At The Window

It's a fine day, isn't it?

"Thanks for coming again guys." You say as you lead Chole and Alex into the kitchen.
"Anytime my hermit friend." Chole says, patting your shoulder. You smile and let out a small sigh, but that fades when you look at the wooden box.

"So that's what you wanted to show us?" Alex asked, stepping in front of Chole and getting a closer look at the wooden box. "It's very pretty. Have you opened it?"

"That's why I wanted you two over." You say, setting your hand on the box and looking at your two friends. "There was no way in hell that I'd open this box some stranger left at my house alone."

"Heh. That's concerning." Chole said, sweeping some of his black hair out of his face. "Do you wanna open it?"

"Yes and no." You mutter, taking your hand off the box and leaning back away from the counter.

"Maybe someone's lost things are in there and you have to return it to them..." Alex said, quite visibly trying to shed some positive side of the box.

"Why would a stranger leave it at my house then? At about six in the morning and in the rain?" You sighed,  crossing your arms a bit and walking around the kitchen.

"Chole." You hiss, stopping your small walk to see Chole running his hand on the small metal latch that concealed the box. Alex smiled and giggled, while a defeated Chole retracted his hand and grumbled something under his breath.

After a good twenty minutes, and a small breakfast consisting of eggs and cut peppers, you stand in front of the box and have one of your hands lingering over the latch. For some reason, there's a pit of anxiety in your stomach.
"Wingardium Leviosia~" Chole whispers, and you snap your head in his direction with a squint, along with a annoyed huff. "Why are you like this." You ask him. He just shrugs.

Undoing the latch, you take a short breath and open the lid.

There's...

Nothing.
You open the lid completely, and there's nothing. Did the stranger just drop off a wooden box and dip? Why- well the box is very pretty but why at your home? It would have faired well if it went to a thrift store instead.

"Huh." You hum, and you step off to the side so that Chole and Alex could see.
"Nothin'." Chole says, and a small laugh escapes from his throat.
"Well at least you have a nice looking box now." Alex said while you closed and put the latch back in place. "I guess." You mutter and shrug.

A silence follows as the three of you look at the box, as if it to were sudden reopen and something would fly out. Although... You did notice that the hearts on the sides were a very faint cyan and blue, along with the one on the back being a faint maroon color when you turned it. It could just be your eyes taking in my color because of how the rainstorm passed.

You look out the kitchen window, gazing at the sun peeking up and into some trees and a powerline. The view of the forest your home borders must be pretty, all covered in the sunrise's golden blanket.

You were distracted, clearly. So Alex lightly batted your hands away from the wooden box so that she could examine it. A curious hum comes from Alex, and you turn around and lean against the sink. Chole is looking right over Alex's shoulder and has his hands rested on her hips.
You look back out the window, and can't help but admit that you're a lovesick fool sometimes. Platonic hugs? Yeah you love them. But from all the fanfictions and stories you'd read in your free time has you sort of longing for affection. At this point, at the point of being in your twenties, you don't want to focus on your single orientation at the moment.

Chole would release Alex and look at the clock above the kitchen doorway. It was 9:00, and it was around 8:00 when he and Alex came.

If the clock fell, and someone was in the doorway, you could say that they were struck by the time.

"Hey bud," Chole begun to speak. "I think it's about time me and Alex head out. I need to keep writing- you know the whole ordeal."

Snapping out of your thoughts, you look at Chole and nod with a small smile. "I know, I know. Thanks for coming over though," You say as you walk the two to the front door. "Settling my paranoia that is, heh."

"Hey it's all good! You did the same for me." Chole said with a smile.

"It was a rat in your bathroom vent. You said there was a squirrel in there." You say, giving Chole a pat on the shoulder and turning him towards the door. "But it's all good."

Something about your tone was like a bit of funny aggression, but to be honest the rat you pulled out of that vent was disgusting.

"Have a good day!" Alex said, placing a hand on Chole's lower back and pushing him forward before he could make a remark. "Yeah have a good one guys." You say with a small wave as the couple exits. With a slight sigh, you click your tongue and walk back into the kitchen.

There the box sat, and the more you looked at you take in the details. The faint red heart is the one's that chipped, the cartoonish heart is cyan, and the one hat has flat sides is a regular blue.
The one on the top of the box though, is still it's wooden color. Your eyebrows furrow as you flip over the box and look at the bottom.
There's some engraved text in the middle that held said something that you could barely read. It's up for interpretation you suppose.

Setting the box down, you push it off to the side and walk out of the kitchen. Although it's your day off, you have to maintain a house while balancing all the other stuff.

And so after a day of sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, window washing, room cleaning, dish washing, and litter box duty. You also gave Tootsie fresh water.
At the end of all that, you went grocery shopping for an hour or so and upon returning you put it all away.
With a sigh, you go outside onto your small patio at the back out your house and sit on the slightly damp stairs. Everything is so quiet... You hear the songbird's calls, each rustle of leaves when the wind blew, and the livelihood of the forest. Forest that went north for miles.
Although it's a small town that you have grown up in, your parents decided to move a bit more south and be in the suburbs of the city. You make sure to visit them at least once or twice a month. You have a life of your own after all.

Deep in the woods, you can tell there's a river. In the dead of night, you'd hear the faint flow of it. It was chilly out however, as the warm tones of August were slowly but surely fading into the cool September.

With enough internal monologue, as you get sick of yourself sometimes because of it, you get up and walk back inside your house. All of that cleaning turned the day from around 9:00 in the morning to 4:00, in the afternoon. You were hungry, as you forgot to have lunch. Going into the kitchen, you decided to just have a few grilled cheeses and tomato soup. "Tootsie! Tootsie baby c'mere-" You called as you opened a can of cat food and dumped it into her bowl. Tootsie came and meowed at you as a greeting. The rest of the time you cooked Tootsie was rubbing against your ankles and making you slightly trip when trying to walk.

Your day went on after you ate your dinner. Once you showered and put on a pair of shorts along a random shirt, you went into your room. Although you felt a little tired, you decided to sit at the window, and overlook the forest.

At the window you saw the night trees, and a glimpse or two at the river that calmed, soothed you to sleep almost every night. At the window you'd see stars, animals, and the small things. A moth flying by, a dog somewhere in the neighbourhood barking, some teens partying, the howl of wolves.

With a yawn, you walk over to your bed and crawl into it, and the weight of Tootsie was clearly apparent as she was at the foot of the bed. Sleep gave more weight to the limbs of your body, and as it made those heavy, it made your eyelids do the same. Closed eyes, steady breathing, and only the natural glow of the moonlit night to accompany you. Along with Tootsie.

However, unknown to you, the wooden box that you held so much paranoia for,  was opened and the hearts on each side were glowing faintly.