Limeram

Inside Gold N’ Deals it smelled like someone had tried to mask the scent of old and forgotten with a very heavy body lotion—the kind people only used for special occasions like funerals, weddings, or your annoying little cousin’s party.

The result wasn’t great for a place that looked like it’d been through a war—random painting hung from the walls in odd angles. Ceiling fans dangled half-attached, coated in dust thick enough you could probably build your own Sahara Desert in there. The shelves and tables were packed with broken VHS, CD’s, books with yellowish pages, broken microwaves, expensive guitars missing most to all of their strings, and cheap plastic trophies that probably dated back to the prehistoric age.

It was a complete mess.

But Eugene wasn’t looking for any of that junk. In fact he wasn’t looking for anything but selling an old gold pendant his great-great-great-great-grandfather (I think I got that right), had left him before passing away. Nothing fancy, but something he was sure he could sell for a couple of the big bucks. Big bucks he needed to pay this month’s rent.

Then he saw it.

It was displayed inside a glass case, it’s green color catching his gaze as the lights from above hit against it. It was this green jewel, like an emerald—except Eugene was it wasn’t, judging by the ranging colors of green and yellow.

Almost hypnotizing.

In that split second he’d made up his mind. He wanted that jewel. He didn’t need to pay for this month’s rent anymore. He didn’t need to fix his problems with his girlfriend. He didn’t even need to go and eat to a restaurant that night.

He just needed that jewel, and nothing else.

Behind the counter an old man cleared his throat, startling Eugene from his trance. He wore this worn out pork pie hat, paired with a faded checkered long-sleeve shirt tucked into his suspenders, and—just to complete the look—he wore a red bow tie around the neck of the shirt.

He smiled, showing his fake teeth. “Anything I can help you with, young man?”

Eugene shook his head, trying to focus on the old man’s eyes. “Actually, yes.” he said, his eyes returning to the jewel once again “How much are you selling that jewel for?”

It was like something clicked for the old man, his eyes flashed with a light as he immediately reached for the glass case with the jewel and hid it underneath the counter “It’s not for sale!” he snapped

Eugene blinked, taken aback “Then why is it on display”

The old man shook his head—once, twice, five times too many—then leaned close. Way to close. Until he was practically nose to nose with Eugene. “Like I already told you, I don’t know what it is doing up here! Okay? So can you please leave me alone? Can you please stop it?”

He took off his pork pie hat and passed his hand through the disheveled mess of gray and white hair. Eugene was pretty sure his right eyes was twitching madly.

Eugene took a look around the shop only to find that he was the only one in there. The guy was clearly off his meds and living in a different timeline where Ronald Reagan was still president. And Eugene wasn’t exactly in the mood to babysit a guy with dementia.

He pressed his finger against his lap “Thanks” he said not trying to hide the irritation in his voice, and turned to leave.

But before he could reach for the door, the old man slammed his palm against the glass counter. The bang echoed. And Eugene turned around just in time to see the case shake as objects tumbled over—wristwatches, medallions, pins and religious chains.

“Look man!” the old man said, pointing a shaky finger at Eugene “I’ll call the cops if you don’t stop it. I swear to God I’ll do it. Just please. Please leave me alone!”

Eugene frowned, gave the man one last look like what the hell is wrong with you, and pushed the door open, the little bell above the door giving a cheerful ding as he walked out of the store.

“Crazy psycho,” he muttered as he made his way back to his car, promising himself he’d never go to Gold N’ Deals ever again.

He spent the next hour hitting on five different pawn shops. But it didn’t matter what he told the guys, it always came with the same result—they’d tried to scam him by offering less than a hundred bucks.

Less than what he needed to pay for this month’s rent.

Eugene was sure the pendant was worth a lot more than that.

At 3:45 p.m. he decided to give it a rest for the day, and instead made his way to a nearby Starbucks and bought two caramel donuts. Something his stomach had been pleading for over half an hour ago.

With one donut already gone, and the second halfway finished he made his way back to his apartment.

When he reached for the doorknob he froze.

It was unlocked.

“Strange,” Eugene muttered to himself taking the last bite of the donut and stashing the paper in his back pocket. He’d never left the door unlocked in the 6 months he’d been at that apartment

Unless . . .

From his right pocket he pulled out a ballpoint black ink pen and held it up in the air. His heart doing a little tap-tap against his chest.

Being cautious, he pushed the door open. The hinges creaked, echoing across the inside of the apartment. Eugene reached for the switch and flicked the lights on, revealing the huge mess he had failed to put out in the apartment. The kitchen’s sink was stacked with unwashed plates threatening to fall down; the couch in the living room was littered with bags of chips and candies.

