There was a shriek from inside the package as it fell off the forklift truck and dropped ten feet to the floor of the shipping room. Everyone within earshot stopped what they were doing, shocked at the sudden noise, and stared. The box lay on the floor, crumpled from the impact of its fall. Vince, the driver of the forklift truck, vaulted out of his seat and knelt by the box. He could see a pool of red fluid beginning to ooze out from under the package.

"I think there's something in here!" Vince shouted. "Get help!" He began to hack at the tape that held the box together, pulling at the cardboard and foam packing. Inside the box was an unconscious figure - a boy, no more than fourteen years old. The boy was bleeding from numerous cuts, which had obviously been inflicted by the broken bottles that lay around the inside of the package.

A pair of first-aid responders came rushing across the floor. "We'll deal with it now." Vince nodded and stepped back. He watched as they tended to the boy, before carrying him away.

Of course there was an inquiry. Vince was called for an interview by the chief investigator. For two hours he sat in a small, airless office, repeating what has happened and answering question after question. At the end of it all, Vince looked at the investigator. "Am I in trouble?" he asked.

The investigator shook her head. "I wouldn't worry," she said. "You won't be held to blame. In fact, your actions probably helped save that boy's life. He'd had a very rough journey, even before we found him."

"Did somebody put him in that box?"

The investigator sighed. "You're not going to believe this. It seems he wanted to go to see his grandparents, but he couldn't afford the ticket. So, he paid for a package to be sent to their address, and made sure he was in it."

"That's ... ." It took Vince a minute to find the right word. "That's unbelievable."

"But true," the investigator said. "He thought that the padding and the stickers would help protect him."

"Stickers? What kind of stickers?

"You know. The stickers people put on packages. Handle with care, this side up, that sort of thing."

"Idiot," Vince said quietly. "He doesn't know the mail very well. Some people just take those as a challenge."