“You guys…” Sofya tried to say before she heard the front door opening.
The two boys turned around to face into the living room as a mysterious man shut the door behind him. He took off a black trench coat and hat and placed them onto a makeshift coat rack in the front entryway. As he got closer to them, Michael started to feel a sense of fear wash over him.
“Yup” Michael thought to himself nervously. “That’s definitely the wizard.”
The wizard, Sofya’s father, didn’t look like any wizard Michael had ever seen before. Rather, he looked like a balding, middle aged Russian man with a strong jaw and built like an ox. He quietly stared at Freddy before paying attention to Michael. Freddy was oblivious to the mental radar of Sofya’s father that was being using to evaluate him, while Michael felt a chill wash over him when it was performed on him. After a long, awkward moment of silence, Sofya spoke up.
“Daddy. I wasn’t expecting you to be home so soon. You said you’d be out late again tonight.”
“I had a change of plans” her father responded, staring at her with an intense glare.
“This guy is giving me the creeps” Freddy thought to himself, sensing the tension between father and daughter.
Michael began to feel a chill, despite the room being adequately heated. Even if he couldn’t quite put a name to it, he almost felt a sense of evil wash over him as the man eyed Sofya intensely. If the devil had an incarnate, this man was him.
“Who are these two young men? Sofya’s father asked as he pointed them out to her.
“Uh” Sofya responded. “These are two of my classmates…and our neighbors. Daddy, this is Freddy.”
Freddy stared for a moment before he composed himself enough to extend his hand.
“Pleasure to meet you, sir” Freddy responded.
Sofya’s father grabbed Freddy’s hand with an intense grip and shook it slightly. Freddy was oblivious to the intense energy that Sofya’s father was giving off. He didn’t have that sixth sense that made him a magical being. Sofya’s father noticed this and determined, incorrectly, that he was no threat to him.
“And this is….Michael” Sofya continued, hesitating due to her sour feelings towards him.
Michael stared for a moment as neither he nor Sofya’s father moved a muscle. Michael’s feeling of dread continued to get more intense as he looked up at the man who was the wizard. It was as if he could feel the forces of hell attacking his mind, causing him to impulsively shake in his presence.
“Hmmm” Sofya’s father thought to himself.
Unlike the other children that Sofya’s father had met so far, this one was reacting differently to him. He could tell that the boy sensed the darkness that worked within him. Michael didn’t seem to have any magical powers of his own, based on the reading that Sofya’s father did on him with his mind. However, the fact that he could sense his energy indicated that the boy might be a threat to him. He’d need to keep a close eye on this one.
Sofya’s father, trying to ease the tension that filled the room, looked to extend his hand to Michael. Michael, not wanting to grasp onto it, simply gave him a wave and said:
“Nice to meet you, sir.”
“Michael” Sofya said with a shock in her voice. “Don’t be rude. Shake my father’s hand.”
“It’s fine, Sofya” her father replied as she looked up at him with concern on her face. “Don’t sweat it. Anyways…”
Sofya’s father proceeded to make his way out of the dining room before turning back to look at them.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know you boys more intimately” he continued. “I’m going to go to bed now, Sofya. Please don’t let them stay here until an unreasonable hour.”
“Yes daddy” she replied.
Sofya’s father nodded as he took one last opportunity to stare at Michael. Michael looked down at his plate, trying to avoid her father’s glances at him. When her father realized that he was not going to get another proper look at the young man, he turned around and headed up to his room.
“I’m stuffed!” Freddy exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood. “Let us help you put the dishes way, Sofya.”
“Right” Sofya replied nervously as she got up to clean the stuff off the table with Freddy.
Michael continued to sit in the chair, occasionally distracted by his lack of reflection in the magic mirror. There was so much to process from this evening’s strange events that he didn’t know if there would be the proper time to do it. He figured that the next 48 hours were going to be critical to breaking Freddy’s curse. Now that Sofya seemed to be onto their possession of one of the Ruggeri rings and now that Michael was able to definitively confirm that her father really was the dreaded wizard, the clock began to tick towards an ultimate showdown.
After a minute of being alone, Michael got up with his dishes and headed into Sofya’s kitchen. Inside, Freddy and Sofya were lightly chatting away as Freddy loaded the dishes and Sofya washed them while putting the clean ones on a drying rack. Nothing about this room particularly interested Michael, except for what he saw at the bottom of a door that led to the side of the property.
“A dog door” Michael thought to himself. “That may come in handy with the plan I’m formulating.”
Michael placed his dishes in the sink and quietly excused himself to the restroom. As he got up the stairs, he looked again at the door to Sofya’s father’s bedroom. He stared at it intensely before he heard the voices in his head again.
“Michael” the voice called to him.
Michael didn’t flinch this time. Instead, he continued to stare at the room.
“Michael” the voice called again. “Michael, come in.”
Michael, against his better judgement, slowly began to make his way up to the door as a force commanded him to go there.
