Magic Shop

FIVE | CHOICES

--

Dawn wasn’t able to move for a while as his eyes was fixed to the card that has the picture of the six people who was in his life before.

 As time passed His mind reminded him of the different emotions and thoughts he felt when they were still with him. The happiness, the feeling of everything is possible as long as they have each others back. Their dreams and aspirations. The warmth. Everything Is coming back to him like a wave trying to take him away covering his whole body with warmth.

He bit his lips. He struggled for a long time trying to forgot all of those things yet, just like this, it’s easily broken by just some pictures. It made him realized even after all of his struggles, the past still haunts him and that he was helpless.

This was another one of his trauma.

 why? All of his life after those accidents he didn’t open a single thing about them but, here, just in this shop, His lips were tightly sealed, yet why?

This doesn’t make any sense. He muttered to himself and looked up to see both Christine and Lau looking at him as if they are expecting his reactions. He blinked and suddenly stood up, the coffee was spilled on the table and the chair he was sitting almost fell. It swayed until it managed to get hold of its balance preventing it to fall over.

Dawn started to doubt and panic. His eyes quickly scanned the whole place but nothing changed except for the fact that he was now in chaos because of the picture.

 He knew something was not right from the start yet what the f**k is he doing eating some cake and drinking coffee!?

Clenching his hands, he tried to clam himself and slowly looked at Lau.

Lau who was holding the cake Dawn ordered and he smiled at him and walk to him putting down the cake on his table and wiped of the spilled coffee.

Dawn was speechless on how calm Lau and Christine was like they were expecting his reactions and it was freaking him out.

He could not open his mouth for he was still bewildered about the events that had happened and can’t process the his thoughts properly so he remained silent hoping to find the courage and ran away.

 His hands began to shake and he started to hyperventilate but as soon as He felt a warm feeling touching his left shoulder he suddenly calm down and was able to breathe properly again. Dawn wasn’t able to explain the feeling he had felt for the moment the hand had touched him, he felt warm waves calming his heart down to his flesh.

Dawn glanced to his left to found Christine touching his shoulder while her whole attention was still on the notebook she was reading. Dawn was suddenly curious of the notebook’s contents.

“You should calm down, like really.” Christine mumbled.

Time cannot be slowed but is Dawn’s eyes playing with him. The moment Christine removed her hands on the top of his shoulder it looked like it was in slow motion.

  Without saying anything, she dragged the chair he was sitting a while ago and slowly sit there. She open the notebook she she was still reading and continue to read like nothing happened. Dawn was dumb struck for a second and he doesn’t know what to react nor what to do. He’s getting confused as the time ticked

He swallowed and with his trembling hands he grabbed the card on his table. He harshly looks at Lau whose eyes were fixed on him. His eyes met Dawn making Dawn flinched for he knew that Lau was looking at him expecting his questions.

His thoughts had overwhelmed him making his brain to slow down and process what was happening, but after Christine made his nerves calmed down, he felt like he could now open his mouth and ask questions.

“Careful you might dislocate your neck.” Lau joked but Dawn was not joking at the moment.

Dawn contemplated if he should speak what was in his mind without thinking of the consequences but, he just let his lips move.

He inhaled a lung full of air before talking. “Why are they in the picture?” He asked. The six people he deeply cared and was supposed to be dead appeared in front of him like a post card that was sent for because it was holiday.

They’re long dead and I never went to their funeral nor talked about them. It doesn’t make any sense and he wanted some explanation because everything doesn’t seem right.

“Why?” He wasn’t able to finish the word he’s about to say as Lau cut him.

“how did you find our shop?” Lau questioned him. Dawn paused as he contemplated on what Lau said. He blinked as he remembered the events prior to this.

Yes, from the start everything was weird. How did I find this shop?

All he remember was he was following a certain melody from a piano, now he was here. But thinking about it how can a piano resonates from the shop to him? The distance was big.

“hmmm?” Lau muttered and Dawn looked at him. Dawn’s face can’t be painted as his brows are creased trying his best to make the situation make any sense but all the facts he knew are not even helping.

The piano and the shop that’s all he knew.

“I-I-I” He seemed like he lost his ability to speak for even tho he wanted to say that he found this shop by chance it felt like his lips were tightly sealed.

He felt his forehead sweating, He’s getting afraid as second passed.

“I told you before didn’t I?” Lau said, he grabbed the chair beside him and comfortably sit. His eyes never left Dawn. “This shop don’t often have much customers,”

That certain moment, Dawn realized one thing. That even tho there are many people passing by the streets in front of the shop, no one dared to come in and as he entered no one was here.

“Our shop can only be seen by people who desperately want to be happy and here you are.” Lau stretched his arms and pointed at him. Dawn flinched by his gestures.

“Happy?” Dawn repeated the word. As the word touch his lips, he felt a sense of unfamiliarity

Like the word hasn’t touched his lips for a long time that speaking the word happy felt like a foreign word making his lips twitched for a weird reason.

The sentence Lau said to him traveled in his mind. Our shop can only be seen by the people who desperately want to be happy.

