Almost a week had passed since the box appeared and Nick didn't only use it to torment the ladies around him with tickles, but he also had to admit that every now and then he found out something about people he met every day saw. He found out that the pretty cashier had recently put her boyfriend in jail because he had hit her often and for a long time, her colleague had a soft spot for cinema and romantic Indian films. And he also found out something about Anna that got him thinking, her father is a serious alcoholic and she had a disabled brother. He saw her more than once as she lovingly solved a puzzle with him or played Lego, but also as she confronted him when her drunken father wanted to attack him. He found out from Marie that she took guitar lessons and liked going to one or the other book launch.
Also, he had discovered that the box only worked on women, and that distance didn't matter. So he had watched a live stream of Anni The Duck and tapped on the box lost in thought and whoops her foot appeared, but with stars or other well-known personalities he didn't dare to do anything with the foot that appeared.
He also found out that the bigger the shoe was, i.e. sneakers, ballerinas or boots, the more they came to light. Once he thought of a lady from the subway, he noticed her because she was wearing knee-high black heeled boots, when he was knocking on the box again in his mind at home, he fell over with the back of his chair with a cry, he looked horrified at the entire lower leg, including the foot, which was sticking out of the box and bobbing to some beat. Rubbing the back of his head, he stared at the box in astonishment. But unfortunately he hadn't had time to do something with this tempting situation, he was expecting visitors that evening. Despite the initial fun and the tickling of Anna and Marie, he was concerned when he stopped by Anna's again. She sat on a comfortable chair and talked to someone about her brother, her father and her own life situation. Nick quickly realized that it was a therapist and wanted to end it when Anna was asked about what
"Anna, did the situation with the shoe happen again like at the bus stop?" Anna looked down at the floor in embarrassment. "No, it's not! But that makes me doubt myself!" Nick sat there thunderstruck and closed the box, he swallowed, was that his fault? From that day on he just watched and didn't touch his feet anymore. But he kept thinking about it and promptly felt guilty, so he decided to send a message to Anna, but how?
He thought, he wasn't allowed to reveal anything about the magic box. After much deliberation, he grabbed a small white piece of paper and wrote:

"Anna, I'm sorry that you doubt yourself! You're not crazy, what I did was wrong. I took advantage of a situation without thinking about the consequences! I'm sorry! If you ever need someone to talk to, text me like I did?"

Z"

Nick deliberately turned his initials to the side so as not to give himself away, read everything again and tapped the box twice. Pop, the box jumped open and a black sneaker sock came to light. Anna was at home, or so it seemed, watching TV. There was a tone and she looked at her phone, she got up, turned off the TV and was about to leave. Nick acted quickly, he grabbed the sock band and quickly pulled it off, placed the folded note on Anna's sole, pulled the sock over it and pressed the button on the chest. He looked up, Anna was frozen in her movements. Nick closed the box and counted out of ten
tapped the box again and it opened with the other foot inside. Anna was sitting on her sofa with one bare foot and the note in her hand, her eyes darting over the lines. Suddenly she got up grabbed a pen and wrote on the back, put the note in her sock, sucked it on and slipped her shoe on. Nick closed the box, waited briefly, knocked and opened it again, there it was, Anna's other foot, she sat petrified on her sofa and stared at her shoe. Nick pulled the sock off his heel and Anna winced. He took the note and read:

"Who the hell are you? How is that possible? Prove you're real, draw a star on my foot!"

Nothing more was written there, Nick thought about it and looked thoughtfully at the mirror, where Anna bit her lip nervously. Nick had to say that she already looked very cute sitting there, he grabbed his pen and started drawing until he noticed Anna with a giggle, she was still sitting on the sofa but she was covering her mouth with one hand. Nick had to grin, finished drawing the star and put the sock back on his foot. Before he closed the box he pricked his heel briefly, closed it quickly, waited and knocked again, opened it and looked in the mirror. Anna sat back on the sofa with her bare soles on her lap, she shook her head but looked very relieved. Satisfied, Nick sat back and closed the box. He looked at his watch and decided to do some housework.

In the evening, while he was standing in his kitchen whistling happily and conjuring up something to eat, his mobile phone vibrated. He fished it out of his pocket and casually glanced at it, staring at the screen in disbelief. A text from Anna, Nick gulped, had she found out? With sweaty hands, he turned off the stove and opened the message.

"Hello Nick,
I must apologize! For the message Last and for everything I've done to you in the past! I'm sorry and I hope you can forgive me someday!

ann"

Nick put the pot completely off the stove and went to his desk, flopping down in his chair in confusion. He glanced at the box and tapped it quickly, he jumped up and a bare foot came out, Anna was sitting comfortably in her sleepie and thick warm slippers that looked like dinosaurs on her sofa. He picked up his phone and texted back:

"Hey,
where did the change of mind come from?"

Nick wasn't angry with her, but he didn't want to make it too easy for her either, no matter how difficult it was or was, the way she had treated him just wasn't possible.

