Irrational paranoia
Jane Nash: Short story ‘Irrational paranoia’
It arrives, a box containing two smaller boxes within. He doesn’t open both of them, only one. He glances at the label on the second box. He opens the first box. It contains what he has ordered. He smiles to himself.
The label on the second box predicts its contents. That’s all it is, a prediction. But what if it is the wrong label? What if the contents are different to the original order?
He decides not to look inside incase its contents are different. It doesn’t occur to him that he might be pleasantly surprised. The odds are good that the box does indeed contain his order but still he can’t be completely sure. He rationalises that he does like surprises and so places the box at the back of his cupboard for a rainy day when he is in need of a surprise.