A worn music box lay on the table in front of Lacy. It was another “gift” from her mother, Candy, or rather something else she wanted to get out of her attic. Lacy ran her thumbs along side the top corner of the box and flipped the top open to hear a slow, sentimental version of “Daisy Bell.” It was unusual in it spun a couple on a tandem bike. “At least it’s fitting,” she said as she stared at its red velvet interior.
Being that music boxes have lost their novelty for most living generations, she quickly grew tired of the antique. It was her grandmother Daisy’s, and was obviously more meaningful to her than any other relative. Candy obviously thought it a proper heirloom to remind her daughter of the sweet, little, old lady who used to make terrible green bean casserole at Thanksgiving.
In her growing boredom, she oddly thought of Silence of the Lambs, in which Jody Foster’s character discovers pictures in the lining of a murdered girl’s music box. Amusement came over her as she gingerly tugged at the lining inside the box: nothing. “That was pointless,” she said and shut the lid. Picking up the reasonably weighty object, she spun around to put it in her attic.
*thunk*
The sound wasn’t too audible, nor was Lacy sure if it came from the box or if she had popped a joint in her body. She shook the box vigorously to hear the uneven thunks of the box. That didn’t make any sense. She began to carefully rotate the box in all directions, to see if she could find anything out of the ordinary. At first, nothing stood out, but on second glance a small clue presented itself. The brackets holding the bottom were slightly larger than they should be, and it wouldn’t take much energy to slide out the bottom. Lacy found a screwdriver in the kitchen and removed the back two brackets with ease. Sure enough, the bottom slid out and a neat deck of photos fell squarely on the table.
“Grandma!” Lucy was in a state of genuine shock but nothing she couldn’t truly handle. She thumbed through the black and white series of photos to reveal a story of a young woman in an ornate outfit. Feathers and the whole bit. She was laughing with a bunch of suited men. Nana was a showgirl, and possibly more, as the photos became racier as she flipped through them.
The last photo depicted a very naked woman being doused with champagne. The man pouring the drink could easily be mistaken as a young version of her grandfather. The message “first night” was elegantly written on the back.
© 2013 by Corvidae in the Fields, all rights reserved
Corvidae in the Fields 