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Nutshell Kingdom: Mandarin
2006
A week ago, I was sent an email that ended up in my junk bin. However, the Subject line, Mandarin, was so intriguing that I opened it nonetheless. The message consisted of a flashing icon, a little yellow bell. The text told me of a perfectly ordinary man, whose life had neither been exemplary nor malignant, somewhere in Asia. Should I choose to click the flashing bell icon, this man would die (it did not specify whether he would be killed or just simply die) and that I, also by virtue of clicking the icon, would be the inheritor of all his wealth. This man, the text continued, had no heirs and was, while not obscenely wealthy, fairly well off. If I acquiesced, I would certainly stand to gain a good sum.
It is something I rarely do, clicking on unsolicited icons, as I am totally repelled by the idea of getting even more spam, but I was intrigued. Also, I obviously did not take the email seriously. I remember wanting it to forward it to some friends, but I had an eerie feeling about that, as if something in my very cells, a conscience perhaps, was warning me from taking that step.
But I did click on the yellow bell, and that was that.
Until today. I just got an email from my roommate which told me that the mail had come and that was a large envelope for me postmarked from China. She is unemployed and bored and her curiosity as to what this mysterious letter could be stemmed mostly from that. I told her I had no idea, which is mostly true. However, now I am at work and all I can do is wonder.
You don't think...do you?
