She peered into the kitchen through half-sleeping eyes. The room was filled to the ceiling with little grey boxes. Not sure if she was still dreaming, Isla ran a hand over her eyes, squeezed them shut and looked again. Nothing changed.
With a frustrated curiosity, she shuffled into the middle of the room and grabbed for a box on the table. Something inside sloshed around as she shook the object. "How odd," she thought, replacing the box on the edge of the table. She reached for another box, shook it and set it back down, perplexed. They were all about the same size and color. In fact, there was nothing to tell one from another besides weight and sound.
Isla plopped down on the floor in anguish and tossed a box idly in one hand. Where had all the food gone? The toaster? The dishtowel? Even her refrigerator was stuffed with the worthless little boxes.
As she sat there, Isla was overcome by a sudden feeling of familiarity. She realized with mild interest that the box in her hand had the same feel as a cereal box. That was it! Everything was inside. All she had to do was open the boxes and everything would return to its place. Excited, she laced her fingers into the seams around the edges and pulled. Nothing happened. The box was sealed somehow and would not open.
She threw the box down on the tile floor and sat in a sleep-like stupor. She picked up a random box by her side and stacked it, without looking, on top of the last one. To her astonishment, the two boxes merged into a single grey cube and continued to sit on the floor. Curiosity took over and Isla began stacking and arranging the boxes.
Gradually the system became clear. The bread box went on the toaster box (which was placed next to the outlet box by the wall). Milk box went on cereal box and was eaten with a spoon box.
Everything was there but nothing was visible. She could sense but she couldn't see. The meal was the most delicious Isla had eaten in a long long time.
*This story accompanies an interactive art project in which the viewer is presented with a set of small (4") newspaper-wrapped boxes. Each box contains some unknown object like metal gears, cheese crackers, or water. With time and comitment, this could possibly become a giant, interactive installation.
