Flash Fiction Friday: Casting Stones

 

                                    
                                                   Photo by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash

        Dominique Mack cut the grand opening ribbon like a doctor cutting an umbilical cord. His dark panel wooden baby stood behind a black iron bench- fat with cases of finely crafted jewels. His passion was furnaced out of playing with his mother’s mystical crystal collection and savoring the feel of the gems inside her earrings, her rings, and her bracelets. And now his passion married with years of hard work and savings helped him realize his dream. 

Dominique’s husband, Earnell, kissed him on the cheek and left him to run the store. He couldn’t be more proud. Dominique worked on the final touches, making sure everything was perfect for the opening day. His eyes lingered on the sapphires; they were his favorite. And then, he waited. And waited. And waited. 

The first few weeks of business had been depressingly slow. Earnell encouraged his husband to not give up. Then, one day, a customer entered the store. His eyes were dull and glassy. When Dominique greeted the customer, his lips curled into a ghost of a smile. Something about him felt off. 

His bony, skeletal hands held a velvet pouch. He revealed a single gem- a cracked stone that made Dominique feel as though something was watching him; he couldn’t tell what kind of stone it was. “I need you to restore this.” When Dominique picked it up to inspect it, the stone felt cold; it was like holding an ice cube. “It’s my lucky charm,” the man rasped. 

Dominique set the stone back. He considered turning the man away, but this was one of his only customers. Though he thought the gem was creepy; he felt inspired to take on the challenge. His final sway came when the customer set a bag of gold on one of the glass cases. “Ok, I’ll get it done.” Dominique took the stone. “Let me get your name and number so I can call you when it’s ready.” However, when Dominique turned to the man, he was gone. He left behind a piece of paper that had a name and number on it. 

Dominique got to work right away; he didn’t sleep much that night. When he was done, the stone creeped Dominique out even more. The inside of the stone crawled and shifted like a bunch of spiders cramped into one spot. During further examination, customers entering the store interrupted his thoughts. Buyers from everywhere came into the store. Soon, he found he needed to hire a bigger sales team. 

He tried to call the man that came by, but the number had been disconnected. He found himself busy with the store every day. By the end of the next few weeks, Dominique was a wealthy man. The stone stayed near him at all times, cold and piercing in his pocket, but he felt hesitant to part with it. 

As he became increasingly busy, days blurred. Something in him shattered, and the fragments of his life disappeared like snow in the ground. Every morning, he forgot something important like the warm hugs of his mother and then the sweet kisses from his husband. 

On the day Earnell served him the divorce papers, Dominique was in a deep depression. While getting ready to close the store for the night, the man returned to the store. He returned with a smile that seemed to have never faltered. “Do you like the charm?” 

“You.” Dominique rushed towards him, but nothing happened. It was like punching a single waft of mist. His sales team asked him who he was talking to. 

Dominique chucked the stone in the trash, but he awoke the next morning with it in his grip next to his head on the pillow. As his store grew in popularity, his reflection grew more and more opaque. One morning, he woke up and saw no one there.