Hello,
I would tell you my name had I not signed the xxxx. .
The tale I am about to tell you must not be dispersed.
If you understand then please read on. However, should you tell anyone then rest assured you will be subjected to a horrible and painful curse.
Thank you,
R
It all started one afternoon.
A young man barely an adult and more like a teenager, walked down the streets of xxxx, back hunched over a little as if he did not wish to be noticed. The sun was bright and sunny that day but the high buildings of the city overshadowed all life, saturating it.
The streets were crowded with people, going about their day like clock work, a routine they did everyday without a care in the world.
Strangely though, the boy sighed.
The boy-Alic was his name, it seemed was not happy. He had just spent another miserable day at school and desperately wished to return home to play and rest.
Boarding the bus, Alic dug through his bag, pulling out a sketchpad. Quickly he got to work.
'M'lord shouldn't be like this." mumbled Alic as he smudged the figure a little, letting the graphite fade into the paper.
"Nice art." commented someone, startling the life out of Alic.
Leaning over him was a handsome man. Olive skin shining in the light giving his already beautiful features a touch-up. He had messy, black hair that was tied up haphazardly in a low ponytail, black tinted glasses covered his eyes.
"Oh Ru! Don't sneak up on me like that!" laughed Alic as he moved aside, giving room for Ru.
Ru was Alic's neighbour. He was two years older than Alic and was currently studying in a university not too far from Alic's own school.
"Here," Ru dropped a box on Alic's lap, " You look like you're having a hard time and I have no use for it anyway."
Opening the box, Alic stared in awe at the god locket in his hand. Looking at it closely though, there was the name 'Claudia' engraved on it.
"Claudia….let me guess, your girlfriend didn't like it and broke up with you."
"Yup."
Chuckling lightly, Alic placed the locket back into the box, returning it to Ru.
"Keep it. Who knows, maybe you can hand it over to a pawn shop" said Alic.
Ru was not amused but took back his rejected gift nonetheless.
Soon, the two arrived at their spot.
Along the way, Alic could not help but find something that caught his interest. In the corner of the row of blocks was a small make-shift shop.
Layered upon a table were trinkets of all sorts. From Talismans to items that looked like junk.
"Here to look around, boys?" came a voice.
From behind a curtain was a middle-aged man, spotting a gold toothed smile.
"Hey, maybe we should leave." whispered Ru for some reason he felt a really creepy vibe coming from the man.
Alic ignored him, there was no harm in visiting a shop as shady as it was.
Looking around, Alic finally found something he liked-an intricate bracelet with cute charms hanging along the rim.
"I'll take this."declared Alic, handing over a couple of notes as he tried the bracelet on. It was a perfect fit. The shopkeeper smiled as he pocketed the bracelet into a little brown package.
"You have a good eye. Here, for you as a little..bonus gift."
The bonus gift the shopkeeper gave was a simple gold pocket watch hung on a chain.
In truth, Alic wanted to reject it but found himself unable to do so upon seeing the eagerness in the man's face and thus could do nothing but accept it.
When they were finally out of earshot, Ru immediately tugged on Alic's arm and asked, " Are you sure? Accepting...that?!"
"Well it would be impolite and besides they would look good on me, don't you think so?" Replied Alic, taking back his rejection.
A tick mark formed as Ru shook his head in exasperation, "You and your need for accessories. I don't see the difference!"
Deciding to stop by a cafe, Alic waited for Ru in an alleyway while the latter bought some bread.
Inspecting the pocket watch, Alic hummed in appreciation of the intricate designs that were etched onto the cover of the watch. They weren't that obvious but Alic could have sworn that there were words in semblance of some name at the bottom but years of a lack in maintenance had left it to rust and wear away.
Using his nails, Alic pried the pocket watch open. A clicking sound was made as the pocket watch finally opened and a beautiful melody began to play as the hands of the clock moved.
"That's strange...this melody it's so familiar.'' thought Alic as he listened to the song more closely.
Suddenly a great pain enveloped in Alic's heart. Doubling over, Alic started to notice the fading colours as time seemed to stop.
The surroundings started to swell and change.
' WHAT'S GOING ON! HELP!'
Nothing came out of Alic's mouth though, as his vision started to fade. The last thing he could hear was the melody and a voice, smooth and alluring, speaking out in the darkness.
"Welcome back my little Alice…"