Jovial Memories

Chapter 26

Mandy's frozen hands gripped the cold metal doorknob of her house, and with a deep breath, she twisted it. As soon as the door opened, a blast of hot air hit against her, and she was once again filled with a sense of warmth. The box was pulled snugly against her; she had not let go of it since it had been placed in her hands.

As soon as the door shut behind her, there was a clamor of heavy footsteps, and her mother came rushing down the stairs, wild-eyed and out of breath.

"Amanda Wells, where have you been?" she exclaimed, her tall, thin fingers gripping onto Mandy's arm. "You left over two hours ago with no explanation!"

Mandy frowned. The sun had already set, and she had completed her walk with only an occasional street lamp lighting up the way.

"I went on a walk," she said again, pulling her box closer toward her body.

"Oh, no, don't talk to me like that," her mother snapped, clearly furious. "I was about ready to call the police to have them look for you. Where was your phone? Why weren't you answering? I even called your friends and they had no idea where you'd gone either."

"My friends?" Mandy questioned.

"Roy and Iris? I assumed maybe you'd gone to one of their houses, but they claimed they hadn't seen you since school got out. Why did you even leave in the first place? Was something troubling you?"

"Nothing," Mandy complained, pulling away from her mother's grip. "I wanted some fresh air, that's all."

"Well, you keep that phone on at all times now, missy," her mother ordered. "And you tell me where you're going next time and when you'll be back. Unfortunately you don't do much and this is the first time it's happened, so I'll let you off with a warning."

Mandy's heart lifted, glad to be free from punishment.

"But next time I will find some way to punish you, you hear?" her mother warned.

Mandy nodded her head vigorously. "Yes. Sorry, Mom," she spoke with the most sympathetic of faces.

"Oh, I'm just glad you're okay!" her mother exclaimed, pulling her close to her and hugging her tight. She caught Mandy by surprise, and the box slipped from her grasp, the edge pushing against her mother's side.

"Jesus, Mandy, are you trying to stab me?" her mother exclaimed, pulling back. Mandy tried to hide the box, but it was too late. Her eyes had already fallen on it.

"What's this?" she asked.

Mandy shrugged. "I don't know, some box."

"And what's it doing in your hands?" she wondered.

Mandy quickly tried to think of some lie to tell her mother. All at once, she blabbered, "Someone had a bunch of free stuff sitting on their street, and it looked cool, so I decided to grab it."

Her mother eyed her suspiciously but did not continue questioning her. "I don't know how I feel about you grabbing stuff off people's porches, but okay..."

"I'm going upstairs," Mandy decided, leaving her mother down below. She rushed up the stairs and into her bedroom, setting Jessie's metal box on her bed while she changed into warmer clothing.

As soon as her old clothes had been thrown in the hamper, she grabbed the silver box and ran her fingers across the design, trying to figure out what it contained and where the key was. She had never remembered Jessie ever mentioning a key nor a metal box that supposedly contained something secretive.

Perhaps it contains nothing special, Mandy thought. Maybe it only contains some baby pictures or something.

Still, Mandy desperately wanted to know what was inside, and for a long time, she stupidly attempted to pry it open with her bare hands, but the thing would not budge.