Unexpected Package

Receptionist left me a voice message telling me to go and pick up one package. I was at work, so I went, signed, without thinking too much. But when I looked at the custom declaration form, I almost froze.

This box is from J. I have not heard from him ever since he went back to US.

I went back to my cube, puzzled, not being able to decide if I wanted to open the box or not. It sat there on the desk for about 10 minutes. I tried to concentrate on the email, but I found myself staring at the screen, but could not read a single word.

I took out my knife and opened the box.

A lot of peanuts. He is very good at putting up a box for shipment. There is always enough peanuts to prevent vibration from the shipment, and always a sheet of paper for shipping information just in case the one on the box is gone for any reason, and the package can still be delivered if someone opens up the box and found the paper.

I saw some letteres on the inside, 6 truffles and a yearbook.

After removing all the peanuts, I got the stuff out, and saw a bunch of paper. All kinds of banking statement, credit card statement, cell phone statement, medical statement, 401k statement. Among them, I even found the layoff notice, right, what a package, Bank of America credit card that I never got to see and use, and it is due to expire in few days in 0707. Some statements are bundled together by the year for easier storage. I was more organized than I am now.

I receive statements, frown, curse and pay. Little would I imagine that they could bring such profound memory of what I used to have and used to be.

I always remember it was a Sunday morning, not long after I started to work in US, when I woke up with a vertigo. Although I start to have vertigo sometimes after that, but nothing could compare the intensity that Sunday. J took me to the emergency room, and I stayed there until afternoon. I did not really know what happend when I was there, other than I vomitted a lot, and the doctor gave me some shots, and that knocked me out.

Now this memory is dated.

I browsed through all the paper, and decided I am not going to need them any longer. Time goes by really quickly. I took some statements to the shredder, but the shredder refused to cooperate. I called the receptionist, and she could only take notes and promised to forward the message to the related person. That's ok. Memory has been revived, and I don't mind to keep them a few more days even.

And where is the truffle?