Jasmine had picked PT up and they were headed to the house across the street from Johnny’s, the house in the photograph, to scope things out. They had discussed many times where they thought the photos had come from or who had left them in that package, but hadn’t come up with anything conclusive. Jasmine thought it could be the plots of a murderer or serial killer and they were leaving the two of them clues and breadcrumbs to solve the case. That would have certainly been thrilling, but also terrifying. He hoped that lives didn’t depend on how fast he was connecting these clues. In truth he thought the meaning of these photos and the key that led them to the package was much more random and may not even be the correct path to take. They had broken into someone else’s PO Box and opened a package that was not addressed to them. It felt like they had disrupted some sort of flow and were now caught up in events beyond their control.
Regardless he was now living a life of purpose. He wasn’t quite sure what the purpose was or why he even cared about making sense of the photos, but the recent events that had happened had been amongst the most memorable things to have happened to him in years. Although, not all these things happened to be positive they felt right like they were supposed to happen. Like opening the door to PO box 915 had altered his reality somehow and now he was just along for the ride. It felt that it was important for Todd to have been attacked, Larry to have been run over, and Jasmine to have burst into his apartment on that day which was not that long ago. All these things were events that just occurred and then led to other events all seemingly connected to the photos from that package. It didn’t feel like he was taking control of his life or willing these things to happen, he was just attracting them somehow.
He had told Jasmine about the woman he had met in the hospital. She had recognized him and had told him about her son, some guy named Trevor that he apparently knew. He told Jasmine he didn’t know of any Trevor’s and that the woman had probably lost her marbles. Jasmine on the other hand seemed to think that the meeting was significant somehow as it took place in the hospital and they had received a photo of a hospital room from the package. The room in the photo was empty however. If somehow that woman and Trevor were connected to the PO box and the photos then maybe the unmarked package was his to open. Or by opening it he made himself the central character in its plot. They still hadn’t seen the green car, the last step to this recipe. Maybe before they could fully go down this road, a green car would have to have some sort of significance on one of their little journeys, but first they had to discover how the house from Avalon woods fit into the puzzle.
He stared at Jasmine as she sped down the road, her long black hair blowing up in her face. He looked at her skin and lips. She always had freshly applied Chapstick on and her lips were always relaxed forming a smile. His natural expression usually scared people off. It was an expression completely devoid of emotion, almost not quite even human more like a mask or a realistic robot. Sometimes people would catch him making this expression and would tell him he was almost unrecognizable. As soon as he started to converse with others his demeanor would become much warmer and inviting. He had wondered which one was the closest to the truth, but was afraid the empty expression may have been it. Jasmine on the other hand was the opposite, her natural expression was one of joy and full of energy. Maybe that explains why they had appeared to attract each other somehow. Each felt more complete when the other was around.
He had been thinking about his crush on Jasmine the past couple of days and had decided not to pursue it any further. He had tried to gauge her interest and see what she felt about him, but he was just left with more questions than before. If he had to guess it seemed that Jasmine thought of him more as a prospective best friend and a buddy to go on adventures with. Maybe he just didn’t have that much confidence any more, but he felt that admitting his feelings for her could disrupt their friendship and strangle the life out of it. It wasn’t too bad to just have a crush on her from afar and maybe it was better this way. It’s not like he was ready for a relationship or anything. If they had started dating he was sure it would be just like his past relationship with Cassie, starting promising, but floundering not long after. Or maybe if she did also have feelings for him, he’d wait for an overt signal. He was never one to make the first move anyways, always finding himself quickly in relationships before he had time to process any of it.
Once they approached the house in the photograph, Jasmine parked on the opposite side of the street closer to Johnny’s house, but much further than the last time they had visited. Both Johnny’s and his neighbors house seemed empty. No lights were on and no cars were parked in either driveway. It was just beginning to get dark out, but too light for them to sneak around the property, not that that was their plan or anything. They stared at the house. A large cookie cutter house similar to every other one in the neighborhood. The lawn too was manicured the same and adorned with similar decorations. The only thing striking about the house at all had nothing to do with the property, but the packages that lay on the front porch. Jasmine had also noticed this large detail. They had counted each box that lay on the porch and lost track after 25. 25 packages possibly 30. He had never seen that many packages at once. At least not on a regular person’s front porch. This house definitely did seem connected to the photos of course, and the whole PO box tale. But how were they to approach it.
“You want to just knock on the door?” Jasmine asked. “Maybe the owner knows more about the PO box or something. maybe they have another clue for us to solve!”
“I don’t know.. I’m not sure anyone is home. You want to see if we can see anything in the back.”
“What could be in the back? More lawn? I bet the person who lives there will help us. People always like helping me.”
It was true he thought. She did have the habit of approaching and questioning total strangers about various things, and they always seemed invested in helping her. There was more to it then her obvious physical attractiveness he thought. It was due to something else, something she had that could totally obliterate the awkwardness of talking to a complete stranger.
Jasmine left the car and he followed her up the steps. She rang the doorbell about three times but it seemed clear that no one was home. It was darker now than when they had first arrived, the street light illuminating the front porch.
“Hey look at that package!” Jasmine said. “It’s wrapped in the same exact way and with the same blue paper as the other package.”
“Woah you’re right.” He said nervously looking around.
Jasmine walked over to it. It was the smallest package on the porch, yet quite heavy. This one did have an address and postal markings on it, however it looked a little older than the previous package. The date on the postage was from 9 years ago and the address the package was intended to go to was all scratched up and muddied. He could make out the return address, the very house they were at and the name of the sender. Trevor M. Jasmine had noticed the name before him. Immediately questioning weather that Trevor could be related to the woman from the hospital. He thought it was most likely a coincidence, yet definitely striking. If only they could make out the name of the person Trevor M. had sent this package almost a decade ago. Jasmine looked both ways and surveyed the immediate area before stashing the package in her purse.
“Hey want to come to my house?” She asked him. “Let’s open it there. Maybe we can return it if it doesn’t seem right.”
He no longer cared about the significance of these packages. He repeated Jasmine’s question over and over in his mind before saying yes. He hadn’t even seen where she lived yet.
