Box of Goods

The elevator lights on the twentieth floor flickered on. Somebody had called it and it was travelling up to the twentieth floor. Mrs. Hirokami of room 2009 had her door open. It casted an orange pocket of light onto the dark path in front of all the rooms. She was sweeping the dust that had collected on the floor as a result of two days worth of unpacking her room of any old unwanted items. From her palms, a gentle stream of wind pushes the dust that had collected on the tables and counter tops into the floor where she would then sweep them into a dust pan.

The elevator bell dinged. Out comes Huko and Kenta Kobayashi. Kenta had his arms thrown back, holding the back of his head, his face blissfully happy. He looked at the buildings below from the side. They were dark shades of boxes sprinkled with lights coming out from windows. Each window contains little universes of people’s lives. In the distance, the city shines brilliantly in the night.

“What a beautiful night,” Kenta remarked.

Huko paid him no attention. He was deep in thought, his eyes focused but looking at nothing in particular.

"Mr. Hirokami?" Kenta said after noticing the open door.

"Ah," a cheery old voice said from inside the room, "Is that you Kobayashi?"

The brothers stopped in front of room 2009. Mr. Hirokami was hunched over, making sure all the dust was swept into a dustpan.

"I still haven’t thanked you properly for helping me with those boxes yesterday," he said, still bent over.

"The room's already looking much nicer, Mrs. Hirokami," Kenta said as Mr. Hirokami stood up and headed for the bin outside.

“And it's all thanks to you boys." The old man turned from the bin to face them. "I have to give you something for your efforts."

“Please, sir, there’s no need,” Kenta said.

"How about dinner. My wife made too much curry today."

"Kind of you to offer, sir, but we already ate."

"Hmm, I must have something to give you, boys."

Kenta waited patiently with his arms neatly in front of him. Huko, in and out of reality inside his own mind, had not been listening. He was thinking. He let his eyes drift to the old man’s room. It was a neat room. Clean and polished wooden floors and furniture. His crystal lights were tinted a warm orange. In the kitchen, there was a pot that was steaming. The faint scent of curry filled the air. Huko then let his eyes wander into the closet. It was filled with stacked boxes that were on the verge of collapsing yesterday, and now thanks to them, there were only two boxes left. Among the tangle of items, Huko could see one object of note: a rusty portable stove.

"How about those boxes," Huko suddenly said, pointing to the old man’s closet.

"Eh?" The old man turned around to where Huko was pointing. "But those boxes are filled with trash."

"We'll take them for you," Huko said.

Kenta looked at his brother with confusion.

"Are you sure? I could-"

"Yes," Huko interrupted the old man. Mr. Hirokami hesitated for a while.

"All right then boys," he continued after some thought, "I'll get them for you."

"Allow us," Kenta said, still unsure about what Huko's plan was.

He walked over the box that was visibly much smaller. His back was already sore from picking up the other boxes yesterday. It hurt every time he had to bend down. The other box was big and had the stove and a rusty iron tool box that looked heavy. Their rooms were on the same floor, but it was far down the hall.

“Good luck Huko,” he said to Huko quietly. He bent down, successfully suppressing the initial aching pain, put his fingers under the box and heaved.

The box did not move, and his back made a popping sound.

Huko beside him went over to the larger box, and with ease, lifted it out of the room.

"Be careful with the small one," the old man said from outside, "that one’s heavy."

"Use a spell, Kenta," Huko said with a cheeky smile.

"Good idea, brother," Kenta said with a pained look. Kenta took a deep breath, pulled a scroll from the box, uttered some nonsensical words, and heaved the heavy box with all his might. The pain shot through his lower back like a thousand knives. He waddled out of the room with his hands under the box.

“Strange way to use a levitating spell,” Mr. Hirokami said as Kenta passed him

“Just making sure the bottom doesn’t rip,” Kenta replied.

With enough effort (and pain) the two brothers managed to get the boxes to their small one bedroom apartment. It was dark inside, since they hadn't figured out how to get the lights working yet. Their room was still filled with jars of dead lightbugs that they had used for lighting. That was a smart idea at the time, but their lights were so dim that they had to spend hours capturing dozens of them, and now the lightbug population in the playground was extinct because of them. Luckily, there was an old flashlight in one of the boxes. It was rusty and had a big handle. They turned it on and aimed it at the ceiling. The light coming from it was dim, but it was enough for them to barely see.

Huko went straight for the stove. He pulled it out, and opened the flap on the side of the stove. He was relieved that the one thing he had hoped for was still there: the gas canister. Kenta rummaged through his box with less enthusiasm and found heavy wrenches, nuts, metal plates, rubber hosing, wires, and springs.

"Mrs. Hirkomai has interesting hobbies," Kenta said as he pulled out an old iron helmet.

Huko began to sort the items into two piles: the items that were of worth, and those that were not. Soon, he had collected all he needed. He ran to his bag and dug up his notepad and pencil, and began sketching his idea. Kenta looked at his brother curiously.

"Kenta, do you remember that trick with the landlord?" he said as he scribbled.

"What about it?"

"What if we don't need a second person hiding in that jacket?"

"How are you going to spew the fire out of your hands?"

Huko smiled.

"With this." He flipped his sketch to his brother.

“We’re going to use a different jacket this time?”

Huko, frustrated, reached for the items he had sorted on the table. He grabbed a few things and stood in front of his brother at the doorway. In his right arm he had the gas canister for the small portable stove, and on his left he had a bundle of rubber tubing. He dropped the tubing and ran to the oversized jacket to pull out the lighter they used last night. With one finger he pushed the metal tip of the gas canister. It let out a hissing sound and stream of cool methane gas. Huko moved the lighter in front of the nozzle, and flicked the lighter. In an instant, a roaring burst of fire lit up the dark room.

Kenta was silent for a while. Then, he looked at the small tubing, and it all came together.

"I hide the canister under my clothes, and run the tubing to just before the end of the sleeves. With my wrist and a mechanism, we could rig it so that at the same moment I flick the lighter on, the gas comes through the tubing and into the lighter flame."

Kenta took a while to process the idea. He looked over the sketch again, and then his face lit up

"Huko, you're a genius!"

The two brothers laughed. They jumped up and down with excitement at Huko’s brilliant plan. Through their celebration they knocked the flashlight down, which caused it to spill its batteries, which in turn plunged the room into darkness. They didn't care. They were still happy. In the midst of their celebration, the door creaked open, letting moonlight into the room.

"What are you boys so excited about?" Akane asked, half her face shrouded in the shadows.