1 The Midnight Emporium
Arthur was having the worst day of his life. He just got fired from his job that morning. Of course, it was for the post of a delivery boy so he did not regret it that much. The working hours were long but the pay was pitiably little.
Was it Arthur's fault that it was raining and the package he was supposed to carry wasn't wrapped properly? So a little water seeped through the package, how big of a damage could it really make?
Arthur didn't think too much of it but the recipient was practically bouncing off the walls with fury when the package was delivered. Apparently, he was expecting some kind of antique and any blemish on it, including water stain would have ruin its price tremendously.
The young man tried to argue but the man took out his phone and lodged a complaint to number that was printed on the invoice. It was Arthur's boss who answered the call and the poor man almost got his ear chewed off by the angry customer.
After leaving the man's place, Arthur got a call from his boss. The fury that his boss had suffered from the customer, he returned tenfold to Arthur. The customer demanded compensation and Arthur was thus informed that his paycheck would be used to cover for it. On top of that, he was also served a severance notice.
Arthur couldn't say he miss the laboring job but he did miss the money. Now how was he going to pay his rent and fill his stomach?
He sighed as he walked down the street. The night was falling and the city had gone down for its rest. There were not many people on the road and there was a chilly nip in the air. Arthur was still fuming to really notice the cold. He kicked at a pebble that sat on the road and the rock bounced several times before knocking into a door.
Arthur looked up at the building and he was surprised at how bleary it looked from the outside. The place was barely lit. Since it was bookended on both sides by buildings that were taller, it felt like the place was constantly shrouded in shadows. The place had a grey, nondescript brick walls and a door, it did not go a long way to help Arthur tell what kind of establishment it was.
There was a shop sign that hung above the door but Arthur had a hard time making it out due to the darkness. It seemed to read, "The Midnight Emporium."
'What kind of place is this? A shop? If I'm not mistaken, shouldn't this be an empty plot of land?' Arthur wondered to himself. The young man of around 25 had just moved to the city several months ago. He came from a humble background and he moved to the city to pursue the common dream of hitting it big.
However, reality handed him a real slap to the face. Without a handsome face, brilliant mind or impressive resume, Arthur was shown the door whenever he turned up at an interview. He was simply too average to really strike it big. In the end, he had to work odd jobs like making delivery to make ends meet… But now that said livelihood had dried up, what was he going to do?
The creaking of the door pulled Arthur back to reality. He frowned because he definitely did not reach for the door and there was no one standing on the other side of the door pushing it open either.
'Is it an automatic door?' thought Arthur to himself. However, the place didn't seem modern enough to be equipped with anything automated. An observation that was further confirmed when Arthur peered through the open door.
The interior of the room looked small, probably just about 25 metres by 25 metres. The defining feature was definitely its lack of lighting. There was a single candle sitting near the counter but the firelight was not strong enough to cast the entire place in light.
In the shadows, Arthur caught the shapes of racks and cases, however he stood too far out to tell what they were displaying. There was no sign of other customer or even the proprietor. The place gave Arthur the impression of a monster opening its maw and it sent chills up his spine.
Just as he wanted to turn to leave, a young female voice called from within, "Please come in."
Arthur hesitated. After all, following an unseen voice into a mysterious shop did not seem like the brightest idea in the world.
Right then, the voice began again. "Please come in to take a look. Who knows, you might find the stuff of your heart's desire. After all, what do you have to lose?"
Arthur had to admit, the voice had a point. He was returning to a cramped rented room with not even a television to entertain himself. Indeed, what did he have to lose…
Compelled, Arthur walked through the door and he paid close attention to the door behind him. If it started to move on its own, then he would turn and run out immediately. Thankfully, the door just sat there quietly.
"Why are you standing at the door? Come in, come in." The voice welcomed. Now that Arthur was inside the shop, he could follow the source of the voice better. It came from the counter. Arthur frowned because there was no one there.
Ignoring the voice, Arthur stood where he was and looked around him. The cases and racks that he caught a glimpse of earlier were completely empty. He was expecting some kind of weird trinkets filling them considering the nature of the shop but they were unoccupied.
Arthur could see better for himself how the inside of the shop looked like. The floor that he stood on was cement and the walls were bare with the red brickwork showing. If the place was a shop, then it was probably just robbed or was closing down.
"What kind of shop is this? What exactly are you selling if the shelves are all empty?" Arthur questioned.
