The Small Brown Box

She was gone and I lay on my bed consumed by despair. I looked at my watch, 10:30 am. I knew Anais would be beside herself with worry, I retrieved my phone and scanned the dozen message and voicemails she'd left. I took some more painkillers, safe limits were the least of my worries now. At least I knew I had eight and a half hours of peace, I hauled myself up and made my way to the only place I wanted to be.

When Anais opened the door she gasped in horror and threw her arms around me, "Oh my love, you look dreadful."

"Thank you sweetheart." I tried to laugh.

She ushered me into the kitchen, Simmone was looking anxious seated on a stool, "Aunty look, I've never seen 'im looking so bad!"

I knew I felt bad, but I didn't think I looked quite that bad, "Do I really look that bad? I hope you still love me?"

"Of course I still love you, you are still the man I chose," she kissed me and hugged me, "we can see your light and yours is very pale."

"May I have a coffee please?" Simmone jumped to it moving very quickly for a woman of her age. "Do you mean like auras?"

"Sort of, but there are many things we can see and they paint a picture. I knew when the witch cursed you because yours changed and it's been getting worse. I 'ave missed you so much." She brightened up a bit, "I 'ave something for you, she held out a little jewelry box."

I looked at it suspiciously, "The last time I opened a small box bad things happened!"

"Not this time my love, open it." Inside was a plain silver ring. "Put it on."

I slipped it onto my ring finger "I hope this makes us married."

"I'd like that." She giggled. "It's made of silver and will be your talisman." She picked up my hand and kissed the ring softly. "Keep it on, it is my 'ope that you, my love, will come back to me safe and well."

I could see by the look on Simmone's face that this was meant as a morale booster rather than any effective tool against the curse. "Thank you my darling," I kissed the ring, "I love you so very much."

Simmone placed a mug of coffee in front of me, "Has the witch given you any idea yet what she wants?"

I sipped the coffee, this was a conversation I didn't want to have, "Well, as a matter of fact, yes." Anais looked hopeful and they both sat next to me expectantly. "She says that there are three ways to end the curse, kill myself... kill her... or complete a task, but that isn't an option."

Anais looked confused, "Why isn't it an option, what is it?"

I could see by the look on Simmone's face that she had a pretty good idea what was coming, "It's not an option because I could never allow it to happen, ever!"

"Tell me, my love, what is it? Killing yourself or killing her are not options so that only leaves the last one."

"Why is killing her not an option?" It was the one I was in favor of.

"Because if you kill her, your soul will be diminished. You are a kind, gentle soul, to take another's life would be alien to your nature and it would stay with you for the rest of your life. You wouldn't be the man I chose." I looked confused, "Don't you see? If you were a violent man then this act would be second nature to you, it wouldn't change you, but you are not. Killing her would change you irreparably."

Simmone caught my eye, "She is right Paul, killing is totally alien to you, it would alter who you are, it would take part of your soul."

Anais looked satisfied, "So! What is the third option?"

I was trapped, "She wants me to take you to a club..."

"Yes?" She was getting impatient, "Paul, just say it!"

"She wants me to watch while every man there has sex with you. Then she will put the curse back in the box."

Anais's breathing suddenly increased and she looked horrified, terrified, repulsed, "Oh my love!" She got up and stood looking out of the patio doors. "Why is this 'appening to us?" I could see her dainty little hands making fists. "Oh my love." A few minutes passed and then her back straightened and she breathed in deeply, she turned to face us tears pouring down her face, "I will do it!"

I was aghast, "No!" Simmone looked profoundly sad. "Anais, my love, I will not allow it!"

Anais wiped the tears from her face and stood in front of me, "We 'ave to my love, it is the only way."

I couldn't believe my ears, "No it's not! Killing her is the only option!"

Anais, sighed wearily, "Then what we 'ave will be lost."

"And if you do this what do you think the affect will be on your soul?" I looked at Simmone, "Please, help me out here, if she does this won't her soul be damaged beyond repair?"

Simmone sighed, "Damaged yes, but not damaged beyond repair. She would not be acting against her nature because she would be doing it for love. As long as you stay her man she will survive... you will survive."

"I can't believe you are saying this." I stared at them, "I have just found the love of my life, my soul mate, the purest most innocent creature I have ever known, someone who has chosen me, given herself to me... me!" I wanted to cry. "And now I have to hand her over to dozens of lascivious men who care nothing for her other than she is something to fuck!?"

