He knew he was going to have to walk to school again when the bus faded around the corner. He also knew this was not going to be the first or the last time he would be late.
School was tough on him, just as bad as home was. Kids did not treat him well there. He was invisible everywhere he went.
Now that he was finally noticed by Charles and Daniel, and he was in a world of hurt. He would have rather been ignored, remaining under their radar.
Standing to his feet, he dusted himself off, and looked down to see a hole in his worn shoe had emerged. He wanted to cry once more, curl up, and let the cruel world consume him entirely, but then remembered something important. It became his mantra in desperate times.
Remain strong.
His brother would have said this to him if he were here. He had always taught him in the hardest of times, you had to stay strong, because if you let the world pull you down, you may never be able to get back up.
With an enthusiastic nod to himself, Benji started his way toward school. He dried his eyes with his dampened sleeve and suppressed the tears still lingering in the corners of his eyes, forcing a weak smile.
He continued the course, not paying any mind to his surroundings as he crossed the street, focusing on the cracks in the pavement. He always made a game out of it and was careful to step on every single one.
When he reached the curb of the adjacent sidewalk, he stepped up, and approached the line of shops he saw every day. Only today they were different.
The once vacant shop situated in the middle of a bakery and an antique store, now was a candy store named 'Candied Dreams'. The sign placed in the window claimed their candies brought dreams to life, and made wishes come true.
Benji was immediately enticed and stepped up to the window, peering into the blue-tinted glass, thinking of how he had never had a dream of his own before.
Narrowing his eyes, he stuck out a stiff lip. A red 'closed' sign was swinging with the autumn breeze. Pressing his nose to the glass, he felt a chill rush down his spine as his eyes wandered, surveying the shop. They were taunted by the wonders held within and he wanted so badly for the store to be open.
Vivid mystical colors covered the tall dark walls. There were a number of tables, displayed with candies otherworldly to him. His mouth salivated as he remembered the last time he tasted something so sweet.
The day before Noah disappeared, he came home with a small bag of butterscotch. A day he would always remember. They got sick to their stomachs, laughing until dawn, careful to talk about everything.
He could still smell the aroma, and the taste of candy lingered in his mouth. Thinking about it brought back the way it stuck to his molars all night.
His parents were not a fan of sugar, so candy was not something kept in his household. It was rare he got to taste it and knew since this shop opened; the rules would become stricter.
"Excuse me?" a gruff, male voice resounded from behind him, snapping him away from the memory. "What are you doing?"
Benji turned toward the voice in embarrassment, meeting eyes with a mysterious man. He looked him over, noticing a simple grey vest tucked into a purple buttoned shirt.
The man appeared to be normal, however, something about him was off. Maybe it was the comb-over white hair, showing signs of his balding head or perhaps it was his tall composure. Benji also swore the color of his hair reminded him of the snow he saw last winter, but nothing compared to his bizarre eyes.
They were the strangest thing he had ever saw. The man's irises were a deep shade of violet, but they appeared to never stay the same color. They changed in the light, reflecting black when he smiled at him.
"I'm so sorry!" Benji shouted, startled, moving away from the window with his head tucked down, letting the man through.
He was unaware of to what to do now. He knew he should keep walking down the sidewalk, away from the strange man and his embarrassment, but he couldn't. Stuck in place, he stared at the man as he motioned toward the door.
Benji turned to walk away, his cheeks burning, but the jingle of keys stopped him in his tracks. The man fished them out of the pocket of his vest and Benji stiffened, turning his head to the side. Watching, the man stepped in front of the door, not paying any mind to him.
Curiosity took over as the mysterious man opened the door, letting the little bell ring in greetings. He tilted his head to the side, waiting for the man to say something to him, but he did not.
Disappointed by the unresponsiveness, he persisted, walking down the street toward school once more, thinking of how foolish he was for even contemplating going inside. The man's gruff voice called out once more from behind him.
"Are you coming in?" he asked, standing in the doorway, staring at Benji with a raised brow.
Benji swung around excitedly, his big toe popped out of his shoe as he sauntered toward the man holding the door open, welcomingly. As he approached, a sinister smile surfaced.
He hesitated for a moment, not sure if he should go into the shop with the man or carry on his way.
On one hand, he was supposed to go to school. While on the other, temptation called, luring him into the store. He was hoping he could get a taste of the delectable candies if he were to follow the man into of the shop.
