A thing to have and hold, And keep forever

Quite a while ago I was given a gift from someone who is an acquaintance of mine. He isn't what I would consider a close personal friend even though there have been many times in the past when he has been available as one.

The gift seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. I found it one day when I came home from work. It sat there in my house with an allure about it that was hard to resist.

The present was approximately the size of a shoebox, maybe a little wider. The thing that made it magical was the packaging. I would bet it had to have been done by a professional gift wrapper. The corners were folded perfectly, tape was strategically placed, and even the parts where the paper ends came together matched the designs in the paper up with each other. A large bow was set directly in the center and expanded out in flowing forms over the sides of the box. The wrapping paper patterns contained geometric shapes in shades of blue, yellow, and red.
In the entire world it had to have been the best wrapped and beckoning present I have ever seen. Just the look of it made me want to stare helplessly without any conscience thought to open it.

Strangely, I never did open the gift. I just couldn't do it. I had no desire whatsoever to tear apart this perfectly wrapped box. Many times I inspected it to see if there was any clean way to open it and see what was inside. If I succeeded at that I could then remove the contents and piece it back together. Unfortunately, no precise way to carry out the plan came to mind.

One day a good friend came by for a visit. Upon spotting the gift he asked, "What's this?".

"Oh, just a present from an acquaintance," I responded. "Isn't the wrapping done well?"

He answered, "Sure. What is in it?"

"I don't know. Don't you think it has to be the best wrapping job you have ever seen?"

"I guess so. You mean you have never opened it?"

"No, I just can't. The packaging would be ruined."

He gave me a quizzical look then proceeded to nonchalantly unwrap the gift. I stood stunned as I witnessed this thoughtless act. "STOP! You are going to ruin the wrapping!" He paid me no heed.

The top of the box was opened revealing a stench of mountainous proportions.

"Ehhhhh!" we both gasped and held our noses in unison. The gag reflex knocked on the upper part of my throat.

Inside the box was a smoking pile of shit.