Anais's head dropped, "It is the only way my love."

"No! No!... NO!"

Anais took my hand, "Come." She led me upstairs and lay down on the bed, "Lie 'ere next to me my darling." I lay down, gazing into her beautiful eyes. "I know that this is the worst possible outcome in your eyes, but it will pass and we will still be complete, together." She placed a hand on my cheek, "It is not through choice, it is necessity, I will do it for love."

"But.. "

"No, my darling, please listen. If you die I lose you, if you kill her I lose you, if I do this the torment ends and we are together.

"But..."

"There is no other way my darling." She snuggled next to me and kissed me.

I wrapped an arm around her "How has it come to this?"

"I don't know, but for it to end, it is what we need to do. Be strong for me my darling, I will need you."

I felt like my world had ended, it was bad enough what happened to me, but...I couldn't even begin to think about what this would be like for her.

"Anais... I... "

She put a finger against my lips and smiled, "Ssh darling, the decision 'as been made. This will be over soon." She closed her eyes, but a tear escaped and rolled across her face. I wanted to scream!

Some time later Simmone came into the room and sat on the bed, she gazed at us for a few moments, "Never have I see two people so well matched, so compatible, you will survive this, believe in each other." I knew Simmone was only trying to help, but I was in complete turmoil. "Come downstairs I have prepared a meal."

Anais was trying to put a brave face on, but it was plain to see that the thought of the coming ordeal was terrifying her. Simmone talked of visits to America and new beginnings, trying to be 'normal' was tearing me apart. "I must go, she will be here soon," Anais sagged in her chair, "she will want an answer."

Anais kissed me tenderly, "You know what to do my love." She sighed deeply and tried to smile, "Will you stay with me tomorrow night? If she gets what she wants per'aps she will leave us alone?"

"Yes, my darling, I'll stay." I kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too," she kissed the ring, "all my love and 'ope is with you."

A short while later I was sat in the car waiting... thinking...agonizing. Spot on 7:00 pm I felt her presence, "Well?"

"There must be another way?" I felt her getting angry.

"Make your choice now!"

I tried... I really tried, but the thought of my beautiful Anais being treated like a slab of meat... abused... "I can't! There must be another way!"

"In that case we will continue, I want you to meet someone."

The tingling sensation spread across my brain and I gasped with the delight of it, images of my time at the club flashed into my mind, I could hear myself talking to someone, "That will be great, I can't wait, be naked when I get there... oh yeah, I'm going to cover you in cum." When I could see again I was in a room taking my clothes off and a woman was stretched out on the bed in front of me naked, her legs spread wide. She was playing with her clit moaning softly.

Her red hair was spread out across the pillows, "Fuck I've thought of nothing else since I saw you at the club, I want fucking."

I was climbing onto the bed and knelt between her legs, the tingling in my head became a flame and my hands moved to my erect penis, "Get ready, I'm going to cover you and fill your pussy like you've never experienced before!"

"Oh fuck yes, do it."

My hands worked on my cock, the sensations were incredible, it only took seconds and I could feel a massive orgasm building, I heard myself gasping and spurt after spurt landed on the woman. She squealed with delight and flinched as a spurt landed across her face into her eyes. My hands kept moving and before long another orgasm wracked my aching body, god it felt so good.

The woman took over masturbating me and was quickly rewarded with another load of cum, "Holy fucking shit! I'm covered! Get that cock inside me, I want fucking!"

I was begging for it to stop, but I made no sound and I watched as I entered her body. Her pussy was soaked with her own juices as well as my cum and I slipped inside her easily, "You want to have your pussy full of cum?"

"Ahh, fuck, yes... Oh fuck yes, ohh, that feels, ohh fucking... incredible!" The tingling sensation spread across my body again and a huge orgasm that seemed to go on and on wracked my body, "Fuck! Fuck.. oh my god, fuck, shit ahhh, oh my god so much cum, fuck I can feel... shit ahhh!" I didn't ease off, but kept up a rapid pace, the squelching noises were exquisite. "Oh fuck, oh fuck, ahhh yes, oh god.. I can't...stop, ahhh, cumming, fuck! Another orgasm wracked my body and my cum squelched out of her past my pounding cock, "Ahh, fuck, fuck, YES!" I pulled out and wanked onto her again. "Fuck, bloody hell, oh my god." She was breathing hard and looked down at the mess, "Holy shit! I've never seen so much cum!"

