Jonah [Discontinuing]

Chapter 1

Why did I even agree to this? No, how?

I'm not a car person. Never was one, and never will be one. Driving on a road trip, being locked up in a four wheeled death trap? No thanks. Yet for some idiotic reason, here I was. On a trip to Massachusetts with the horrid man I called Father. Not that he was horrible himself, just a bit too crazy for me to handle. And he was a scientist. A pretty big one. Lucky for me, he was the only person I had left. My mom ran off with some Spanish exotic dancer to live luxuriously in the south. Why didn't she take me? I needed a tan anyways.

Thankfully, my dad pulled into a town off the road. Derenvee Falls. That doesn't sound so bad... Parking into a motel lot, he turned off the engine and turned to me. "Here kiddo." he said reaching into his pocket. "Why don't you head next door and get us some cheeseburgers with fries and some drinks," bobbing his head to the ancient-looking burger joint next to the motel. With a plop of some money into my hands, he and I got out of the car and went our separate ways.

I looked at the restaurant suspiciously. I'm pretty sure this has been in business since the dawn of the dinosaurs. Even when I kicked open the front door, a cloud of dust enveloped me. Coughing, I cleared out my eyes to see a 1950s styled diner. I wonder where Doc is, I thought, giggling at my humor.

 "Hello?" I called out. No one answered. Looking around, I noticed there were no real signs of life; no rings of a bell to notify prepared orders, no sounds of sizzling good beef being grilled on a stovetop, nothing.

I decided to head out of the place and into the little shop next door to see if there was any human contact available. Opening the creaking door, I was submerged into a dark, little room with candles hanging form the ceiling. I walked in and the realized that the door behind me closed on its own. Freaky.

I looked around, my eyes hoarding in all the strangest things I've ever seen. Jars of some kind of gooey stuff lined up neatly against the wall. The head of a goat. Necklaces with shrunken heads hanging from the ceiling. A decaying sign over the counter saying "Babula Store of Wonders." The Addams family thrift shop.

After glancing around, I started to feel an eerie chill crawl up my spine. Shaking, I untied the light sweatshirt that hung on my hips and slid it over my head. That was when I heard the sound of footsteps. "Hello?" I called out.

"Come in, child, come." The voice was hoarse and rustic. Turning back to the front of the store, I noticed a small, old lady perched on a rocking chair. Her hair was shaggy and her nose was enormous. Her icy, blue eyes pieced into my dark, brown ones. I felt like I knew her from somewhere...

"May I be of assistance?" She asked.

"I guess," I replied. "Do you know a place where I can get some food around here?"

"Could I supply you with some radishes maybe? Turnips and carrots?"

"Uh, thanks, but I mean like sandwiches or hamburgers maybe? A salad?"

"I am sorry, but I am the only store in this town that supplies groceries. The restaurants have all shut down." A strange grin appeared onto her face.

I shook my head. "Then never mind. Thanks anyways." I started to make my way to the door when I heard a stomping behind me. Turning back, I noticed that the old woman had managed to stand up, holding a wooden staff in her hand. Her curved back and gaping smile made her look like a horror character. Huh.

"Oh please, do stay. I might have something you desire, free of charge."

"Oh really? Like what, granny?" I threw out sarcastically. Suddenly, a gust of wind appeared into the shop, and everything became pitch black except for a small lit candle near the woman. With her bony hand, she beckoned for me to come closer. Hesitantly, I made my way over to her, bracing myself in case she decided to hit me with her stick. Leaning down to see her eye level, I noticed one of them was made go glass. Oh, joy. "Do you desire anything, my dear," she whispered to me,"anything in the world?"

Without hesitation, images popped into my head: a normal dad...a boyfriend...a pretty face...a cheeseburger....

"Yeah, everyone has one I guess. So what? You have some kinda magic-mojo to change my life?" I chuckled sarcastically, but then she stared at me. Was she serious? Well, honestly, I wouldn't be so surprised. Next thing I'll know, her staff will become a wand, and she'll say, "You're a wizard, Krystal."

With her bare grin, she hobbled to the counter top where the ancient cash register was, and vanished under it. Popping up like an overly excited gopher, she began to laugh hysterically. I came closer and saw something glistening in her tiny hands. "Here." She handed something to me.

It was a bottle. Not like a baby bottle, but more like a perfume bottle. Inside it was a pastel pink liquid that shined with some sort of glitter. I looked up at her. "So, are you trying to say I stink, or what?

"Anything you desire, whether beauty or charm, is sealed in that bottle. It's all yours now. No take backs," she added with a chuckle.

"Thanks lady, but I'm good. I happen to like my face." Going to hand it back, something strange happened: I couldn't stretch out my arm to give it to her. It was almost frozen in the air, not moving forward. I looked down and saw my hand tightly wrapped around the bottle, to the point that my knuckles turned white. The odd thing was, I had no control over my hand. I can't let go.

Seeing my struggle, the old woman began to laugh. "You are bound to it now. The second you touched it, it connected to you. He will smell you soon. Good luck." And without warning, she disappeared. Literally. Like "poof", then dust was where she stood.

I'm going crazy, I said to myself. Smell me? What the heck? I glanced down to the bottle and noticed something strange. On it, there was a piece of paper stuck to it. I pulled it off with my free hand, and tried to open and read it. Before I could finish tugging the ends of the folded paper apart, I heard the sound of a car engine outside.  Then the sound of tracking wheels on a gravel road. I stood in awe as I heard the car drive away, and didn't move until I heard nothing at all. In shock, I ran to the front door and swung it open with my working hand. He's gone. Why did he leave?

Dad's car is gone, I'm all alone in the town, and my palm is sweating from holding the "magic" perfume bottle. Yay.