My friend gave me a gift a week before she died. it’s still wrapped.

She handed it to me maybe seven days before the accident. I never got the chance to open it.

Two apartment moves later and the box is still here. Still in its wrapping, tape untouched, corners a little soft now from being packed and unpacked.

I genuinely don't remember what's inside. Could be nothing, could be something small. Doesn't matter.

Because the second I open it, it stops being the last thing she'll ever hand me and becomes just a thing. Sealed, it's still from her. Opened, it's just mine. So it stays taped.