Sam was a rather average teenager. His hair was blonde and cut quite short. Pale skin, he was dressed in jeans and a light blue T-shirt. He was currently in what used to be his grandmother’s home before it was to be sold off after her.. passing away.
Sam wasn’t really sure what to think about it. This was a house he had fond memories of, and it was sad that he couldn’t really go back to it. His mother was also quite broken hearted as she had lived here growing up..
His grandmother Esmerelda was always a very private woman. She wasn’t what one might call typical though in her interest, which tended to be games of all kinds. She had boardgames, and even video games from the 60’s. Sam had enjoyed those ones in particular with her old computer somehow still working despite it running on a floppy- an actually floppy diskette.
The teenager sighed as he explored the last couple of boxes. He had been sad, though they didn’t spend a lot of time together. There were a few vague memories of her house but now they were tasked with taking what could be of value before her house was sold off.
“Hey Sam, I think that’s it.” James said. “You okay? I guess this is the last walk around here.” James looked to his friend with concern. He was certainly the more sporty of the two. Taller, leaner, his skin was of a darker hue then Sam’s with dark black hair to match. He was a bit thinner then his friend but had a subtle strength and confidence. He was actually quite a good handyman- well- getting to that point, with various tools of the trade.
“It’s weird you know… I could have sworn that when I came here, my grandmother had another room in the attic.” He remembered a.. door? Just beyond the wall. Touching it though, all he saw were bricks.
“You were a young kid, you would be surprised how much memories mix up,” James chuckled a bit. “Come on, have a last walk around. I’ll get this stuff loaded into the van. How in the world did your grandmother get so much into debt anyway?”
“I don’t know.” Sam shrugged. “We had a language barrier. She spoke mostly Greek.” Sam sighed a bit. “I wish I learned it. Though when we moved to america it just didn’t seem that important.”
“I hear you. Well, I’ll take this last box down..”
Sam sighed. So that was the last thing. He decided to look again at that wall. He knew he remembered ‘something’ about it. One of the bricks seemed a bit.. loose? Curiously he pried it back and realised he was looking at some kind of hidden alcove. After a bit more work he managed to feel something inside-
James walked back. “Huh? You find something else?”
“Yeah. There’s a hidden compartment here!” Sam said excitedly.
James looked and laughed. “Dude, that’s just a bit of insulation. It pobably used to be the flu to a chimney. Patching it up with a bit of carboard is the cheap way of sorting it out. She probably just forgot about it.
Sam pulled out what looked like a flatten bit of carboard. Each side was coloured differently. Six sides of Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Orange, and Purple. “Hm.. fancy box to use as insulation’” Sam thought- then realised there was a piece of paper on the side.
“Dear Sam,
I knew you would find this box before the house is sold. You will eventually realise how I knew. I need you to understand a few things. This box is magical… really magical. The effects of it are varied and I have yet to work out all it can do. From what I have seen, it will create a magical item when you put a single non-magical item inside. The resulting magical item will last about a single day of use.”
Sam continued to read the letter. “It’s from my grandmother...”
“Wow.. beyond the grave? That’s damn creepy...” James shuddered. “So what’s the deal?”
Sam continued to read. “Each side of the box will have a different power associated with it. Think of each colour as the magics ‘emotion’. Red is an angry magic and must be uesd cautiously. A few general rules I must explain:
-
Placing an object in the red side will inevitably destroy that object when it burns out.
-
The Green side tends to work with nature magic.
-
Never put an object charged by one colour into another side with a different colour.
-
Never ever- under any circumstances, place a living thing inside the box.
-
Help James if you can- don’t ask how I knew.
This box belongs to you now…
Signed, Esma.”
Sam read the letter out. “Wow… I just got an inherence of a magic box?” He looked at it. “Come on let me unfold it.” sam worked quickly to put it together. It was quite a small box really, no more then one foot in all directions; perfectly square. James watched this shaking his head.
“Oh come on. You’re crazy if you believe that nonsense. It’s just a cardboard box. Your grandmother is pranking you from beyond the grave or something.”
“She wouldn’t lie!” sam said examining the box carefully. “We need to test it with something.”
“Heh, James laughed.” Okay let me test it. I’ll show you it’s not magic.” He picked up the box and put it over his head.
“James don’t!” Sam gasped. “Grandmother wrote not to-” Did- did that count?!
It hung against his shoulders. “Hey look see? It’s just a box!’ James took off the box.
Sam stared at James. “Oh.. shit...”
James stared blankly. “What is- it?” His voice sounded weird. “Your face is- different. Uh- look!” He quickly took him to the bathroom.
James stared at his face. It didn’t look at all like his own. Instead he now had long brunette hair, and feminine cheebones. In fact it -was- the face of a girl! The brunette hair was styled into two long twin-tails. “What the- Oh no!” Everything about his face was different. “This isn’t right! Even my voice?! Urgh!”
“You got a pretty girl’s face,” sam snickered.
“This isn’t funny- I got to use that box to change back!” James suddenly ran back up to the attic.
Sam blinked. “Wait James don’t!”
