This knew knowledge gave me the power that I needed to stand up from the patch of grass and leave the birds behind. I walked towards a cave that rested not too far away and began to walk into the shadows once again. They were beckoning me a lot less this time, and began to claw out at me, angered by my intrusion. I didn’t care and simply lumbered on, making sure to check my arm every once in a while. The shadows seemed to see it as a weakness and attacked it when they could, but I kept moving. Their claws finally released me as I stepped towards the dead end, which was dimly lit by two resting candles. The door that sat between them was dark and wooden, the glass window formed the shape of a broken pentagon, and was painted black. When I opened it, I saw that the walls were painted the black of an abyss and the floors were a dark wood. A backroom was barely covered by a draping curtain, the same that blacked out the windows, barely letting even the slightest peak of blue shine through. Each wall was decorated with some signs of what I assumed was the occult. There were skulls, candles, herbs, sigils, summoning circles, and anything else that would make a witch feel at home. To my right there was a glass display case that help a variety of cakes and other foods. Behind that an old woman glowered at me from behind the register. I didn’t know how I already got her to hate me, but she most certainly thought she could kill me with the poison in her look. I ignored her in favor of going towards my friend who sat at the back of the room in a light wooden chair that matched the round table.
“Should we order something?” He asked. I took note of his chocolate cake and coffee mug, before replying and getting up to go to the cash register. I ordered a cappuccino, not realizing that just the act of opening my mouth would cause the women’s hatred for me to grow tenfold.
I went back to my seat and attempted to continue chatting with my friend, finding out any information that I could. Everytime I finished my drink, it refilled itself and created a leaf-like pattern on the foam in with careful detail.
“Do you want something else to eat?” My friend asked. “I do, I’m really hungry.” I looked at him, staring him down slightly, knowing that he didn’t have any money left in his wallet.
“I’ll pay for you,” I said, getting up and walking back to the cash register.
“You don’t have to!” He called, but made no move to get up and stop me from helping him. I ordered what I’d seen him have before and opted to get a bottomless cappuccino- rather than an endless one- for myself.
“Would you like a cake?” The old woman asked sweetly from behind the counter. I stared at her, knowing her thoughts on me had shifted. “I have this wonderful cake here, you must try it.” She led me towards the glass display and showed me to a small green cake at the end. It looked disaturated in color, but extremely moist and fluffy for a cake. “This is my vegetable cake. You won’t find a single drop of sugar, flour, eggs, or any other ingredient in it that isn’t strictly vegetable. But the best part? You’ll get free pieces of art with it!” She hoisted up a frame with a painting that made my stomach drop. The painting should have been Starry Night. It wasn’t. The lines were twisted and mangled, recreating themselves into what could be figures that were descending upon beings that were desperately trying to flee. It looked as if it could jump out of the page and come to life at any moment, and it very well might have if the woman didn’t place it back behind the counter. “I myself collect such arts. I find them to be intriguing.” She rested her chin on her hands and leaned on the display case, “What do you say? Want a cake?” I nodded, and tried to give my best smile to her. I did not want that cake.
At the cash register she rung me up and took my money from me, precariously counting it before putting it in the cash register and handing me my change. She made the plates float over to where my friend and I were sitting, resting them down gently in front of him. I moved to the side a bit, hiding behind a counter that reached well above my head, and counted my money. She had given me a two dollar bill and a five hundred and twenty seven dollar bill. I debated going back and telling her the change was wrong, not wanting to invoke her wrath if she found out, but decided to simply pocket it and use it on another cake, hoping that she would get the change wrong again and give me much less.
I walked back to my friend and sat down until his staring became so much of a nuisance that I couldn’t drink in peace. I finally flicked my fork at him to get him to start eating, and dug into the vegetable cake myself, hoping that the free paintings were just a joke.