"Come closer, yes, come closer to the counter. There's still one last thing left to be sold and it's the most valuable yet." The voice urged, ignoring Arthur's question.
"Stuff of my heart's desire?" Arthur repeated to himself. Before he heard that, he would have stayed to survey the place a little bit longer but the invitation set off an alarm in Arthur's head.
Before leaving his hometown, Arthur's parents told him repeatedly not to fall for the lies and flowery words of the city folks. That was the impression they had of the city, it was a place filled with cheaters and charlatans just hiding around the corner to lure their son down the road of sin.
Arthur promised them that he would be careful around people that he didn't know and would run should he feel he was in any form of danger. Even though Arthur did not feel the actual threat of danger, it did feel like he was walking into one.
"Thank you but I already have what I need in life," Arthur rambled at the general direction of the voice as he hurried towards the open door.
"Why so hasty, young man? Are you sure there is nothing else that you seek in life? Dreams that you want to fulfill? Craving that needs to be quenched?" The voice turned from the voice of a young girl into the seductive drawl of a mature woman. The voice curled around Arthur like a pair of fluttery wings, trying to pull him backwards, deeper into the store.
If Arthur didn't sense the danger before, he definitely sensed it now. Something supernatural was amiss and Arthur was sure he wanted no part of it. He continued his journey towards the door but for some reason, the door seemed to have moved away from him. Arthur did not remember venturing so deep into the shop. He had walked for quite some time but the distance to the door didn't seem to shorten in any way.
"Leaving so soon?" There was another shift to the voice and this time it managed to stop Arthur in his track. This was because the voice had shifted into one that was very familiar to Arthur, one that he was sure he wouldn't come across in the city.
"Arthur, we've missed you. Why don't you stay a little while longer? Take a load off, come talk to us." This time, two voices spoke at the same time. A second voice overlaid the first one that he heard earlier. Both of them were familiar to Arthur's ears because they belonged to his parents. He was so shocked by this discovery that he didn't realize the mysterious voice had just called his name. Then again, it wouldn't have crossed his mind because it would have been perfectly normal for his parents to call him by name… provided the voices did belong to Arthur's parents.
Arthur did miss his parents but the rational part of his brain told him that this couldn't be happening. His parents were back in his hometown and they would not have appeared at the city much less inside a dingy place like this without informing him of their arrival.
Arthur picked up pace and his parent's voices called after him. "Arthur, aren't you going to come see your parents? We've come so far for you and you're not even going to talk to us?" It was as if the voice could reach into Arthur's mind and picked up the questions that it knew would disrupt Arthur the most.
Arthur yelled into the blackness around him, "I know you are not my parents! Leave me alone! I'm leaving! Let me go!"
"Oh… Is that so?" The voices said as the mysterious force that held Arthur back weakened slightly. "Of course, we won't hold you against your will. The city will provide you with the chances that a small town like this wouldn't be able to. We understand.
"Arthur, we love you and we only want what's best for you. Even though we are unable to be with you in person, know that we'll be with you in spirit. Remember, if things get too rough, don't be too tough on yourself. Come back home, we will always love you no matter what."
This chilled the blood in Arthur's veins. That was the exact speech his parents told him on the day he was leaving home. 'How could the voices repeat it word for word? What is happening?'
This time, someone did answer it. The voice changed into one filled with power and dominance. It boomed, "Arthur, are you going to let your parents down like that?"
"What? Who are you? Get out of my mind!" Arthur's scream echoed through the seemingly empty store. With the way he looked around his surroundings with guard and manic in his eyes, Arthur had the appearance an unhinged mental patient.
Then again, a normal person probably would have reacted the same way if placed in Arthur's shoes.
Ignoring Arthur's warning, the voice continued, "You came to the city hoping to strike it big but you have achieved no name and amassed no asset other than the clothes on your back. Without a stable job, soon you'd be kicked out your rented room and had to return home if you did not want to live on the streets. Is that how you want to return to your parents?"
Arthur went silent because the voice had seen through the secret in his heart. He couldn't bear to see disappointment on his parents' faces. No child would ever want that.
The voice continued but in the original tone that Arthur heard when he entered the shop. It was the voice of a young girl. "Come closer, yes, come closer to the counter. There's still one last thing left to be sold and it's the most valuable yet.
"Gold, reputation, money, girls, a good life, one that you'd be proud to show your parents. Come, come. Yes, I have exactly the thing that you need to make your parents proud of you. Wouldn't you want that, Arthur?"
