Old magazine

The engraved box, with two ornately carved leaves, looked curious in the hole she had found below the floorboards. Who had put the box there? She had accidentally found it while walking through the attic, her foot falling into the hole and splitting the rotted wood. Now she held the box in her hands. On the side was her husband’s name, stamped in gold lettering, “George”. She undid the gold clasp and slowly lifted the lid. Inside was a magazine, Modern Man, from December 1958. A voluptuous brunette was on the cover, a red sweater pulled low, revealing her deep cleavage. What was the significance of this old magazine? She lifted it; the pages were old and curled. She fanned it slowly with her fingertips, seeing a naked model, her breasts hanging like pears, an anonymous couple having sex, and some old car advertisements. Near the back of the magazine, a black mask, hidden by time, slid down the page and fell into her lap.

She lifted the mask to her face. The leather was cracked, there were stains under the eyelets, but there was no doubt it was the one she had worn for Halloween long ago. She held the mask tightly to her chest, and thought back to the night she had worn it.