Inside of his mind, he deliberated which candy he would try first. The options were limitless. Big glass bowls filled to the brim on the tables were scattered throughout the shop.
Each one conversed with him in different volumes, but the one he craved the most was toward the front, to the left of the counter, wrapped in yellow foil.
He stared at it; the candy was whispering his name. They were different from anything else in the store. Shaped like marbles and colorful. Each candy had streams of swirls in them, and a sign placed gingerly in front of the bowl read, "For those who want their dreams to come true."
It was enough to drive Benji to decide.
They both walked inside the shop. The mysterious white-haired man left him alone to meander around as he began to set up for business. As he did, he peered out the corner of his eyes, watching Benji carefully.
His violet eyes darkened once more as Benji moved about the shop, marveling at the beauty of it all. Chills streamed down his spine when he realized the man was inspecting him closely. His gaze grew harder when he reached toward the bowl of candies.
The man was disturbing to him, especially in this moment. From the way he stood, hand pressed to the counter, to the way, his eyes darted back and forth, following his every move. It was more than unnerving.
He had seemed normal, but Benji thought something was a bit off about him.
He watched as the man turned, flicking on the light switch. Light flooded the shop, filling in the little shadows, hanging in the corners. In the glow was something unusual about the shop. He did not see it before when he had pressed his nose to the glass.
There, hanging at the end of a short hall, was a metal door. He thought about the appearance of it, thinking this door was like the one in the nightmare.
"Curiosity killed the cat," the man said from behind him with a twitch of a smile.
"What?" Benji asked, turning to find the shopkeeper was right next to him, a whisper away.
"I said curiosity killed the cat," he repeated, walking over to the bowl of candies Benji had been eyeing when he first walked into the small shop. "It's a saying."
The man drove his hand into the bowl and pulled out a yellow wrapped piece of candy. It was the same candy Benji had his eye on when he first saw the shop.
He took the candy out of the wrapper, untwisting the knots, and out came a marbled clear circle with a dreamy yellow center.
The owner popped the candy into his mouth and closed his violet eyes. A wide grin fastened onto his face with delight. Shiny white teeth emerged, reminding Benji of a monster. They exposed themselves further and when he opened his eyes, his irises darkened once more.
"Delicious!" he hissed, letting his tongue click with satisfaction as he rolled the candy across his tongue.
Benji's eyes widened as the man chomped viciously on the hard candy with those horrible teeth, letting the sound echo throughout the shop. He opened his eyes, meeting Benji's blue observant orbs watching quizzically.
A question rattled in his mind. The same question pestered him. He needed to ask the man. Ever since he saw the sign on the outside, and again in front of the large candy bowl, curiosity consumed him. He felt it was going to overflow at any moment.
"Do they make your dreams come true?" he asked suddenly, straining to get another look at the candy in the bowls.
The man's face shifted after he finished chewing the delectable candy and let out a large gulp. His eyes were no longer a violet shade, but a similar blue to Benji's. He leaned in closer, inches away from the tip of his nose, and let his smile linger.
"Do they do what?" he asked, pulling away.
Benji swallowed. A lump appeared in the middle of his throat and even though he had tried to get rid of it, it refused to disappear—stuck like the butterscotch on his molars—making it harder for him to speak his next words. He took a deep breath in, closed his eyes, and let the words flow.
"Do the candies really make dreams come true?" he asked, with such curiosity, the feeling burned inside of him like an everlasting flame.
The man straightened his torso, arched his brow, and let his smile widen—stretching entirely across his face. His eyes were flocked with a quandary as he stood there looking at him.
He picked up another small candy, pinching it between his fingers to show off the mystery burrowing inside, and carefully unwrapped another yellow piece of candy for Benji. He peered at it in approval, before nodding, and handed the candy to him.
"Why don't you see for yourself?" he asked. That same twisted smile was still smeared upon his face.
Benji did not know what to say, so he let his actions speak for themselves. He accepted the candy, cradling it in the palm of his hand, grinning back at the man gratefully.
The candy moved with him as he tilted his hand, hitting the sides of his palm. He finally had it in his possession, and it confused his emotions. He was overjoyed, yet nervous. The lump once more grew in his throat and a nag presented itself telling Benji what he should do.
Don't eat it.
He watched the candy intently, and he had the slightest notion, questioning himself.
Should I leave?