~ Preface ~
Two mismatched lovers stepped into an unfamiliar shop in a small town. The male, an averagely handsome but heavyset Caucasian, dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and a warm heart. The female, a slim and bespectacled girl with a bit of Cree in her, shorter than her boyfriend but not by much, one bang of her dark hair hanging over her face in that alluring mysterious kind of way.
They held hands as they entered the shop, greeted by the musty smell of an old faded building and the numerous curiosities lining the shelves and tables within.
The old shopkeeper was a skeletal old man with high cheek bones and sunken eyes. His clothing spoke of a time when men wore fine vests and watch fobs. He greeted them with a slight smile as they glanced at him, but continued sweeping the old and scratched hardwood floor.
After a while browsing, the couple stopped at a particular table with worn bits of horse tack and seemed interested in a faded black leather collar. The girl picked it up and examined it excitedly, eliciting a chuckle from her male friend.
At this, the shopkeeper gently placed his broom against the wall and shuffled towards them.
"Something for the lady?" He said, faded blue eyes twinkling behind small spectacles.
"Yeah." Lee said, her darker skin showing a blush. "It's something I always wanted to try."
"Well, I won't pretend to understand the fashion of today." The old man winked at the girl's boyfriend. "I will say that is a particularly special collar."
"Oh? What's special about it?" The male asked, both he and his girlfriend turning to gaze at the old shopkeeper with respectful curiosity.
The old man smiled cryptically and gently touched a finger to his nose once or twice. "Let's just say that whoever wears it may have magical things coming their way."
The two lovers shared a nervous glance. Not skeptical, though. "So... it's true what they say about this store?" The male whispered, almost conspiratorially.
"Perhaps." The old man smirked. "You seem to already know the answer."
The young couple seemed to buzz with excitement at this, the girl hopping up and down excitedly.
"How much?" The male asked, almost trembling.
"Some things don't cost money, but they might have a different price." The old man said warily. "I have a good feeling about you two, though. You go ahead and take that old collar. It was sitting gathering dust anyway."
"Oh, wow!" The girl said, hugging the old leather strip close to her chest, buckles tinkling. "Thank you, sir!"
"Now, hold on." The shopkeeper began ambling over to an old book shelf. "You might want to take this with you."
The old man seemed to be concentrating through his glasses for a moment before he reached for an old chest. He blew on it, peeling away a layer of dust, and gently unlatched the lid. What he produced was a worn and yellowed paper, which he folded carefully and handed to the boyfriend. "Thank you, my young friends. And do enjoy."
* * *
"Do you believe it?" Lee said, bubbling with excitement. "I wonder if it'll actually work! Do you think it's the real thing?!"
"Hey, look at this!" Steve said as they clattered down the old wooden steps from the store. He was examining the old paper the shopkeeper had given him. "It's..."
They both paused as an eerie and sudden gust of wind blew behind them. The two turned, crunching on the gravel road, eyes wide, to find absolutely nothing behind them but an empty grass lot where moments before there had stood the old store.
They both just stared for a long time with a joint expression of disbelief.