You

You don't remember.

You woke up and got out of bed, even though you didn't particularly feel like getting up.

You heard someone at the door soon after, almost as if the person on the other side was somehow waiting for you to regain consciousness and pull back your blanket.

You found a package just outside the door. It was wrapped in brown paper and twine, as pristine as a prop from a movie. Your address was on the top side, but there was no return address. No postage. No postmark.

You put the package down and thought hard about it. Was it an order you forgot you made? A gift from someone you knew? Maybe it was just a shipping mistake, something meant for a neighbor… but then why would it have your name written with in unremarkable black pen?

You slid the twine away from the center of the package, tore open the paper carefully, and revealed the ornate wooden box within.

You decided someone had definitely made a mistake, but you didn't know who.

You studied the box, felt along its surface with your fingers. It was etched with intricate patterns, set with dark jewels that you were sure had to be fake. The whole thing looked too expensive, too authentic… too important to be in your hands.

You lifted the lid, and for a moment it seemed as if the box inhaled the air around you. Surely, just a trick of your imagination. You assumed you shouldn't be opening such an old and expensive thing, but the contents might solve the mystery of its existence.

You found a mask and some cloth. Drawing both out of the box with trembling hands, you were unable to stop yourself. With the cloth - a red and black robe - draped over your body, you placed the wicked, grimacing gold-leaf mask over your face.

You.

You became you.

You, the real you.

You heard the voices call to you from beyond a hazy veil of self-control and social restraint. Each voice was yours. They whispered lurid things, yelled demands, and coaxed you to commit atrocities.

You wanted to do what the voices asked. You always did.

You took what you needed. You hurt everyone who had hurt you. You hurt others that you simply wanted to see in pain for no solid reason. You cut, stabbed, strangled, and bludgeoned through an imaginary to-do list of blood-stained depravity. You ate forbidden flesh. You sucked in dying breath. You fractured minds, blackened hearts, and then provided eternal release only when it was begged for.

You reached week's end, and repackaged the contents of the box. You filled out a name you didn't know, and address you'd never heard of, and you placed the shipment outside your door. There, it disappeared from your life once more.

You don't remember, but…

You're welcome.

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