Nobody knew where he first came from. His shop just showed up one day downtown, in the old general mercantile. Everyone seemed to have gone in there at first; a new curiosity in our cozy little town. Those nosy Nancy gossip types were the first ones in there. But, they didn’t say much. Sure, they talked about how good the inside of the building looked since he took over the place. They talked about how well-mannered this guy was. But, nothing about this business. Which, was no big deal.
I walked by this place everyday on my trip to work, since it’s two buildings down from the post office. Since I usually only walked that way as I took my roundabout trip to work, I never went inside of the storefront. The windows were dusty; the exterior sparsely lit. There wasn’t anything eye-catching about this building that would have drew me into it. Even the name, “Memitim’s General Goods” just didn’t scream “hey you, come in” to me.
Until yesterday. I didn’t have to work, and was tired of laying around the house. So, I decided to go out for a walk. And walked I did. I went without direction, and without thought, until I ended up outside of the store. I WAS curious about the store, and with the initial hype dying down, what better time to go check out the store.
I pushed the door open, and marveled at the…emptiness of the store. There was nothing in there. Not even shelves. It looked the same as it always had…except for the light coming out of the back of the building. I walked hesitantly through the store, feeling like I shouldn’t be in here. The building creaked and groaned as the wind blew hard outside. It took only a moment, but I made it up to the light.
The doorway, and office that it was coming from, looked new. The glass on the door reminded me of those that you would find in those from the movies. You know the type. With the name written on the front, and clouded up so you can’t see through it. Except, I couldn’t see a name written on the glass. I step into the light and look into the office. The office interior looked really nice. The wood had a nice dark finish to it, and all the furniture was a dark colored leather.
“Uh, excuse me?” I say as I knock on the door, “don’t mean to intrude, but the door was unlocked, and I figured I would come in.”
“Ah, yes, I have been…expecting you.” A rich baritone voice came from out behind the high-backed chair that faced away from the desk. The chair turned around, and revealed a pale, slender man. His dark brown hair slicked back perfectly against his head, showing a slight recede in his hairline. His beard is trimmed very well, with not a hair out of place. His dark blue suit was tailored perfectly for his body size, and there was a blue flower in his breast pocket that I couldn’t quite place. He stood up, and his size was something to behold. He had to have been at least seven feet tall, and his limbs were all slender. He reminded me of Jack Skeleton. “I have an offer for you, if you are interested.”
“What sort of offer?” I ask warily. I felt unnerved standing here with this very tall, slender gentleman with a never-ending gaze. He kept his long fingers linked together, resting gently on the desk in front of him.
“A job offer. One that is…better than what you have now. You don’t have to answer me now. When you’re ready, just come on back.” He unlocked his fingers and pulled out a business card. He slid it across the desk, face down, until it was within my reach. I picked it up off of the desk, not taking my gaze off of his. “I hope to do business with you soon. Now, if you excuse me, I have an important call coming in. I do hope you won’t keep me waiting too long.”
He walked around the desk, put his hand upon my shoulder, and escorted me out of the store. I turned around, and he was gone, and the interior of the store was dark. I walked home, and as soon as I got settled down at home, took a look at the card. On the side that was down was a blue rose, with the words “D.D. Inc.” and “Azrael” in the same shade of blue. I pondered what to do over and over again for the rest of the night.
So, here I stand. It’s been a couple of days. I’ve gone to work and pondered there. My curiosity may get the best of me, and I’m not sure if it this is going to be the best fit for me. But, I’m going to talk to this gentleman, and one way or another, things are going to be interesting.
copyright 2017 to Bau Johnson (Lord Baumeister)
Baumeister 