“I have to go now, have fun!” My friend said, before sauntering out of the door into a dark gray city. I frowned and kept eating, not happy about being left alone with the woman behind the counter. When my cake was finished, I saw the sheets of paper underneath it and deepened my frown. The free images were actually apart of the cake, and the woman didn’t lie. I figured she probably needed some form of bribery to try and sell an all-vegetable cake. I wouldn’t know why, though. It was utterly delicious. Perfectly sweet and moist, tasting more like a green tea or matcha cake rather than one that came from green health roots.
I steeled myself and flipped the paper over, noting the paintings and quickly looking away towards the old woman to see her pleased smile. I didn’t want to make her hate me once again so I looked at a crumb that rested near the paintings rather than the images. I felt them pulling at my eyes, at my curiosity, begging me to look at them and bask in their glory. I couldn’t, I wouldn’t. I knew that they were horrendous and frightening and terrible. The painting the woman showed me earlier was enough to make me feel dizzy and sick. I wouldn’t want to know what more could do to me even if they were in a smaller size.
I chugged my coffee to get the feeling of them away from my mind and became very disappointed when the coffee never reached the bottom of the cup. I got up to go talk to the woman, trying not to show how shaken up my mind was.
“Would you like another?” The woman smiled, her eyes showing glints of viper beneath her old and seemingly sweet exterior.
“Yes please,” I smiled, becoming just as much of a viper as her. “I enjoyed it very much.” A much more self-destructive viper. “The paintings were great! Such artistry.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed them. I have more cakes and more paintings!” The woman sounded excited and hobbled over to the display case once again. “I am so glad I’ve found someone else to enjoy these pieces of work. I do collect them, you know. They’re such fun to have on the walls of my house.” I smiled and took the cake from her, giving her back the five hundred and twenty-seven dollar bill and getting correct change in return. “Goodness you have quite a bit of money, don’t you,” The woman laughed good naturedly. I nodded and returned to my seat, barely noting that my endless and bottomless cups of coffee where now empty. I got to work eating once again and, once again, the cake tasted absolutely magnificent. I was quickly realizing that I hated the old woman much more than she hated me when I walked into her store. Oh how easy it was to gain her favor.
When my cake was done I set down my for and picked up my paintings, not even pretending to look at them before getting up and handing the old woman the dishes. “Come again!” She yelled as I was walking out. I nodded and stepped out into the cold night air of the city. The cobblestone road was uneven and slick from rain, making it harder to walk on. I tried to stay in the glow of the streetlights, not wanting to be called by the shadows again.
I shuddered in the cold and turned the paintings over so that the top one would be facing me. I knew that I shouldn't have done it, but I stared at the painting nonetheless. It was sucking everything out of me and once again my stomach dropped. It was The Scream, but this time the poor man was moved to the right and stood inside a brown room with wooden decor. Behind him was the real fear of the art, however. She stared at me with sketched out soulless eyes, her smile small and wicked. She was as pale as the moon and had her hair meticulously pulled into a bun. She was simply standing near the screaming man, but he reaction of her was enough to cause fear to bloom in my chest. Her neck was far too long to be human and her slim body was covered in a dress of blood. I stared back at her, unable to look away until I hear the ping of my phone warning me about a new message. My head whipped around to look behind me. I saw no one, and made sure to pocket the art before turning back around.
I slowly made my way through the streets again, becoming more and more cautious of the shadows that I was surrounded by. I probably wasn’t the only thing drawn to the shadows, and I didn’t want to find out what else had the ability to go through them as well. To distract myself I checked my phone and noticed that the old woman had texted me.
~I thought you would like to see the rest of my collection. I am nearly finished with collecting them all.~
The text was followed with image upon image of drawings modified and re-created to cause a disturbance within my mind. I shook off the fear that began to reform itself within me and continued to walk, focussing on the cobblestones that fell underneath my feet. I walked down the hill until I started running and managed to make it back to my house in one piece. I opened the door and walked inside, letting the shifting ceiling calm me and looked up at the moving blocks filled with windows looking towards the sky and some hints of carpet from the upstairs. The kitchen was a welcome sight, clean and ready to be used. I was going to use it, and planned on making something that would probably be delicious if I wasn’t interrupted.
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