Inside the box, nested in layers of burgundy silk, is a largish crystal ball. You stare, wondering who could have sent this or why it was delivered to you. You also marvel at its flawlessly smooth surface, unmarred by its journey despite the seemingly insufficient packaging. It seems translucent but is dark due to being sunk in the shadows of the box and the silk cloth around it.
You don't have a lot of use for a crystal ball, although both it and the silk look expensive. Maybe you could use it as a decoration, or a Hallowe'en prop. Anyway, you might as well take it out of the box. So you reach in with both hands to lift it out.
But your fingers have hardly brushed it when you snatch them back with a yelp. It shocked you -- at least it certainly felt like the painful sting of static electricity on your fingertips.
What happens next though is more than enough to distract from the fading pain. The orb begins to rise from the box, levitating of its own accord into the air, a spark of light appearing in its dark depths. It moves slowly but steadily until it floats about two feet above the box on the table. And then...