Let Me Show You Something: Book 2
Title: Let me show you something: Book 2
Author: Styvnn
You see, this minor
irriration of an
acquaintance spent
healthy portions of
his time in this
fantasy, even more so
because he did not see
the humor in it. Oh,
let me recover from
this joviality! There,
now I am ready.
Perhaps I have lost
you as I have lost
myself once again in
this comedy. As I
said before, he spent
too much time in
reality. So much that
he actually thought
that the two worlds,
this one we create in
our minds and this one
we endure with our
bodies, somehow
coexisted in reality! I
but to hear him carry
on about such things
was, well, quite
entertaining!
The sun had nearly fallen now, and for some reason or another the store owner had neglected to turn on any but the outside light, most probably because the incompetent owner had fallen into rest in some corner of the kitchen, so anyway, this silly jester became to me just a shadow. The darkness had all but wiped out his features to me, which I considered a merciful thing because just before his face had taken on that pitiful tone that I was glad to be delivered from. As a matter of fact all was dark, except of course that beautiful diamond ring that I had mentioned before.
Anyway this ring must have picked up that bit of light I mentioned to you before because it took on the most peculiar glow about it. It seemed as though it had a light of it's own. All this I tell you because around this time I received the most unusual feeling that this disembodied ring was the source of the tale not the fool.
"Such hopes I had, such very nice dreams. I thought the loneliness that fell on me so quickly would one day fall away in another arms. I dreamt that things could be different."
Then it was very quiet. That dark silhouette of a man turned to me. His eyes, brimming but not overflowing with tears met my own, briefly and a sudden smile dawned on his face. Literally. It glowed there in the darkness, even out shadowing the light of the distant ring. Although it shown for but a minute, it seemed to add years to me.
I was transfixed, the perverbial deer in the headlights, or in this case a sadist in a smile and well I didn't quite have the force to respond. So I sat there, just looking at that smile, wishing with all my might that it might be removed from me and the light of the ring would shine once more, but it didn't. Only this desperate smile burned in the night. To be quite frank, I was frightened because in that smile I saw some sudden revelation. I know it was silly, but somehow I felt that silly cad had somehow... found out that which I did not wish to know. I turned away, I could not bear to look. Instead I tried to find that dimond in the darkness and shadow. I couldn't. This dark form shadowed over me, this damnable smile burned into me, and it burned into him deeper than my pessimism realized and I could not find that ring. It was shadows, it was darkness, and it was that damnable smile but it was not the ring!
I looked desperately for some comfort but found no solace! No comfort only darkness and pain. It was absolutely unbearable! I felt the heat of it on my neck like some baying wolf about to rip the life from me, my heart lept within me, a heat rose to my ears and, and...
"You find this quite amusing don't you friend?" said the smile in slow measured tones, "That's ok, I once thought so as well."
I clinched my eyes shut, not caring or bearing to look -- then it was gone. With a sudden flash the lights came on in the diner and the voice of the keep could be heard. Slowly I dared to look, beside me lay only an empty plate, twenty gold peices, and in the center a ring. I hurriedly pulled my pouch from my vest and paid the bill, quite intent to leave, and had actually turned to do so when his voice came back to me. The sweat was cold on my hand and my forehead. I was quite sure that if I turned my head I would see him dead there in a puddle of his own blood there on the counter or collapsed on the floor beckoning me closer with dead hands, I reached back, without looking, took the ring and with the damn smile burning in my back, left.
