Summary: The peculiarities of life had a way of pursuing the proprietor of Sothe Novelty. The self proclaimed "clairvoyant" with a penchant for accumulating "pets" resides within a neurosis of an overly structured life. But this said life, after a succession of omens will ensure everything as she knows will no longer be the conventional.
Fiction title and summary may be subject to change.
Chapter One
Seeing Through the Perpetual Blind
Perhaps it was the notoriety, much like an appendage, that came hand in hand in taking on certain charitable cases that prodded her forward. Contrary to popular belief though, one could expect that charity would only provoke amiable salutations, which was the train of thought that incessantly ran through her mind. After two years in London, she had decided, she would neither get over the damp nor the impending dread that seemed to want to stay with her these days. Maybe that was what had been worrying her, the touch of vacillating fear that frayed her nerve and skipped at the pit of her stomach and forced her legs to briskly toddle beyond their means. The warm sensation of exhaustion built up within the rounds of both calf muscles, causing her to walk slightly irregular and further overly use up the stretch of sidewalk before her. And to make matters far worse, she was poorly dressed for the warranted occasion.
Marlowe stood out like a sore thumb. She wore possibly the most horrid shade of pumpkin fathomable to man, and further rode out the transgression by choosing such a brilliant tint that regardless of season or trend made it obsolete. For the layers of the coloring was far too jovial to have any kind of business being in this part of town amongst neutrals, dark denim wash, and other somber tones mixed in along with the dregs of social order. But yet her feet did move her onward, knowing their purpose.
Maybe it would be too late, she thought. But then again maybe not she concluded in her finding an efficient rationale in seeing that some particular pastimes fashioned people creatures of habit and inspired a perpetual narcissism. It was not long before she came to the rubbish skip, where she would normally see him.
On hearing her inappropriately clad footsteps, his whole body pivoted to face her and she took in his unwashed demeanor, glassy eyes and for a moment or two she supposed he mistook her for someone else.
"Hope I didn't disappoint you, Vernon." She met steel grey eyes, orbs she knew would only be half expecting her.
Nonetheless her greeting went unanswered so she opened up the beige purse hanging by her side and rummaged through it carefully. "Nice to see you as well," she fumbled out graciously as her nose was still considerably engrossed in peering down into the bag.
He still would offer no reply, to which she could not fault him. To partake in his sort of recreations, he would have to hold no preference as to what niceties that would come with the package. Vernon, he was a quiet and subdued man, if one would consider judging a book with a tattered covering without going about to inspect the particulars of the inside flaps. He was not hushed, merely hesitant, something over time that was acquired with an extensive background such as his.
His hand reached out automatically to receive what she offered to then stupidly gaze at the packet of needles in his hand.
"They're for you," she stated. "I promised myself after missing you the other day I'd come up with a way to make it up to you." An empty smile came across her carmine colored lips. Her meek grin, it was not meant to be disingenuous but at times like these ones where she could not speak to convey her meaning her intentions appeared masked, suspect. The truth of it was that neither mere words nor any kind of compassionate gesture meant more than little, no matter how fervent the attempt sapped, this truth tore at her irrecoverably.
He would offer no thanks, they never usually did.
She let her fingers wrap around his grey sleeves, which looked as though at one point in their hard life was black. Autumn might not be as tranquil as everyone predicted this year, it would be unbearably cold soon and it escaped her how he could wander bitter nights for the past few weeks let alone for the ensuing few. Beneath the ashen skin jacketing his wrist, a frail throb betrayed the false reserve of fantasy that kept him standing before her.
She slipped a rolled up twenty in his hand.
It wouldn't be in her place to speculate what he might do with this small gift but nonetheless the heavy suggestion came off her tongue dead. "Get something to eat."
She took him in once again. He was straight, lanky, with wild dark hair and an expression of hunger written on his face. This kind of hunger she found in certain men, not of want of food nor drink but that of a desperate want for reemergence to the surface. He was there beneath the placid surface, merely inches away from salvaging the rest of his life. However, he was not ready. And that alone did not permit her to save him. Breaking set limits, although she could no longer recall as to why these were necessitated, proved to implement ties where she could no longer remain objective.
She gave him one last smile, knowing this meeting could not go any further.
She did not want to know him, where he came from, nor where he slept his stupor nights. She did not have the interest. All she knew was like well rehearsed, geared, and greased marionettes they were but players on the stage of fate and that his path, just as hers, needed to play itself out. If she intervened with this natural order what would that make her, a god? Of course no, because there was only One who held that purpose, and reasonably it would do her no good to step on anymore toes.
She turned, in her bright pumpkin wear, deciding it was now time to leave. That is, if she planned on making it back to the shop in time from this overextended lunch break. But as she was in the midst of deliberation he did something totally uncharacteristic. He had already begun to retreat from her maybe half a meter, when in mid step he turned back to face her.
"Thanks," was all he said.
But she was no fool and did not miss the moment of lucidity that cleared his eyes when his tongue moistened his crusted lips. That was all she needed as resolve that this had been a worthwhile day.
She needed not reply, merely an inclination of the head and she walked away. Her legs were again on another mission, this time obligations that did not pull on the proverbial heart strings. Around her, the streets were teeming with life as everyone droned about in their well-planned lives of failure or the needle in the haystack individual who had achieved that one chance of success.
She navigated through the likes of partnered men and women, buoyant children, and maybe what appeared to be a stray dog or two. Blaring autos were lodged bumper to bumper and even after the light shower this morning, the dim smell of piss lingered. Lights lit up the streets almost on cue like Christmas tree pepper lights, and she realized she could not ever tire of this. The slight of breath as though one passed from a quiet death into rebirth. And that fervor entangled every single afternoon. The chaos of it, oh that she loved.
She passed the threshold into the shop that held the dreariest banner, in comparison to the other establishments, in a two block radius. Surely, she thought, must invest in one of those new although not relatively new neon lighted gadgets. It was decided, Sothe Novelty would get its long time in coming makeover.
A/N: Sothe = sounds like moth only with an "s"
I'm sort of reworking my approach to the Underworld mythos and dabbling with it. I hope you like this one, I've poured a lot of thinking and back-story that surely will pique your interests. This is sort of an ambiguous rendering of a first chapter but I want to ease in with the protagonist and her interaction with other major characters. Not one of the best summaries, but it shall suffice for now.
Also, to those of you who follow up on my other fics they have not been abandoned! Especially The Vesper's Cusp, I've currently redrafted previous posts and am working on a new chapter. Plus, I use a broadband that is currently MIA in another state so for the past few months I've been in virtually a viral wilderness when not making tedious treks to the library.