A/N: Hey everyone! So just a quick note, listen to the Davy Jones Music Box song while reading
R&R and I'll love you forever.
It started with a music box. Nothing extravagant, nothing one would call precious or priceless. It was simply a music box made of wood. It was designed to look like a cabinet, with two drawers on its lower half and if one of those drawers happened to be opened the melody would begin. This melody gave of a feeling of great relaxation to the listener and would often lull them to sleep; at least that was what happened to me.
The box had landed in my possession when I was about 5 or 6 years of age. I remember the exact moment that I held it in my hands; it was Easter Sunday, and that previous night I had lost my first tooth. The sun had yet to rise in the morning air but my father allowed me to get up early as a "congratulations for losing your first tooth" kind of event. Even though it was still early I had already eaten all the chocolate and found all the eggs that were hidden around my father's apartment. After that, we headed back to bed for some much needed sleep.
Soon my father was deep in his subconscious but I was still wide awake. I found myself staring at my open closet when I noticed glimmer of pink that wasn't there the night before. At this time, my father, stepmother and I had to share a room due to the size of the apartment so I had to be silent if I wanted to get to our closet. Quickly, I crawled out of my bed and tiptoed across my floor, struggling not to make a sound. Luckily no one stirred and I was able to make it to the closet.
The pink object was near the back behind a few boxes, and being my size I was able to grab it easily. I was not expecting it to be so heavy, and nearly dropped it but managed to regain my grasp at the last moment. Pulling it onto my lap I saw that it was a simple pink bag with a matching tag. The object inside the bag was covered by white tissue paper which I eagerly removed.
And there it was. It was so plain, dull even. Simply a wooden music box with little metal handles. I opened its two cabinet-like doors to reveal a red velvet interior. There were places where one could store various types of jewellery and even a rotating hanger for necklaces. My child mind was spinning with excitement and wonder. The two drawers on the lower half caught my attention and without thinking I pulled one open. That's when the tinkling melody began, it was like a whisper. Still, I was terrified that my father would awaken from the sound but, as I slammed the drawer shut and shifted my eyes in his direction, there was nothing.
My hand grazed the bag ever so slightly, and I looked down to see that the tag had writing on it. It's probably just from Dad, I thought. Taking a closer look at it I realized that was not the case.
"Love from, Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy."
The next thing I remember was waking up in my bed, cradling the music box in my arms. My father said he found me asleep in the closet and blamed my sleepwalking problem.
"Where did you find that?" he asked, motioning to the box. Not wanting to get in trouble for snooping around, I thought up the best lie I could.
"I…guess I found it while sleepwalking."
"Odd, I've never seen it before.. Maybe the previous owners left it."
He smiled at me, kissed my forehead and left.
Many years passed and even at the age of 19, I still believed in the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy. The music box had long disappeared; I had cleaned out my room numerous times and must have put it in storage. Another music box had come into my hands though, this one being from the movie "Anastasia". Its melody was that of "Once Upon a December" and I would constantly wind it up just to help me sleep. This one was given to me at Christmas when I was 7, in a bag like the one from Easter but green. The tag read;
"Love, Santa."
Those music boxes were my prized possessions, and even though the Anastasia one is old and the melody is warped, I still need it to have a perfect night's sleep.
But even during one of those nights, I managed to wake up with a start. I didn't have a nightmare, I didn't need a glass of water and I most certainly was not sleepwalking. So what woke me up? For a moment there was nothing but silence, but as I continued to lay in the dark I began to hear a noise. It was almost like a whisper, it was such a familiar noise. It took me a moment to realize that it was a melody… The melody from my very first music box. Confused, I started to make my way out of my bed to find the source of the noise; but as my feet touched the ground, I heard heavy footsteps down my hallway.
They stopped at my door.