12:55pm
12:55 p.m.
He[1] slid lid of the box closed and set the box back on the cloth.
How long have I got?
The bells on the front door jingled the arrival of a customer, and he looked up to see a small man[1] dressed in one of the poorest-fitting suits he had ever seen. The man had somehow managed to find a jacket that was too long overall, yet too short in the sleeves. He was walking up the center aisle, reading the labels on the small wood boxes.
“Hi. Welcome to—”
“You own this place?” The customer’s voice fit him as well as the suit. Far too heavy to come from such a light instrument.
Not long.
“I do.”
“My lucky day. You’re a hard man to find.”
“I agree. I’ve been looking longer than anyone.” He smiled.
This took the customer by surprise as he arrived at the back counter where the shopkeeper stood.
“You agree, he says.”
“I agree. So I say.”
The customer sensed the shift in the shopkeeper’s tone and removed his sunglasses.
“You know who I am?” The customer waited half-smiling for confirmation that his unsunglassed face was world-famous.
“I don’t. But I can guess.”
The customer’s eyes narrowed. “Then guess.”
“You’re a man who likes to sit five booths from me in diners, stand three rows from me in libraries, and tell people they are hard to find when he has found them at least six times, if I count the time you passed me in Boston. But I’m not convinced you saw me that time.”
The customer’s face was all disappointment and enraged anxiety. ”Well. Then I guess it’s down to business.”
“As you say.”
“I’m looking for a key.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t carry anything like that. There’s a hardware store just down the—”
The customer held up a hand. ”Let’s start again.” His voice seemed to calm, against the escalated tension his still-raised hand introduced.
“Yes,” the shopkeeper replied, “let’s start again.” He smiled. “This time, I’ll be you. I’m looking for something I’ll never find. Because I don’t know where the boy[1] went. And there is something wrong with my map… how am I doing?”
“…you knew?”
“I did.”
The customer looked over the shopkeeper’s shoulder as the door to the back alley closed.
“You’re too late,” the shopkeeper said. “But, if it helps you die peacefully, I think maybe we both are.”
People
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2
- The shopkeeper - dealing with someone and a box (giving the bxo?), concerned about how much time he has left
- Customer - A short man who enters the shop, wearing a badly-fitted suit and sunglasses, possibly famous; stalks people, such as the shopkeeper; looking for a key
- The boy - the one who carries the key; possibly left the shop moments earlier with the box
Notes
- This segment was revealed on Dec 11, 2012 via tumblr.
