Something about going to a garage sale has always fascinated you. It's just interesting to see what the family in question is selling, and how the items for sale tell the story of their life. You and your friend Marcy plan one Saturday every month to go all around town, stopping at garage sales and picking up items at a very reasonable price. Then you load all your purchases into the back of Marcy's car and drive to her house, where you spend an hour or two looking over the things you bought.
So you were disappointed when you got a phone call from Marcy this Saturday morning. "Hello?" you said, picking your phone up. "Hey, dude, it's me." Marcy's voice said from the receiver. Her voice sounded thick and sickly. "Marcy, you sound awful. What's the matter?" you asked. "I got one bitch of a cold." Marcy said, and follows her statement with a cough. "I can't go to any garage sales with you today. Just go buy some cool stuff, then drive to my house and show me all of it." "Oh! Okay." You said, sounding disappointed. "Great." Marcy replies. "See you in a few hours. Bye." She hung up and you found yourself quite disappointed.
Twenty minutes later, you got in your car and started driving around town to go to all the sales you marked in the newspaper. At the first few sales, you got some useful items and maybe a used book or two. But now it's two hours and ten sales later, and you've found basically nothing. You're getting tired of driving around and decide to head straight to Marcy's house. But as you drive down a country road. You notice a small sign standing next to a road that leads down a hill. 'Garage Sale' it reads. 'Saturday 9 AM to 4 PM.' Shrugging, you decide there's no harm in it and turn down the hilly road towards, what you decide, will be the last sale of the day.
The road leads to the bottom of the hill and through a heavily wooded area. Tall trees flank the driveway on either side, and you start to think that maybe the sign was an old one. But just as you're about to turn around, a small cottage comes into view. The road leads right up to the right side of the house. Strewn out on the front lawn are boxes after boxes full of things. On the front porch in a rocking chair sits a gnarled old woman wearing a dark purple shawl. Her eyes are closed and she appears to be dozing.
There's a few cars parked around and you see four people poking around the boxes. But they all look strange. One man is wearing an olive green cloak and a tall pointed hat. A girl with a blue bandana and many jangling brackets around her wrists is digging through one of the boxes. Two women wearing all black are chatting near the porch. You park your car and get out, smelling the fresh, piney forest air. You walk up to the lawn and the four people turn to look at you. They all seem to frown, but go back to browsing.
But you don't care. You're more interested in the things that fill the boxes. You pass by one full of realistic-looking animal masks. On a table near the porch sits a large collection of jewelry. Heavy iron pots fill another. On another table sits a wooden box full of vials filled with strange, different-colored liquid. A collection of trophies fills another box. Pet supplies and collars fill another. Old clothes with many different patterns hang on a rack. A can of goo sits alone on the grass. A box full of old, battered books sits next to the box full of masks. Too bad Marcy isn't here, she'd be having a field day.
Eventually, you decide to just buy a little of everything. You purchase a few animal masks, a small handful of the jewelry, an iron pot, the wooden box with all the vials, a few trophies, some pet supplies, some clothing items, a few of the battered books, and the can of goo. By the time you've gathered up all your purchases, the woman has woken up. Struggling to hold everything you stagger up to the porch and manage to pant out, "How... much?" the woman, whom you notice has yellow eyes, smiles and says, "For you, my dear, five dollars for the whole lot." You almost gasp at how low the price is - you must have at least $200 worth of stuff here. You manage to hand her a bill and stagger back to your car, open the back, and drop the purchases in.
Then, you climb inside, start the engine, and turn down the road. As you're driving away, the woman on the porch yells, "Thank you! I'll be seeing you again!" not sure of what she meant, you just wave back and continue on down the road. Soon, you reach the country road and turn, on the way to Marcy's house. But the temptation is too strong. You try to concentrate on driving, but the box of objects is the apple and serpent to your Eve. You have to examine your purchases closer. Or can you stick it out till you get to Marcy's house? Or you could stop at your house first and examine the purchases there before going to Marcy's. Or, if you're really desperate, you could just examine the box now.