“Was this the force Freddy was talking about that drew him to the house?” Michael thought to himself as he slowly approached.
When he got up close, he slowly began to place his hand on the door knob. Before he could go to turn it, he heard a voice call out to him.
“Michael!” it yelled.
Michael turned to find Sofya looking at him with a slight look of anger on her face.
“Oh, sorry” Michael replied as he walked over to her. “I got lost looking for the bathroom.”
“That’s not the bathroom” she pointed out.
Sofya opened a door to show him an ordinary room with a toilet, shower and sink.
“This is the bathroom.”
“Right” Michael responded quietly.
Before Sofya turned to walk downstairs, Michael had a thought.
“Sofya?” he asked as she turned to him.
“Yes, Michael” she responded.
“When did you say that the pipes on the house were last done?”
“Michael” she replied with an annoyance in her tone. “How many times am I going to keep answering this question? It was in August. You really have to stop obsessing over weird shit like this. It’s very creepy.”
Michael would have normally snapped at such an insult, but instead, he looked dumbfounded at her as she turned to walk downstairs.
“Come back down soon” Sofya said as she turned to face him. “Freddy’s already asking about where you are. Seems he’s as attached to the hip to you as you are to him.”
Sofya turned around to walk downstairs as Michael stood in the hallway in silence for a moment.
“I knew it” Michael thought to himself as he headed into the bathroom. “That door is manipulating time in some way. I can’t explain why I know this or how, but it is. It has to be a clue for how the problems in this house got fixed up so fast. And why the house seems to keep having repairs done without a single crew member coming here.”
Michael turned into the bathroom and locked himself in to do his business. Downstairs, Sofya walked up to Freddy who was sitting on the couch by himself.
“Your boyfriend is so weird, you know that Freddy?”
“He’s not weird” Freddy replied defensively. “He’s inquisitive and he’s smart. He’s probably one of the smartest people I know.”
“He keeps asking me about the plumbing” she responded as she sat down next to him. “What kind of weirdo is obsessed with something like that?”
“It is kind of odd, Sofya. I mean, this house was a total wreck before you and your father moved in here a few days ago. It’s just strange that you were able to get all of those things fixed up in such a short period of time.”
“What are you talking about, Freddy? Those problems have been fixed since August.”
“Uh” Freddy replied as looked at Sofya with confusion on his face. “Didn’t you say that they only fixed up the issue with the plumbing last week?”
“I never said…”
Before Sofya could finish her thought, Michael came downstairs while putting his phone away in his pocket.
“We should get going now, Freddy” Michael called to him.
“It’s not even 10:30” Freddy replied curiously. “Shouldn’t we stay a little longer?”
“Freddy” Michael said as he placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “I’m not feeling so good. Will you take me home please?”
Freddy looked up at Michael and tried to read the expression on his face. He wasn’t sure whether he had some plan in mind or whether the food they ate genuinely made him sick. Regardless, Freddy trusted Michael that he was making the right call here…whatever his reason may be.
“You’re right” Freddy responded. “It is getting late. Sofya….”
Freddy got up and Sofya arose from the couch with him.
“…it was great to see you. Sorry things were a little awkward between us tonight, but we’d love to come back again sometime.”
“We’ll see” she replied as he embraced his hug.
Sofya wanted to kiss him, but she could see Michael angrily looking at her from over Freddy’s shoulder; giving her a warning not to engage in any funny business.
“Michael…” Sofya said as she let go of Freddy and reached out to him for a hug.
“Bye Sofya” Michael responded as he extended his hand to her.
Rebuffed by the formality, Sofya stood in awkward silence for a moment before extending her hand to him for a firm shake. Michael let go quickly and grabbed his knapsack from the floor before walking with Freddy out the door. Sofya stared quietly for a moment before she got herself ready for bed early tonight.
Outside, Freddy and Michael walked slowly throughout the quiet and dimly lit streets of their neighborhood.
“Why were so you anxious to leave? Freddy asked quietly as they walked.
“Freddy” Michael responded, as he stopped to turn to look him in the eyes. “Freddy, how much longer do you think I wanted to be in that house? If you think your house is a torture chamber with Ellie next door, then imagine how I felt with all that magic around.”
“You might be imagining things, Michael. I didn’t get as bad of an impression of them as you did. Her father seemed like a nice guy and Sofya started to ease up on her behavior towards you.”
Michael huffed as Freddy looked at him with surprise.
“I think you’re reading too much into them” Freddy continued. “I think you may be wrong about the wizard living in that house. That abandoned house you took me to earlier to jack me off at today was much creepier than Sofya’s. Maybe we have the wrong house and we’re going after the wrong people.”
“We’re not, Freddy. Sofya’s father is the wizard. I know because those rings were the stolen rings…”
“That could just be a coincidence.”
“And that mirror was the Ruggeri mirror. Didn’t you think it was odd?”