But otherwise, everything looked the same, just as Eugene had left it.

Still, he couldn’t risk it.

He walked up to his bedroom, and just to be sure, went to the safe he kept hidden under the mattress to check that everything was left the same. And . . . no one had stolen anything.

Great.

Maybe he’d just left the door unlocked on accident.

Relieved, he went back to the living room only to see something he hadn’t seen before. On the small table—where he usually placed his feet when he played Black Ops 6 with his friends—was a glass display case with a glimmering object inside of it.

A glimmering object Eugene could recognize from a few hours ago.

The same one that had been at Gold N’ Deals pawn shop with that schizophrenic old man. The same one he’d tried to buy was now there, waiting for him.

“What the hell?” Eugene muttered as he stepped closer to it. His eyes were already sparkling as he looked at jewel.

It hadn’t been there a second ago . . . had it?

He considered calling Angela, his girlfriend, but immediately scratched that idea off as he imagined what she’d say. “You’re taking those pills again, right? How many times I’ve told you about how bad they are?”

Eugene hadn’t taken those pills since The Lakers last championship. That had been 5 years ago, but of course Angela wouldn’t understand. Because she was Angela.

He felt tempted to grab the jewel, to twirl it around his fingers as he watched the glow with his eyes. Was it the right thing to do? Probably not. But it was right there at his apartment, and that couldn’t be a coincidence.

He took a seat in the couch, brushing the bags of Doritos and Ruffles away, as he behold the immense beauty of the gem.

He didn’t hesitate.

Carefully, he lifted the glass case, and pulled the jewel out. It was warm in his fingers, and incredible light. So light Eugene could feel he was holding nothing and everything at the same time. It was just so beautiful, so . . .

Everything turned black.

The lights of the apartment went off with an static. A heavy silence fell into the apartment as the temperature dropped a couple degrees. A shivering cold gust of wind swept through, sending goosebumps crawling up Eugene’s back.

This wasn’t right.

He reached for the light switch, only to find it wasn’t working. And as he turned back to the gem he found that it had disappeared completely from his hands. Gone. He searched around in desperation—in between the pillows of the couch, under it, in the table, in the back of the TV.

But it wasn’t there.

The jewel had disappeared.

His teeth started to clank against each other as another surge of cold wind swarmed inside the apartment. It was beginning to get colder. Freezing cold.

None of it made sense. Sure it was cold in Kansas, but it wasn’t supposed to be this cold, not in the middle of summer at least. And Eugene was pretty sure the AC didn’t work when the electricity was gone.

Then it happened.

He felt like he was jerked away from his apartment and put into another place. Another place with no floor. Suddenly he was falling, air brushing against him as an immensity of void black flooded his eyesight.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence—no sound, no weight, no sense of up or down.

Then, all the darkness went away replaced by something far more sinister. Colors exploded in spirals and flashes: bright greens, neon oranges, pastel pinks, blood reds, deep blues.

His stomach lurked. Vomit clawed at his throat.

He closed his eyes, preparing himself for impact—but it never came.

When Eugene opened his eyes again he was faced by something that appeared to be a small village. An ancient village that had a crazy similarity to Germany—not that Eugene had been there, but he’d seen photos.

There were a lot of little houses ranging from white to brownish colors, with triangular roofs and a lot of windows—probably to see the beautiful sunset or something.

People wandered the streets—completely oblivious to his sudden appearance—wearing this strange long tunics and towel-like garments. Like ancient medieval. Or Jedis.

Then he looked down at his clothes. To his surprise he had the same thing on him—uncomfortable long brown tunic with two rock hard sandals on his feet.

What the hell was this?

He stood up from the ground, cleaning the dirt out of his strange clothes as he looked around the place.

Eugene’s mind was working like an underpaid worker, trying to make sense of everything—the carriages, the clothing, the houses, the smell of rotten and putrid, the strange thick accent he heard the people talk with. Everything just twined together to make a dream.

Or something else.

Then a voice called from behind him. A cheerful one “Hail, noble adventurer. Welcome to Limeram!”.

He turned around to see a full-on armored knight, mounting a sharp looking horse that was probably on steroids or something. The knight gave a polite smile as he lifted the visor of his helm, revealing a guy that had a great similarity with Prince Charming from Shrek.

Eugene had the sudden feeling he wasn’t in Kansas anymore, but in the middle ages.

The middle-freaking-ages.