrill she rarely experienced.

As she drove home, thoughts consumed her consciousness. Who was the box for? And what was for her or his eyes only? Could it be some clandestine drop off for a drug dealer or a spy with highly classified documents? Or maybe it belonged to some star-crossed lovers who were destined to be together, despite the odds, and left packages for each other’s eyes only.

When she got home, she put the box on a table and put away her groceries. But again, it called to her. “Open me, open me,” she thought she heard it chant.

Finally, she could hold out no longer. Carefully she opened the wrapping without tearing it, just in case she had to wrap it up again. When it was off, she found a pale yellow box with decoupaged white daisies on it.

“A pretty box like this couldn’t be for drug dealers or spies,” she surmised.

Without hesitation, she took the top off the box. Inside was a note on old yellow parchment. Written in old-fashioned cursive handwriting was a message.

“I don’t know if you know me or if you even care, but I see you.”

Delilah read and reread the note several times. It was so cryptic. What did it mean? Who did he or she see? she thought.

Looking in the box again, she noticed a small locket concealed under the note.  It was tarnished from age, but beautiful with intricate engravings of flowers and vines. She opened the locket to reveal a tiny black and white picture of a handsome young man with a sailor cap.

“Maybe someone dropped it and didn’t mean to leave it there? But then why would it be wrapped and marked with a message,” she wondered.

As she moved about her day, her imagination daydreamed fanciful ideas on who the young sailor could be and who left the box. Were they sweethearts during a war long ago? Maybe they had a forbidden relationship and now are reuniting in their twilight years?

She went to bed that night with her head filled with stories about the sailor in the picture. Could he have been someone’s father, brother or son?

Running various scenarios in her mind, she could hardly sleep, but relished her insomnia. In only one day, this little box and the mystery it contained brought so much excitement into her doldrum life; she felt invigorated.  

By morning, she resolved to find out who the box belonged to. She had to feed her insatiable urge to know the real story. And she felt guilty that she took a box that belonged to someone else and may be precious to them. So, she went back to the grocery store and asked the manager if anyone came in looking for a box. He said no, but took her number and said he’d call if anyone came in.

Days went by and she heard from no one. She started writing down a journal of all the thoughts and theories she had surrounding the locket and the note in the box. It’s all she could think about.

Weeks went by and still nothing. Wouldn’t somebody miss this locket? Wouldn’t they ask about it or come to retrieve it? How could she find out who owned it? She tried to develop an idea for nearly a week, but couldn’t.

Still entranced by the locket, she started wearing it. She knew it didn’t belong to her but somehow, she felt connected to it.

After a month, she realized no one was coming to get the box. And she began thinking maybe it was meant for her to find. Maybe it was left for her eyes to see. Delilah knew this revelation was a rationalization, but in a way, she believed it.

She considered how different the last month of her life had been. This one episode completely changed her perspective. No longer did she feel like her life had to be boring. She recognized that anything can happen at any time, all you have to do is look. And she was determined to find   more excitement in her life and open herself to new adventures wherever and whenever they arise. While some of life may feel like the B-side, Delilah now believed that sometimes, for even a little while, she could get the A-side of life.

(c) Suzanne Rudd Hamilton, 2022