The shopkeeper (1)

Deep was standing behind the counter one hand on his cheek lazily supporting his head. With the other one, he was scrolling through the feed of a popular short video app on his smartphone. He was 18 years old and had been working in this antique shop for 5 years. Naturally, if asked he would respond that he had this job for only 2 years. Laws and regulations forbid child labor after all.

At the moment the shop was empty of clients. From time to time he would raise his head and see a passerby glancing past the store while walking. The busy Figgs Street was visible through the vitrine of the shop. In those moments he couldn't help but marvel at the fact that the shop was still running. Usually, the number of customers in the shop never went above 15 each month.

How does that guy even make money? - Deep often wondered. 'That guy', he was thinking of, was the shop owner. A man of undecipherable age named Velis Pit. Quite handsome with lengthy auburn hair and a beard, looking unkempt most of the time. The man only came into the shop two or three times a week to check the sales and do the inventory.

The clients of the shop were also weird personas, they paid with random trinkets and not paper money. The trinkets generally didn't seem particularly valuable in Deep's opinion. Given the nature of those transactions, it was a wonder Velis managed to pay him at the end of each month.

Deep didn't care as long as he could cover his utility bills and the rent of the small apartment he lived in. It was not far from the shop, just 5 minutes away. Besides the weirdness, it was a cool gig, just slightly boring.

Still, it was better than begging on the street for a pittance - The somber thought came out of nowhere. Deep's eyes glazed as he reminisced on his life before meeting Velis when he was 13. Before meeting him, Deep used to be a beggar and a street rat.

The door's bell rang pulling Deep out of his musings. He placed the phone on the counter and greeted the customer with his usual absent expression. The woman who just entered the shop turned toward him after hearing the dry greetings.

"Hello, I am here for" she paused and reached into the back pocket of her jeans pulling out a card. She briefly glanced at it and continued, "-Mr. Velis Pit?"

"He is not here at the moment, I am the shopkeeper, how can I help you?" Deep answered mechanically.

"Well, I came here on someone's behalf to exchange for an ancient deck of cards."

"Oh, I see. A minute, please." Deep remembered what it was about. He went into the storage room through the door behind him. The place was full of dust and old things. He took a ladder and picked an ancient case seated on a higher shelf. Who knew how long it had been there?

Deep casually blew on the surface of the case raising a small cloud of dust. He observed as the patterns on the case were revealed. They were extremely intricate, forming various unrecognizable creatures. The case itself was slightly smaller than his palm and felt incredibly light, although its material seemed like it would be heavier than this.

Deep shrugged, it was not the first time he'd seen weird things in here. He went out of the storage room to find the woman sitting casually on a couch a book in hand. The book naturally came from the numerous bookshelves that littered the place. It must be said that despite his personal unkept look, Velis had masterfully decorated the interior of the shop. With beautiful wooden chairs, long desks, and a living space with various fluffy couches that allow for comfortable reading, the shop gave an old but welcoming vibe.

Deep came before the woman who was seemingly engrossed with her reading. He didn't interrupt and waited patiently at the side. After what seemed to be a few minutes, the woman raised her head and was startled to see Deep standing by her side silently.

"Oh, I appolo-" She started but Deep said, "No worries, here's what you were looking for." He gave her the case. As soon as she saw the object she fell silent her eyes fixed on it. She even closed her eyes, her hand tracing the patterns on the case.

Weirdos - Deep muttered inwardly.

All the clients were like this, always looking like they had just obtained a treasure. Deep coughed to signal the young lady. She snapped out of it and smiled awkwardly. "Here you go." She stood up and handed him a crystal. If he had to describe its color he would say red or crimson but it was only because he couldn't find an expression to appropriately describe it.

Inside the crystal, there seemed to be a viscous liquid swirling with a slight shake.

"Transaction completed, thank you for your patronage." Deep said after observing the crystal for a bit. The woman smiled, then excused herself, she was in a hurry as she left the store. Deep picked up the book she left on the table and placed it back in its place.

He was going to put the crystal in a box and store it when his phone started ringing. "Just on time." He muttered while picking up the call.

"Deep, how are you doing?" Velis's voice seemed a bit strained on the other side of the phone.

"Fine, the client sent someone and took the card deck away." Deep informed him ignoring the noises on Velis' side. He knew he wouldn't get an answer even if he asked. Velis was a deeply private and mysterious individual.

"Good. You can close the shop. I don't think there will be any more clients today." Velis said before hanging up suddenly. He wasn't one for idle chat which was good as Deep wasn't the type to exchange platitudes either.

Deep shrugged and put the crystal in his pocket with his phone. He had forgotten to put it in the storage room, pleased with the fact that he was going home early today. Also, he was slightly hungry. He hadn't eaten since the morning. He carefully closed everything and lock the store with his key.

Stepping into the street it was already dusk, before going home he decided to stop by the coffee shop at the end of the street and get some snacks. He slipped between the stream of walkers going home from work or going to get dinner and reached the small coffee shop.

The coffee shop was full of people as it was part of the course for this hour. Deep entered the long line and knew he would have to wait a bit to place his order. He aimlessly scrolled on his socials while waiting.

He wasn't the most extroverted person and his followers' number showed this fact barely reaching a hundred. Those subscribers were people having the same web novels addiction as him. On his feed, there was news that the next volume of a web novel he liked was out. His mood turned upward with this info.

He was so pleased that he didn't find the wait long. 30 minutes later, it was finally his turn. He picked up and few pastries and a tea-based drink before paying at the cash register. When he came out of the coffee shop the night had already fallen. He picked up the pace and took several turns in succession.

When he stepped into the alley leading to the street where his apartment building was, it was like he had been isolated from the world. All noises had disappeared and the light of the city seemed absent from this place.

Deep paused in surprise. This was not the first time he took this alley to go back to his place but it was the first time he witness such a phenomenon. Usually, the alley was well-lit and pretty safe looking.

As he was pondering, he heard steps breaking the unnatural silence, he looked up and a man with a long cloak appeared before him. He wore a large hat that covered half of his face and held a huge hunting knife

"Give me the crystal kid." His voice had a deep bass which made the alley almost vibrate.

"Who are you?" Deep was wary. Alarms bells started echoing in his mind since the appearance of the man.

"Not important, give me the crystal," The man said again, he took a step forward and Deep took a step backward. Before Deep could speak again, he found that the man had vanished from his sight.

Not Good. - Deep only had the time to complete this thought when a punishing blade strike pierced his chest and burrowed into his heart. He didn't understand.

How can a human move that fast? The man had crossed the 10 meters distance between them like it was nothing. Just before Deep fell unconscious, he finally saw the face of his assailant, The man was only skin and bones, looking like a skeleton with skin loosely wrapped over it.

What manner of creature is that? Deep fell on the ground and blood permeated his clothes before spreading on the hard ground of the alley. He looked at the dreadful figure looming over him and blacked out.