I was looking for something special or weird or somehow even precious but all the things I found were far away from even being normal things.
Anyone who'd ever thought: 'oh, I really need to destroy that person's life.' He could find something easily, making all the revenge plots in this world seem pointless.
If someone needed to be beautiful, there were things for this. If it's a work issue, there's a thing for it, if it was about superpowers and great consequences there were also things for that.
It was somehow feeling like a magical place where you could find anything you've ever wanted. Making what written in the papers that swallowed us to be here seem too honest…
So, what was the chance that my paper too was honest? It would be more like solving a puzzle…
"But what do the anomalies need from all these?"
Why were they buying these things as if they needed them?
Do you have lives or what?
"Thinking about this won't help me at all."
No, why won't it help me?
The magician made the Festival for the anomalies to find the tickets, that meant that they have some kind of lives, and they were thinking somehow, and that knowing their thinking might help.
So.
I need to act weird. Very weird—
And rethought about everything as if I'm part of it, not someone who barely could look into the goods.
I inhaled,
Then gave my attention to two humans, or what they looked like, who were passing along with me.
"Did you find it?"
"Oh, I found things." The other answered, giving me goosebumps because I've never imagined listening to such conversations with all my power. Not when one of them absolutely had something weird in his forehead— maybe mouth?
Ah.
I need to go and sleep.
"What things? You came to find a thing. Not things."
"Talk to yourself, didn't you do the same?"
"No."
"Yes. The bag in your hand says yes as well."
Why did this seem so natural?
"Excuse me," I interrupted, patting the one beside me in the shoulder. "Could I ask about something?"
"Oh." two men turned to face me. They seemed so humane that I blinked to make sure of what I was seeing.
"Sorry—" the two bowed little, seeming utterly nervous. "What do you need from us, Sir?"
That was so polite…
Too formal.
Too familiar, too.
"Where could I find the most precious things here?"
"E- Everything is precious here."
"...? How?"
"It is the way this Festival works. No one is allowed to buy cheap things."
"Okay. You could go on your way."
I stopped the conversation and turned to see what was shown to my right.
It was mirrors, the seller was shouting that it could show you what you need to see the most…
If I was a magician, where could I put the thing that everyone came to get? In the middle of everything that everyone needs and wants.
Things that none would even look at.
"Right, right…" I felt as if this finally hit the main issue.
Now,
What was the last thing anyone would look at in a festival?
I stopped in the middle of the street, watching. The sellers, the anomalies, the goods… then my eyes drifted to the street under my shoes.
And finally something hit me like a storm.
"The norm…"
The land got lines, not too obvious, but existed. The lighting was off at some points, some of the lanterns were broken, and a few of them flickered in a certain pattern.
The very first lantern above my head was flickering in a slightly different colour, more yellow.
On Off On Off On Off—
Too rapidly, two fast, And just when I gave it attention. It stopped.
Another one in twenty steps started to flicker in a green colour, Long On, Long Off, Long On, Long Off…
It continued to act this way until I reached it. It just stopped then without giving me any clue, and no other lantern did the same so I stayed where I was.
"False signal?" I exhaled, feeling all the tension in my muscles, and I really just wanted to take a rest. "Shall I just get out and return later?"
I already have a way out.
"Do you want to know your life, Sir?"
"What?" I looked down. My heart stopped when I saw an old woman that looked like a witch sitting in a fancy chair.
Very ugly witch…
"I can see your life" she repeated, her voice was more like a whisper of a devil. "I will tell you what you need to hear."
"No." I rejected, a cold sweat ran over my spine. "I don't need to hear anything."
I turned to go somewhere else when a hand catched my jacket. One that was too strong to be an old woman's hand.
"This isn't something you could buy with money."
"No."
"Hearing it will serve you the greatness."
"Just let me go" I yanked her hand off. Fortunately, the jacket wasn't damaged.
"You need it."
"No."
"You need it."
"No."
"You need it."
"..."
"You need it, You need it, Youneedit.Youneedit.Youneedit.Youneedit—"
"You should never have gone near this woman in the first place." Someone who was passing by said. Clearly escape the scene. And with in half minute, all the anomalies who were near was nevar there.
"Such a damned creatures— why being so much like humans in such situations?!"
"Youneedit.Youneedit.Youneedit.Youneedit—"
"And you!" I shouted at her, feeling as if all my patience gone forever. "Just shut up and Stop that!"
She didn't stop.
And I felt as if I couldn't escape this, so I let myself do the first thing I wanted to do.
I choked her,
With both my hands,
Until her voice became more like a devil hiss.
"If you are not stopping, I'm stopping you my self."
Killing an anomaly was never a problem. So that killing something more like an error.
Repeated error, that somewhat changed what it was saying when I was about to get rid of her.
She didn't even looked like a human anymore.
"Tristan will never be happy, Tristan will never be happy, Tristan will never be—" Then she instead of dieing, vanished… making me look at my shaking hands as if I did something I had no idea that I could do.
"Just go and be unhappy with him in hell— what I have to do with all this nonsenses?"
After a long breath, I looked up and noticed another lantern, that was normal before, flickering with bright red light.
This time, I didn't go immediately… I just stood there, looking at the sky while all what left on my head was: just get out of this place.
"Why didn't I think of having a gun at least?"
No weapons in my hands…
Why I didn't even got any idea near that? Not even once? Was that normal or I've lost my mind?
"Agh—"
My eyes drifted to the side so I had a view of the place that witch was sitting at.
And there it was,
A golden key that when I took, all the stall with every thing in it disappeared.
"Such an ominous key…"
What should I do with it? I had no idea. The only thing i knew was that I may need it, since everything here is ominous as well.
Two deep breaths. Then I went to the other lantern to see what was under it.
This one thought, was flickering in different theme… Long On, Short off, Long On, Short off—
And what was under it was a flower shop.
Haha,
Crazy flowers as all the crazy things around. And it wasn't a place anyone avoided but the opposite… it had too many costumers.
"The flower of bad luck! Yes, and that one!" The first in the raw shouted his order. "One of the sinner's singing flower."
What names were these?
Who knews…
"Give me the lucky one!"
The one after orderd, making me give what he got a glance.
Goosebumps ran through my body when I saw that he was typically hold a flower with sharp teeth.
The one who orderd bad flowers got a good, ordinary shape flowers, but the 'good luck' one seemed like a bewitched flower.
Everyone in the raw took their orders. All got the same results about how ugly the flower compared to its job.
And when it was my turn, I just stood there, looking at the so-called flowers while feeling like I was about to vomit…
"What's your order, Sir?"
Could I even buy something?
"That." I pointed at an empty plant pot.
"You need that?"
"Yes? Any problem wih this?"
"No no. It's fine." He handed me the pot. "Take care of it."
"Okay."
"It is thirty coins."
"What?" I didn't have money at all and no one was around to help me. "Wait a second."
What I was about to do with the pot? No nobody knew. Even I didn't know and just gave my instincts all the power.
My instincts said yes to the pot, so I thought really well before took of the shiny ring I wore and handed it to the seller.
"This is enough right?"
"Right right!" his level of excitement made me confused. "Yes, Yes!"
So it was a precious ring, after all.
"Thank you for coming."
When I thought that the ring gone forever, the man gave it back to me.
"The payment is done. You can take it back Sir."
"What?"
"The payment."
"How—"
"The pay system"
"...?" I couldn't close my mouth. "You say that this ring is working likse a bank card?"
"Yes."
What?!
So I have the money here?
What kind of people was Tristan to have this exactly?!