Saturday morning, 11:30. Bruce rolled out of bed like the unemployed bum he had become. He skipped the bathroom and went straight for the kitchen. Pausing in front of the fridge for a moment, reasoning with himself about the proper time to start drinking beer, but deciding he wasn't quite that much of a dead-beat yet. He put a tab in the coffee machine and watched it fill the same unwashed cup he'd been using all week, celebrating his self restraint with an outdrawn stretch'n'yawn.
He sauntered over to the TV like usual, but halted as he saw Natalie Young walking outside. Now there was a good reason to stay sober and get drunk all at once. He'd been more than just attracted towards her ever since he moved here. Unfortunately the feeling wasn't mutual. She was happily married to Dan, anyways. So the best he could do was daydream, admiring her body from a distance whenever the chance presented itself. Like now. She was holding a package, strutting her buns towards his front door with a smile.
He was still contemplating her buns as his doorbell rang. Oh crap! Why would she come here? What could she want? Luckily he hadn't taken off his pants yesterday, so he was still adequately dressed to be seen in public. He put a hand through his graying hair, tried a smile in the hallway mirror and opened the front door.
"Oh,hi, Natalie."
"Hey Bruce." Her eyes drifted to his clothes, her smile faltering momentarily at the grubby state they were in. Then she re-caught herself, presenting the package. "Mailman accidentally delivered this to our address."
"Oh? I don't remember ordering... anything." He really didn't, but took the package nonetheless. Chances were he ordered it during a late-night booze-induced online trolling-spree and completely forgot about it.
"Weird. So you don't know what's inside?" She sounded kinda disappointed. "Those markings look Korean or something."
"Yeah, they do." He turned the package over in his hands. It looked like it had had a long trip to get here.
"Sooo... Are you gonna open it? Kinda curious on what's inside now..." Natalie flustered, putting her hands behind her back in anticipation.
"Uhh...sure" Bruce was working hard not to stare directly at her protruding cleavage. "Just a sec, I'll grab some scissors. You're welcome to come in if you want..." He said, going into the kitchen.
Natalie followed, curiously but carefully. This was the first time she had actually entered Bruce's house. It was everything she had come to expect of a bachelor's apartment, albeit one who was in his 50's. Pizza-boxes, dirty laundry, and the faint smell of deodorant that was present everywhere. Her mom would say the house lacked a woman's touch, and she would probably be right.
"Nice place you've got here." She said politely, ignoring the stack of dirty dishes that seemed to be slowly gaining territory on the kitchen counter. She could almost see the green stink-lines, involuntarily wrinkling her nose.
"Uh, yeah. Sorry about the mess. I usually clean up on Sunday...now where did I put those scissors?" He started rummaging through the dishes, finally protruding a potato-cutter knife. "This should work."
He cut open the packet, fishing out what was inside...
"...A necklace?" He said. "Why would I order a... Are you alright, Natalie?"
Natalie just kept staring at the necklace, completely entranced. Bruce frowned, there was a note inside. As he read it, he started grinning, ear to ear. It was just a scrap of paper, an excerpt from a larger work of writing, but he knew it's contents were true. It simply read:
Necklace: This is a great deal more powerful than the coin, along with altering the mind, it can create illusions and transform people as long as they maintain a human body (it can't change a person to a inanimate object or animal). You swing the necklace like a pendulum to enthrall people.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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