The Price of Knowing

Chapter 1

   He brought me a box of darkness, intricate carvings adorned its cover. He told me I would know everything if I had the courage to open it. I ran my finger along every swirl and swoop while its hinges glittered in the candlelight. He took a sip of wine and raised an eyebrow. I gulped mine and looked down into my glass. I wondered what hoard of ghosts might be trapped beneath its surface.

     How had I ever agreed to this meeting? I never trusted him, this Mr. Hoffman, with his waxy skin and his reptilian eyes. There were times when I stared directly at him that I could have sworn his pupils would suddenly stretch into vertical black slits, but just as quickly they would revert back to their typical rounded emptiness. This man had known my father for many years yet I never understood their connection. In fact I had always felt that my father had kept a distance between Mr. Hoffman and myself because he knew that he made me uncomfortable. Lately though, I had started to believe that is was much more than dislike, that there was a danger that dripped off Hoffman under the guise of forced sincerity. Every molecule in my DNA warned me to run, but I was rooted in place despite the itching in my brain stem. He knew he had me in this moment, fraught with tension and distrust, yet in spite of it all I looked up and met his gaze. It was my turn to raise an eyebrow and to tacitly convey what a smarmy little b*****d I thought he was.

     But I was more curious about the box found on a shelf in my father's office than I was in Hoffman's motivations. My father's disappearance was still unsolved and I desperately hoped it held the key to what had happened to him. There had to be answers hidden away in here, for if there were not I might go mad.  Not knowing was more of a burden than I could bear. I had to know, that is who I had always been, and Hoffman knew it. The only tangible clue left behind were my father's fingerprints left in the dust on its cover. It sat there patiently while he and it silently mocked me. A flame of hate burned inside me but I could not quite explain its ignition. It's warning lost to me in the moment, one that I would soon regret.

     My face felt flush with choices to be made, the pull was unbearable but not unpleasant. My breath came in short shallow puffs and my mind whirled frantically. The hour was upon me, I could no longer resist and so I took a polished nail and raised the hasp with a nonchalance I did not feel. With both hands I lifted the cold lid and inhaled the dense dark mist that rose to meet me. It snaked around me inviting me in. I hesitated for just a brief instant and then it completely enveloped me. I felt myself being pulled far from this place as screams of those foolish enough to open the box before me greeted my own cry in perfect high-pitched terror. It was in that moment I knew with absolute certainty that some things should never be known, because knowledge like this always came with a price, and some answers were meant to be buried deep in the darkness.

Reviews

[TL Boehm]

He brought me a box of darkness. Delicious fiction with a poet soul and that line, wish I wrote it myself.

[icelandicblue]

This was my first attempt at a story. I just came back to it recently I'm not quite sure where I'm going with that but I'm happy you liked that line, that means a lot coming from you. Thank you so much you are always too kind.

[Skai Rain]

This is one of the best ways to start your novel. I am already hooked. On a side note, this box reminds me of Pandora's box from Greek mythology. Any ties?

[icelandicblue]

Honestly...I'm not sure yet. I have a couple of ideas but it could be. I ripped through the first 5 chapters and now I'm ruminating about where to go. Thanks so much for reading.

[Skai Rain]

I know that feeling. I tend to rip through my first few chapters not 100% sure of where I want to go. Then I look back and think, "D****t! I have such a great idea for that now!"

[Traci]

An excellent start to a mysterious novel. Just enough details to draw me in, leaving me looking forward to the next chapter.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks Traci...we'll see how it all turns out eventually.

[Einstein Noodle]

i read this previously ... moving on to the next chapter .. and again ..great start! i am glad you have put them all together :)
E.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks my friend. ; )

[Derek29]

Wow! What strong talent! Highly skillful, extraordinary writing abilities. This novel clearly packs a punch!!

[icelandicblue]

Thank you Derek. I appreciate the fact that you are reading it.

[therisa]

Icelandicblue, this is a great prologue, to start your story, gripping the reading with just enough details, to teak their interest, without spoiling the coming storyline. Am interested to see, the direction, you take with this.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks therisa...you and me both. I've never written anything this long before. I've got some research to do as I add to it. Thanks for the support.

[therisa]

Your welcome, Icelandicblue. I have tried several times, to write a novel and failed. Just can write beyond, a certain point, without losing my sense of direction.