Chapter 1
It was 4:30 when Brooke Fortunato found the dusty old shop.
It was 4:33 when she decided to enter.
The door swung open as a rusty bell rang, its purpose to alert the owner of the shop that a customer arrived. Brooke waited, half-expecting an old man to come bustling out, a variety of golden watches in one hand, some unidentifiable maps in the other.
But, five minutes later, it seemed that the bell had retired from its task long ago. She wandered alone in the shop. A broken down counter with a rusted cash register stood in a corner. The name Sergiu Vladimirescu, although faded, was still legibly written on a name tag.
Brooke paused periodically to examine the many curious items that littered the walls. She found an old flashlight, some shoes, and a pair of translucent earrings. There was a glowing alien figurine with a missing leg, lying broken on a shelf. It seemed to move when she touched it. A globe spun in the dark.
Brooke grinned. She felt ecstatic by this discovery; it was like something out of a fairy tale. Silently, she maneuvered towards the door. She had found a secret place, one that only she knew about.
She winked at the alien, telling him to keep the secret. Brooke rubbed her eyes when she thought the alien winked back.