Happiness? He thought. Was he really that desperate? Or Lau is just messing with him? But…. he groaned in his mind. He really wants to slap his face right now thinking that this is all just a dream and he would wake up if he does that.

Happiness? Does he wants it?

“That’s….”

“Bullshit?” Lau finished Dawn’s sentence. Dawn was taken back as if he was caught of guard.

“Our previous customers also said the same word, but you can’t deny the fact that you are here and that you are quivering with fear as we speak.”

Dawn can’t utter any word. He was taken off guard that all the walls he builds for himself felt like It was collapsing. He wasn’t prepared for any of these especially, when his friends were the topic.

Friends…. Do they still consider me as friend? I don’t know, the dead doesn’t speak.

His thoughts…

“The fact that you appeared in front of this café, you sat and ate the cake justifies the fact that you want to be happy and the six person who appeared in front of you in the card are the reason that you are not happy today.”

Lau said with confidence as he took his watch on his pocket and look at it. At the same time, Dawn heard the sound of the clock. It ticks in his ear making him more uncomfortable as the time pass by.

“Then?” He asked Lau.

 Lau put back his watch on his pocket and suddenly the ticking stops. Dawn Swallowed. He’s barely hanging and giving his best to stay calm as possible because the longer he stays here it feels like he is really losing his head.

“This shop grants wishes,” Lau trails off. “It depends upon the customers what their wishes are. Our role here is to grant your wishes or give you the best possible chances to achieve what you want. We give choices, you give us answers and we make it happen for you. Simple.”

Everything feels like a dream. Is this even possible?

“What are you…?” Dawn asked. He can’t comprehend what was happening right now. It seemed to good to be true that he can’t think straight. Maybe he was really dreaming and he’ll wake up later. He secretly pinched his hand as hard as possible.

He flinched. It hurts.

Conclusion, this is not a dream.

Lau quickly glance at Christine who was still busy reading a specific dark notebook. Lau sighed and smirked. “Angels?” He answered.

Dawn heard Chrsitine scoffed and rolled her eyes as she flipped the page of the notebook. Dawn wondered if Christine did not like the term Lau used to describe them,“Do you have any wishes?” Lau asked him.

Wishes. His mind stopped. Wishes. Happiness. Everything was so sudden to Dawn that he doesn’t know how to approach everything that was being laid in front of him.

All this time, he knew to himself that he will never be happy and that he should gave up the fact of living a normal life.

 Hope and happiness was a taboo word for Dawn. After the incident and everything that happened in the past, Dawn hindered himself to feel those emotions. He constantly reminded himself that he doesn’t have the right yet, why was the world giving him another chance?

He’s not worth it to begin with. His mind traveled to the second word given to him.

 Wishes.  

Wishes? He doesn’t know. He never want something for years after his friends died. He never wanted something to give him false hope. Yet, now, what should he wish? Can a person who was not worth it in the first place wish? Can he even…. he bit his lips as his eyes felt stingy. He started to feel dizzy that he even used the table as his foothold to help him stand and not fall to the ground.

Wishes. Happiness. He really doesn’t know to approach it. He’s been living with regrets and guilt that those two words are like strangers to him. Can he even handle this?

It felt like, it’s not right for him.

“I don’t know…” was his honest response.

He was afraid.

He was anxious.

He was also confused.

 He was afraid to hold something again.

He already knew the feeling of losing. He already knew the feeling of nothing. He lived with it for how many years and then this would just appear out of nowhere and told him that he has a chance to be happy again.

Is this bullshit!?

It’s not true.

Is this an illusion?

 Hallucination?

Dawn can’t accept the fact that the world was giving him a chance to be happy again and to start again. When in fact he spent years trying to survive and live with the feelings of regret, sorrow and guilt.

 His hands started to shake. He’s sweating like crazy. This was just too much for him. The battle he was facing right now was different from everything he’s been through.

This is not something that would make him feel like s**t. This was not something that would make him feel and realize that he was such a piece of s**t, this right in front of him was hope.

This is wrong. He started to over think. This all too good to be true.

Would the world take this all again when he is happy?

“We will give you time then. ” He was taken back to reality when he heard Lau.

 He inhaled a lung full of air and try his best to stand up. “A week from now we will summon you again.” Lau opened his watch again and starts turning something that was attached on its side Like a gold wheel or something, Dawn thought and try to squint his eyes to see clearly but Lau put his watch again in his pocket.  “By that time, let’s hope you have something you want us to do.”

“What if I don’t have anything?”

“Mr. Dawn Adler,” Lau met his eyes. It was just for a brief moment but Dawn is sure this time that his eyes flicker. “ we’re giving you a chance to be happy. Take it.” And just like that, as Dawn blinked trying to absorb everything, he was suddenly back at his room.  

He blinked again. Trying to process everything that happened and what are the things he needs to consider.

Was everything that happened even true? Happiness and wishes? He really doesn’t know what to think and everything is too overwhelming to him.

 The more time he thinks, he feel like he was losing his strength that he collapsed on the floor unconscious.

--