I heard myself saying that I'd be happy to fuck her any time, I begged for it to stop and then it went black. The next thing I know I'm in my flat, lying on my bed. "I can get really inventive you know and I will fuck that cute little girlfriend of yours eventually. Sleep well."

That night she showed me a series of memories, a man hanging himself after giving his wife to a vagrant on their wedding night, she was still wearing her wedding dress as she was taken. A woman cutting her wrists while her husband had sex with three men. The images kept on coming, so much misery and pain. When I woke in the morning I knew what I had to do.

There were texts and voice messages from Anais, but I couldn't look at them. I went to the kitchen and reached for the largest knife I had. I sat down and waited.

A short while later she was there, "Well?" I looked at the knife in my hand, "Is that for you or for me?"

"It's for you, you fucking bitch!"

"Interesting. Come here," an image of a town sign flashed into my head, "I'll be in the park on a bench."

I grabbed my keys and the Sat Nav, it was a four hour drive which infuriated me, I want to do it now! When I arrived, however, I was less than enthusiastic, the long journey had given me time to reflect and I knew that Anais would be distraught if she knew what I was going to do. I parked up and walked into town following signs for the park.

As I approached the park I took a deep breath and gripped the handle of the knife inside my jacket. There were people wandering around, someone throwing a ball for a little dog, a couple of youths smoking weed, but only two benches had a solitary woman on them. One was a pretty teenage girl reading a book and the other a haggard old woman throwing bread crumbs to the pigeons.

I locked my eyes on her and my grip on the knife made my knuckles go white. I started to walk slowly towards her along the path, my heart was thumping in my chest and sweat started to roll down my back. I felt sick, but I carried on walking.

As I drew level with the girl she looked up from her book, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I jolted to a halt, "What?"

She smiled, "If you kill her you'll be wasting your time." She patted the bench next to her, "Sit down, before you fall down."

I was completely taken aback, "You!"

"Yes, nice to meet you at last. By the way you won't be needing that knife," she tapped my jacket, "you have to use this one. From a bag next to her she pulled out a very old looking knife with a wicked serrated edge.

I felt sick all over again, "Why have you done this to me?"

"I have no choice," she sighed, "anyway enough of that. I know somewhere quiet we can go and then you can be on your way, back to your cute little girlfriend."

My head was still spinning, "What? Why don't you have a choice?"

She started to look impatient, "Take the knife." She held it out to me and hesitantly I took it from her hand.

"Why don't you have a choice?"

"What does it matter?"

"It matters because I want to know why this has happened to me?" I put the knife down on the bench next to me, "I'm not doing anything until you tell me. Shit I didn't even know witches and curses were real until a couple of days ago!"

She sighed, "I'm not a witch."

"You're not! Then how have you cursed me?"

"If you really want to know, I fell in love with a boy," she sighed again, "the most beautiful boy you'd ever seen." Her mood hardened, "But his mother didn't approve and when we tried to elope she found us and cursed me."

"How... did she... curse you?"

"I'm destined to never die, never to be with my love. She gave me the curse you have and each person has the same three options. I will only ever be released if someone I have cursed kills me. That's why I made it so hard for you." She looked into my eyes, "I want to die so that I can be with my love again!" She put the knife back into my hand, "Please, release me."

The pain in her eyes was overwhelming, this poor young child was in every bit as much pain as me. "So, we are companions in misery. If I kill you, I'll never be with my love again, if I don't you will never be with yours." I looked into her beautiful face, "How long have you been waiting?"

"I think about 450 years." A tear rolled down her face.

"How in all that time have you never cursed someone who would happily kill you."

"Sometimes the box goes undetected for decades, a lot of the time it is found by children who the curse will not work on. Mostly when the curse finds someone they choose the third option. Only a few have sat were you are now and they... like you... they can't."

"So we are doomed to continue this torment unless I take the third option."

She looked into my eyes, sadness was consuming her, "Yes, I'm sorry, truly I am."

"And then someone else has to suffer?"

"Yes, it's been a torment for so, so long. So many people destroyed. It's hell!"

