Anticipation

“Okay. I’m going to count down from three and then you can open your eyes. Agreed?”

A pause. I nodded my head.

“Three.”

I was shaking with anticipation, trying desperately to see through the opaque blindfold across my eyes.

“Two.”

What unknown treasure could be waiting for me?

I felt fat fingers fumbling with the knot of the blindfold at the back of my head. I felt heavy breath on the back of my neck. And in the back of my mind, I felt a sense foreboding, a sense of dread.

And then came the whisper in my ear:

“One.”