So, I was moving. I finally finished high school and got into my dream university but in another city, which means I had to move. I decided to ask my mom if I was allowed to use the other apartment she owned, that originally belonged to my grandma but she moved in with mom for mom to take care of her, leaving an empty apartment, my mom allowed me to use it.
When I finished moving, I decided to take a look at the part of the attic assigned to my apartment and found it almost empty, except for one old wooden box. It was very warped and rotten, so rotten I was able to rip the lock off the wood with my bare hands.
I opened the box and found a very old set of clothes, a velvet hat without a brim, but with a wide rim of black, cheap beads and a metal star in the middle. The color of the velvet was very bleak, clearly desaturated over time, but it was still possible to see the red it has once been, the metal darkened.
There was also a velvet coat with fur on the top half, the velvet being the same bleak red as the hat and the fur damaged by moths. I was very puzzled by why people would leave such things in the attic instead of throwing it in the garbage or selling it in a flea market. I decided to wait.
I called my mom.
"Hi, mom! Could you please get grandma? I found something in the attic."
"Yeah, sure", my mom answered. I heard the phone being moved.
"How are you, Andrei? Are you eating enough? Are you coming home before sundown?"
"Yes, grandma, thanks to the apartment I don't have to pay rent, which gives me enough money for a more or less balanced diet. I am fine and safe, but I had a question."
"I'm listening, dear."
"I found a very old wooden box in the attic, it contained a bleak velvet hat with a pearl rim and a bleak velvet coat with fur on the top, do you want me to bring it to you or am I allowed to do with it as I please?"
"Oh, that old thing? It's so old, I don't even know how old it is, it was old when I was a kid. Do what you want, I don't care."
"Thank you. Love you, granny."
"I love you too, sweetie."
I decided to take all the stuff to a local flea market to not only get more attic space but to also get some money doing it, since no matter whether I saved money on rent, I still am a student and need all the money I can get.
But first, I had to see something.
I took the coat and hat and put them on. The clothes were slightly too big, the hat looked more like an army helmet and the coat looking like a ghost costume on me, it is a sad life if you're short.
I went to the local flea market on a Saturday, it was overcast and cool. These kinds of days are the best ones during the summer.
I rented a space in one of the farthest places of the market to let the ones with more stuff have a more noticeable spot since I only have these few old articles of clothing.
I sat at my booth for over two hours, but nobody wanted to buy these. I went home and had lunch, then returned. Nobody even bothered to steal the clothes.
I sat in the booth for one more hour, which was the time I still had hope.
Just when I was about to give up and walk home, a man appeared.
He was very tall, had long black hair and a long mustache. His face was sharp and cruel, his skin pale, as if he never saw the light of day. He was dressed in a black business suit and was overall handsome. But when I looked into his eyes, I froze, seeing scenes that would belong in horror movies, people burned alive, staked, boiled in oil.
"Good afternoon", he said, his deep voice snapping me from my stupor. The deepness of his voice and the weird echoing effect on his voice sending chills down my spine. "How much do you want?"
"Huh?", I asked in confusion, having missed his words.
"How much do you want for these clothes?", he repeated impatiently.
"Uhh, fifteen dollars", I answered, shocking myself by my boldness. These rags are worth five bucks max.
"To me, these 'rags' are worth any price", he said, taking out a twenty-dollar bill. "Keep the change, I'm feeling generous today."
I wondered how he guessed my thoughts, then I dismissed it as me saying my thoughts out loud.
"Excuse me, sir, but may I ask why you want these clothes?"
"Oh, just sentimental value, good memories", he answered.
I was very skeptical, since the design of the clothes was very old, around the fifteenth century. I wondered how he could have good memories of those clothes.
He said, "Yes, these clothes indeed come from the fifteenth century."
I was incredibly freaked out since I could have said my thoughts out loud once, but twice in a row is very unlikely. Then I thought of his horrifying eyes, his deep, echoing voice, these almost six centuries-old rags holding a sentimental value to him, and now how he answered my thoughts without me voicing them. The only conclusion I came to was that he is something supernatural, not a human, but that would be impossible and I refused to believe in anything supernatural, dismissing it as my love for horror movies.
He grinned, showing off his incredibly white teeth with sharp, elongated canines and leaned over to me. He breathed in my direction, paralyzing me with a breath that stank of rot and blood.
"I will tell you neither what nor who I am. There is a Russian proverb", he leaned over even more, right to my ear, and whispered, "The less you know, the better you sleep."
He straightened and turned to walk away. As he was leaving my line of sight, I noticed the clothes in his hand change, the velvet becoming blood red, the fur repairing the damage from moths and becoming denser, the metal star brightening and shining gold, the cheap black beads turning into beautiful white pearls.