“Yeah, I mean I did see myself as a dog man, but that could have been a parlor trick.”
“Or that her father got those items from Italy?”
“He could be an antique dealer. Maybe he got them legitimately.”
“Those items were stolen, Freddy. Who else could have an entire collection of stolen items in their house while also casting powerful magic over the entirety of the property?”
“You might be hallucinating.”
“Am I Freddy?”
Freddy noticed the sharpness in Michael’s voice, so he decided to put his hands on his shoulders.
“Calm down Michael.”
“No, Freddy, something’s up with you tonight. Sofya must have done something while I was in the bathroom. It’s the only way that you could be trying to deflect attention away from the fact that her father is the wizard.”
“I think you have them all wrong, Michael. Sure, Sofya’s a bit aggressive, but she’s really misunderstood.”
“She tried to rape you Freddy!”
“She didn’t…mean…uh….”
Freddy let go of Michael as he compulsively shook.
“Freddy? Michael asked as he put his own hands on Freddy’s shoulders to shake him. “Freddy, are you ok?
Freddy continued to convulse for a moment before he stopped and looked up at Michael.
“Michael” Freddy called out to him quietly. “Michael, something happened in that house.”
“Of course something happened in that house, Freddy! That something was….”
Michael took his hands off Freddy’s shoulders before he pondered for a moment. Freddy cocked his head as he stared at him.
“That something was….” Michael continued “the wizard.”
Michael thought for a moment as Freddy put his arms around Michael’s neck. Freddy quietly began to kiss him on the back of his head as they lovingly swayed together on the street while Michael was lost in his thoughts.
“I think I have an answer” Michael said as he pulled himself off from Freddy’s grasp, took out his phone and began to text someone.
“What is it? Freddy asked he tried to peer over at the phone, only to be swatted away by Michael.
Michael quickly finished sending a message before putting away his phone in his pocket. He turned to look up at Freddy.
“I think I know why you were giving me such a weird defense of Sofya just now.”
“I did?” Freddy asked curiously.
“Yup” Michael responded. “And that, my love, confirms my suspicion.”
Freddy looked at Michael, not sure what he was getting at.
“When you shook the wizard’s hand” Michael continued “Sofya’s father’s hand, he must have sent a wave of magical energy flowing through you in order to mess up your mind. That’s why you were saying all that crazy stuff before. My prodding you must have caused it to wear off, but it explains why all of our classmates turned from thinking she was a freak of nature to thinking she was this cool bitch overnight. Sofya and her father must have some sort of magical abilities that manipulate people’s minds.”
Michael gave Freddy a brief hug before pulling back to look at him.
“I believe you when you say that Sofya made you kiss and make out with her” Michael confessed. “Even if I can’t explain why you put your hand on her nipple, the rest of it makes sense. It probably has to do with that twinkle in her eye you told me about. I saw it too.”
“Did it make you attracted to her, like it did for me?” Freddy asked.
“No. Maybe it only works on people who could be slightly bicurious. Freddy…”
Freddy looked down at the ground, knowing in the back of his mind what Michael was about to ask him.
“Are you bi?”
“I don’t know” Freddy answered quietly. “I don’t think so, but I don’t know.”
“Freddy?”
Freddy looked up at Michael. Michael had a tear running down his cheek, but also a smile on his face.
“It’s ok.”
Freddy didn’t understand what Michael was saying.
“It’s ok” Michael continued “as long as you promise to stay faithful to me from now on.”
Freddy felt a strange sense of relief wash over him.
“Can you do that?” Michael asked.
“Yes” Freddy replied as he nodded. “I promise.”
“That’s all that matters to me, Freddy. Nothing else does.”
The two boys went in to kiss each other passionately before Michael pulled them apart.
“It’s dark out here” Michael said. “We should be getting inside. I have a plan for dealing with the wizard.”
“Michael?” Freddy asked hesitantly.
“Yes Freddy” Michael answered, trying to be calm and reassuring.
“How come, when Sofya pulled out the rings earlier, you didn’t just take them from her and run off with them?”
“Because, Freddy, if she’s not a wizard herself, which I suspect she is, then her father most certainly is. How do you think it would go if we took off and ran off with them?”
Freddy didn’t know how to answer, so he stood quietly waiting for Michael to speak.
“He’d find out that we stole them back from him” Michael continued. “He’d track us down with that teenage phone book the old man had, kill us and then take the rings back. Not only wouldn’t that cure your curse, but it would leave us both dead. We’re dealing with a very powerful entity that seems to be able to manipulate time and people’s minds. If we’re going to defeat such a wizard, then we have to do it with our brains and not with our brawn.”
Freddy nodded as Michael continued.
“We have to find a way to expose the wizard and get it on tape that he’s the person who stole all those magical items. If we can do that, then we can send it to the police and have him arrested for racketeering and large scale robbery.”
“You got it!” a voice called out to them in the distance.
Startled, Freddy and Michael turned around to discover…..