Brown Boxes
Ann gazed at the rows of white and red shelves facing her, forcing herself not to look at each of the contents of it closely. She didn’t know why she agreed to go there, when seeing everything she sees around the place is just torture.
She forced herself to turn away, to hide the “offending” things from her vision but instead, her eyes landed on a stack of medium-sized brown boxes with a big green, white and red sign over it. Ann blinked, startled, for she hasn’t laid eyes on those brown boxes for a long time. But that doesn’t mean her feelings about it are gone.
You shouldn’t look at that anymore, Ann scolded herself. You know you’re not allowed to.
But she couldn’t tear her eyes away. She could imagine it calling her name, as if saying, “Come closer!” Even if Ann stood several feet away from the stack, she knew that if she didn’t look away, she’d probably start walking closer to it…closer and closer, until she ends up breaking her promise to herself. For the nth time.
Ann sighed, but at the same time she found herself walking closer to the stack of boxes. She stopped and got a box, feeling it with her hand, thinking, It’s not going to hurt, I’m just going to touch it. She smiled as familiar memories flood her brain as she looked at the box. She remembered her personal stack of the same boxes at ome, back when it didn’t give her guilty thoughts like the one running in her head right now. Ann turned it around and read the words written behind it, something she had never really looked at before. After all, all that mattered then was the contents of the box, not the ones outside.
Just this once? She said to herself. It wouldn’t hurt. She looked over her shoulder, checking to see if anyone was looking at her. When she saw the coast was clear, she took another box and started walking away, a big smile on her face.
“Ann?”
Ooops. Darn it. She turned around slowly and found herself face to face with her older sister, Arlene, who held a grocery cart filled with vegetables, fruits, and all things fibrous, low-fat and healthy, which is what they have been eating for the past few months. “Hi, Ate.”
Arlene raised at eyebrow at her sister, who was looking guiltier and guiltier by the minute. She looked at the boxes she held in her hands: two boxes of her favorite chocolate. The ones her ex-boyfriend used to give her. The one that she drowned her sorrows in when she found out that he was two-timing her. The one that made her gain all the weight that the two of them have struggled to lose for the past months.
She sighed and shook her head. “Ann.”
“I’m sorry, Ate.“
Arlene took the boxes from her and put it on the shelf next to her and didn’t say a word. She pushed the cart towards the cashier, and Ann followed her silently. As they were unloading the cart, Ann apologized again.
“I’m really sorry.”
Arlene smiled. “Seven pounds to go, Ann, and you’re back. Just a little bit more,” she said encouragingly. “But for now, I picked up some low fat cookies.”
Ann made a face and her sister laughed. She hated those stuff, but her sister was right. Just a little bit more. And when she lost that last seven pounds, she can buy herself a box of those chocolates and eat them to celebrate. Yes, that would be good. But for now, she’ll have to keep it away from her mind.
Writing Prompt: “Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.” - All At Once by The Fray
Labels: prompts