"I was not taken seriously and my supposed friends showed me that in an ugly way, so I thought about it!"

"Yes, I know that! I forgive you, nice evening!
Greetings Nick"

Nick put his cell phone away and looked at Anna in the mirror, who typed something else and put her cell phone down next to her contentedly. A "Thank you too!" Lights up Nick's phone screen. Now Anna moved, she grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something down, she reached for her slipper, Nick quickly closed the box. He got some of his food and chewed on the box, a bare foot appeared again and the picture of Anna watching her foot intently. A note stuck between her big toe, Nick took it and Anna squeaked in shock, but then she grinned. Nick unfolds the note:

"Hey Z,
Thanks to you, I overcame writing to someone I didn't treat nicely in school!
thank you
Anna."

Nick couldn't believe what it said, he took his pen and wrote on the back!

"Hey Anna,
I'm glad you accepted my offer! But why are you telling me this?

Z"

Nick stuck the note between his toes, making Anna giggle and her toes twitch. He closed the box and finished his plate, asked for second helpings and tapped the box again. A new piece of paper stuck between the toes, this time Anna didn't flinch but wiggled his toes, Nick grinned and let:

"I wanted to share this with you and thank you :)
and please be careful with the note, I'm very ticklish!"

Nick laughed out loud as he read the last sentence. Yes, he knew that, very well.
He took the note and wrote,
"Thanks, and yes I know that!
Have a nice evening."
To annoy her a little, he slowly rubs the note over the entire sole, resulting in a giggling Anna who wriggled on her sofa and whose foot twitched back and forth. Finally, he put the note back between his toes and closed the box. After knocking again and changing feet, he saw Anna contentedly reading the note, "Thank you!" She whispered barely audibly and Nick smiled contentedly.

After clearing this up with Anna, Nick was very happy with himself and how he had handled it. The box was still there, sitting in its place on the desk, and he fell asleep thinking about bare feet twitching.

The loud bass of a rock song shattered Nick's dreams. Overslept, he sat up and glanced at the ceiling, the stupid brat from above is having her private party again. Eva, who lives with her parents above him, has been 18 for a year and celebrates a Skype party with her boyfriend every few weeks when the parents are not there. And it's annoying, every time after the alcohol has flowed she turned on the shitty music and every time so loud that half the block could celebrate. Annoyed, Nick grabbed his keys, jumped into his sweatpants and stormed out of the apartment. Assuming he was on the upper floor, he pounded on the door until Eva staggered open the door. "Nod you loser!" She slurred and hugged him, she had one Gothic look chosen for the evening. He rolled his eyes, she had been so sweet and nice until she met this guy. "Eva, your shitty music is too loud again!" Nick said and pushed her away. She looked at him and...
There was a clapping as she slapped him across the face, Nick standing there completely taken aback.
"Shut up! I can do whatever I want!" She turned and slammed the door. Nick was standing in front of the door, his cheek burning, he had just raised his fist to knock on the door again when an image of her knee-high boots flashed through his mind. A fierce grin on his face, he ran back into his apartment, slammed the door and rushed to the desk. He stood in front of his desk, breathing heavily, and knocked on the chest, the chest jumped open and a foot and lower leg wrapped in nylon stuck out of the chest. Nick noticed immediately that the shoes had a very high heel, in the mirror he saw Eva dancing in front of her laptop. By now she was only wearing underwear and her boyfriend was staring at the laptop with his mouth open. Nick took his time and examined the foot, it was slim, had long toes, Eva had painted her nails black. Due to the position in the shoe, her toes were spread and always spread slightly while she danced. Nick gathered a few things, and without first teasing the foot a bit, he held his electronic toothbrush on between the gaps between his big toes. Eva, who was about to take off her other shoe erotically, squealed in surprise and fell back on her bed, laughing. Her other shoe flew across the room from the fidgeting and kicking and landed on the laptop screen, which sailed off the table and out of frame. The music ended abruptly and a squeaky and laughing Eva was left behind, desperately reaching for her shoe again and again, but each time she was thrown back onto the bed by a burst of laughter. Nick now stuck the toothbrush into the red velvet lining at calf height and picked up the brush that he also had ready. The second that Eva had to calm down a bit, since the brush on her leg didn't seem to tickle her too much, didn't last long. Her face was bright red, her makeup ran with tears of laughter, and she quivered in horror, then in laughter when the hairbrush touched her sole. Nick saw in the mirror how Eva squirmed and found something to like about lounging on the bed in fashionable lingerie. Breathing heavily, Nick let go of the foot, Eva was also giggling and breathing heavily on her bed. He looked at the foot, the nylon stocking showing a few holes from the brush. Her skin underneath looked red and very well circulated when Nick heard a strange noise coming from the mirror. He sat down and took a closer look, Eva had fallen asleep from alcohol and exhaustion. Nick tossed the brush on the table, pressed the button and stared in the mirror until the foot disappeared. He actually wanted to do more, but his conscience had caught up with him. Tired, he closed the lid, got up and flopped onto the bed and fell into a restless sleep.