The girls looked at each other, worried. Then back at the short man. “Are you the shop owner?” Salma asked.
“Yes, my name is Jamil.” He points to his name tag.
“Is there anyone else here?” Nora asked.
“Yes,” he said. The girls look a bit relieved. “There’s you, and you” he points at the two girls.
“Are you mocking me?” Asked Salma.
“I only answered the question. Now, what can I help you with?”
The girls had puzzled looks on their faces. “We want a study desk.” Salma says.
“It’s in the second floor, please follow me.” Jamil excitedly leads the way. The girls followed him in hesitation.
They take an elevator to the second floor. When they stepped out of the elevator and looked up, the girls were shocked to see the first floor that they where just in. Except it’s all up side down on the ceiling. Now they have a better view at the chandeliers. They are indeed just floating in the air without strings.
“Follow me ladies” Jamil said as he waddled ahead. The girls just stared at the roof mouths gaping open.
“Salma, I want to go home” Nora grabs her sister’s arm.
“D- don’t be a coward, this is just a fancy visual effect.” Salma pretended to be brave. “But if you’re that scared then fine, we’ll go home.”
“Go? But you just got here.” Jamil appears right behind the girls. They jump at the surprise.
Salma composed herself instantly. “We just remembered my little sister has an appointment. We have to go, sadly.” Nora still holding on to her sister’s arm.
“But, what about your desk?” Jamil smiles through his frustration. “Don’t you want it?”
“Maybe another time.”
Jamil’s smile disappears. Instead, his face looks angry “No, no other time.” He raises his voice. “Either you buy it now or never.”
Salma’s mouth drops and her eyebrows frown. “How dare you raise you yell at me? We weren’t intending to buy anything today, but I almost bought it from you anyway. You should be thankful we even bother coming to your pathetic isolated store.” Salma turns around and walks back to the elevator. Nora follows her. “You just lost a customer with your rude attitude. Keep your stupid desk.”
“You come back here right now and buy my desk!” Jamil yells. Salma ignores him. She almost reaches the elevator as they were about to press the button, Jamil pops right in front of them. Nora steps backwards again, while Salma just glares at him.
“Move out of my way your bald midget.” Salma spat. Nora gasped.
Jamil boils in anger. “What did you just call me?”
“Didn’t you hear me? Or are you deaf too?”
“Salma…” Nora whispers to her sister. Salma just shakes her hand to tell Nora off.
“You dare challenge me, you hopeless naïve human?” This time Jamil’s voice doesn’t get louder. Yet, it sounds different. It fills the hall as if it’s coming from every direction. He looked as if he became something else.
Salma laughs, “seriously?” She turns to her sister. “Did hear what this guy just said?”
Color fades from Nora’s face. She looks back at her sister terrified. The lights get dimmer. Wind blows inside the store, Jamil disappears. Only then Salma realizes how serious it all escalated to.
Nora wants to press the elevator’s button, but she doesn’t see it. She feels disoriented. She looks around her looking for where the elevator is supposed to be but can’t find it. The store looks different. Every time she turns around and back the environment changes.
“Salma!” She calls. No one answers. The wind is deafening. She holds on to her sheila. She calls her sister as loud as she can once and twice again. Nothing. Somehow everything else in the store stays solid in its place when the wind only gets stronger. She holds on to a table waiting for the storm to stop. She begins to cry.
The storm lasted a few minutes that felt like hours. Then it stops, and everything is calm. Nora looks around. The lights are really dim. There is no one around her. She checks her phone, no signal. She uses it as a light source and stumbles around.
“Jamil!” She calls out. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry my sister was mean to you.”
She walks until her feet hurt looking for someone, anyone. Even if it’s Jamil. She hates the silence and loneliness.
“Please give me my sister back!” Tears run down Nora’s face. “Please!”
Silence.
Nora’s feet ache. She takes off her heels. “Can you hear me Jamil.” She gets frustrated. Desperate for any kind of attention. She takes out a nail file from her pocket and raises it up high. “Answer me or I swear I will scratch everything wooden in here.”
“You little pest.” Jamil hissed from behind. Nora turns around quickly and moves backwards away from him. He is visibly furious. She drops the nail file.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t really going to do anything I swear!” Nora begged. “I just wanted to see if you can hear me.”
“So now you’re nice to me huh? Now that you are scared for your life.”
“I wouldn’t be mean to you either way.”
“Yeah right.” Jamil snickers.
“I really wouldn’t! I’m sorry my sister made fun of you. You can’t control your outer appearance. It’s not your fault.”
Jamil glares at her for a moment. He seems to believe her. He walks over and picks up the nail file and turns away.
“Please, I just want to leave!”
“Then leave, I have no issue with you.” Jamil snaps his fingers. The front door appears right behind him. Nora is not too surprised. At this point she is used to the weirdness of the place.
“But what about my sister?”
“Don’t worry. The moment you step out of this door you’ll forget all about her. No sorrow. No pain.”
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