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I knew that I couldn't kill her even to allow her to be with her love. It was all so hopeless. I looked at the knife in my hand and saw the ring that Anais had given me. I didn't have any hope any more, but perhaps this young girl could. I slipped the ring off my finger and reaching across I took her hand and slipped the ring onto her finger. "This is from my love. I know now that we do not have a choice, I know what we must do, no matter how terrible it is, but I can and I do hope that someone, someone soon, releases you to be with your love again."

She looked at the ring and gasped, "Ohhh!!!" She looked at me and tears rolled down her cheeks, "Ohhh!!! Can it be? Ohhh, it is... I can feel it, I can feel it!"

"What's wrong?!"

She started to sob quietly, "Thank you, ohhh thank you!" She started to shimmer and before my eyes she started to fade away, "The only thing that can break my curse... and yours... a gift of love and hope from a cursed soul." I could see through her now, "Oh, I can see him, truly I can see him, my love, I'm here my love! I'm coming!" Her hands were reaching out and her face was radiant.

I watched as she faded into nothing, "What's your name?"

She had gone, but in my head, faintly, oh so faintly I heard, "Clara." I looked down, the knife had gone too.

I sat. I don't know for how long. I just sat.

Was it all a dream. Was Anais real!? I reached for my phone, but I'd left it at my flat. Slowly my head cleared and I needed to see her, I had to see her, only she could tell me if it's true or not, were we truly free!

Hours later I stood facing her house full of trepidation and excitement, she must have seen me because the door burst open and she came running out. A few paces out of the door and she slid to a halt, a look of terror spread across her face, "Oh no! Oh no! What 'ave you done Paul?! She 'as gone!" She staggered backwards into the house, "Oh no, oh no, oh no, my love, what 'ave you done!?"

I followed her inside and coming out of the lounge Simmone was standing next to me. I looked into her eyes and she placed a hand on my head and the other over my heart, I could hear Anais sobbing. "Child... Child... ANAIS!" She looked up and wiped the tears from her face, "He is unchanged, he is still your man, he is unchanged!" She smiled, "Come and see for yourself."

Anais got up and walked tentatively towards me, "But 'ow?" she placed a hand on my heart, and burst into tears, she threw her arms around me, "My love, 'ow is it possible!?" She cried and cried.

I picked her up and carried her to the kitchen. "Is it true my love, has she gone?"

Anais nodded her head vigorously, "Yes, it's true, she 'as gone, but 'ow?" She threw herself at me and kissed me a dozen times, "Aunty, it is true, isn't it?"

Simmone nodded, "Yes child, he is free."

Anais, kissed me a dozen more times, "Tell me 'ow is it possible." I started to explain but she held up a finger, "I need coffee."

Simmone walked to my side and touched my unadorned ring finger, "Love and hope?" I nodded. She smiled, "Your children will be very beautiful souls."

Anais didn't leave my side for the rest of the day. She would periodically burst into tears and kissed me almost constantly. She was beside herself with joy that it was her gift that had set me, set us, free. Eventually she ran out of energy, "Can we go to bed my love, I'm exhausted."

I was terrified of the thought, what if... "Yes, my darling, let's go to bed."

The next morning when I woke, Anais was watching me, "Allo sleepy 'ead." she kissed me, "Did you sleep well?"

I nodded, "Yes, no dreams, no voices, peace."

She smiled, wrinkled her nose and started to trace a finger down my chest, "I think I'd like to..."

I put my hand on hers, "My love, I... when she... I..."

"Ssh my darling, that was not you and it was not a choice therefore, for us, it did not 'appen." Her hand moved down to stroke my erection, "Think nothing more of it, there is only now and the future."

She knelt above me and guided my cock inside her, "Ohh, my love I 'ave missed you," She started to ride up and down on me in long luxurious strokes," ohh, it feels... oh...so good." I reached up and cupped her breasts in my hands, "Oh yes baby, mmm, that feels so good, oh yes." There was nothing happening in my head other than that caused by the sensation from Anais's beautifully wet pussy sliding up and down on me, it felt incredible. "Oh my love, ahhh, oh.. " I gripped her breasts as the convulsions hit me and my cock pulsed inside her. "Oh, yes, oh yes, Oh my love... ahhh, yes!"

I released her breasts and my arms collapsed onto the bed. She sat upright on me and then, placing her hands on my chest she bent down and stared into my eyes. She leaned her head to one side and wrinkled her nose in that oh so delightful way, "My love, would you like it to be a boy or a girl?"