The Chaos
One Week Later...
"Let's visit the seasonal fest!" a young girl cheered excitedly while tugging playfully at a young man, her black long hair fluttering in the soft breeze.
With infectious enthusiasm in her voice and her eyes shimmering with excitement, she entered a grand structure that stood tall above the world with long and thick poles serving as its legs. In the distance, she was able to see the clothed roof of the structure end.
The night starry sky was visible while the countless arrays of glistering lights and big amusement rides shone in the darkness.
"Yes, yes," the boy allowed himself to be pulled, his blonde hair caressed by the breeze. Ruining his hairstyle that he had so painstakingly arranged.
Hand in hand, they stepped into the grand structure that housed the seasonal fest. The moment they entered, their senses were dazzled by a kaleidoscope of colors and a symphony of delightful aromas. The air was filled with the tantalizing scent of freshly popped popcorn, sugary cotton candy, and mouthwatering treats from diverse food stalls.
A board hung overhead, stating the current area as an outer ring. In actuality, however, the fest wasn't actually round but rather rectangular with the entry being the outer ring and slowly going deeper into the inner rings.
The big hole in the tent and arrays of amazing rides were also a part of the middle ring, not the end of the fair as the couple had first expected.
The surroundings were bustling, an air of festivity and cheerful excitement wafting in the air along with mouthwatering scents of myriads of dishes and stalls.
But that was just the start, the fest had much more to offer. Food was just one branch of the big tree known as the grand seasonal. The couple soon realized it the deeper they walked.
The scene changed, the foods and treats disappeared while the myriads of alluring games and stalls took their place.
Shellshocked by the sudden transformation, the couple blinked in wonder, the outer treats were nothing compared to the dazzling and tempting stalls that were as if pulling the couple towards them.
Soon they realized the reason... 'Middle Ring', a board hung in the air casually. Separating the whole fest into two parts, one part being the paradise for the poor while the other was a playground of the rich.
"Whoa..." the girl drew in a sweet breath, her hair fluttering in the cool winds of the night while the scenic view of star-filled night hung over their heads...
"Let's ride on that!" excited, she pulled the boy towards a big round wheel, the main attraction of the middle ring. The wheel was slowly rotating while being decorated by hundreds of bright and dazzling lights.
It glowed like a beacon of light rather than a harmless and fun ride of the fest. The boy remembered its name to be 'Ferris Wheel', a local amusement ride that people of bigger cities enjoyed frequently.
However, to normal humans of a pathetic E-Grade city, this chance was once in a lifetime!
Alas, they weren't the only ones interested in riding the big and exciting Ferris Wheel. There were hundreds of people all around, after all.
Waiting in the long and arduous queue, the brightness in the girl's eyes soon dimmed, not interested in waiting hours for just one ride.
She roamed her eyes, taking in the dazzling and mesmerizing items that were kept on display to attract as much crowd as possible.
The boards of the stalls were anything but plain either. Every board painted in fancy text and colored in bright colors, making the whole mismatched area have a strange sense of harmony.
All except one stall. The board hung on the stall with normal and clearly black and white printed text that stated, 'The Lumiere'. There were no extra colors used to decorate and in one word, it was plain.
Not belonging to such a colorful and bright haven.
However, shockingly. The crowd in that small repulsive stall was much bigger than she had seen at any other stall, and weirdly, the crowd consisted of mostly girls and women of all ages. There were barely any guys among the crowd.
Intrigued, she turned to her boyfriend, "Please wait here, and don't let anyone cut in line. I will just take a quick look around."
Saying that she quickly darted away, not in the mood to hear his curses and retorts. After all, why does he need to wait when she was out having fun?!
Nearing the stall, she began to hear some murmurs from the crowd.
"What the magic is that?! That old lady suddenly looked like in her twenties!"
"The stall owner is so hot!"
"One Luminescent Cream for me!"
"Give it to me! I will pay double!"
"I will pay triple!"
"Give it to me! I will pay any amount you want!"
The front of the crowd was as if a messy Warfield, only instead of blood and gore, it was more of a catfight. The women shouted noisily, trying to be the first to get the mysterious item that the girl figured to be known as Luminescent cream? What a weird name.
The girl stayed a little away from the madness, trying to peek at the reason for all this chaos. What was this shop even selling for everyone to lose their minds?
With increasing curiosity, the girl quickly ran to the lady who had just escaped alive from the madness, carrying a small tin can in her hands that, unlike the banner, was inscribed with intricate designs and beautiful packing.
From the looks of it, it must be what was known as 'premium goods'. Surprised by the beautiful container, the girl ran fast toward the lady and called, "Excuse me!"
"Yes?" the lady turned with an aura of youthfulness radiating from her mature face. From her demeanor and manners, it was easy to guess she was a middle-aged woman, however, her youthful face was betraying that observation.
"Uhm, my name is Ria. If you don't mind, I was curious about the reason behind the crowd in front of this stall," Ria asked, trying to phrase her question in the politest way possible.
"Hello. You really don't know?" the lady looked at Ria in shock, there was someone who didn't know of the Lumiere in the seasonal fest?!
Ria blushed, feeling embarrassed that she didn't know the thing that seemed like common knowledge here. Still, she truthfully shook her head to the lady.
"Well, why don't you look for yourself?" the lady smiled slightly, pointing through the gap where the stall was.
The small stall was divided into two parts, one was a normal cash counter run by a beautiful black-haired girl of about the same age as Ria, while the other part was run by a strikingly handsome and charismatic young man, also about the same age as Ria.
In front of him the line was a little organized unlike the literal chaos on the cash counter, well, why would those girls show their savage and beastly side to a young and handsome man such as the stall owner?
The lady who was front in line smiled brightly with stars in her eyes, whether the cause of such delight was the product in her hand or she was so close to the young man, no one knew. But, the conclusion was, the customer left satisfied by her purchase.
"See that cream? That is known as Luminescent Cream... weird name I know... anyways, it has some... magical properties," the lady pulled Ria's attention back to herself.
"Magical properties?" Ria asked in confusion, what sort of magic was capable of causing such chaos? However, hearing the answer, her eyes widened.
"That cream... can make you younger."
-------------------------------------------
A/N - Join The Discord!!
https://discord.gg/vJXDrk9jGx