For Eric, time passed quickly in the months following the bizarre Christmas day where he, his girlfriend, and their roommates- under the influence of mysterious tarot cards- spent an entire day swapped with each other's partners. The cards themselves, he found out the following day, had a mind of their own: a mind that took the form of a transparent man-shaped entity that only he could see.
It had taken some time for the foursome to sort out everything; made infinitely more complicated by the fact that, aside from Eric, the others couldn't remember the cards. The presence explained to Eric that it was for the best that anyone on whom they were used not remember them, had they seen or been told about them beforehand. He further clarified that, should Eric desire, he could specify when using the cards whether or not the person would remember them.
Jeremy and Jennifer continued to tryst together multiple times per day: they were hardly ever apart. Jennifer insisted that she still loved Eric, and that she was his girlfriend, but as the weeks went on, they grew distant. Brenda continued to date Jeremy, and often joined him and Jennifer in the bedroom for their love-making, though she occasionally tried to get Eric alone to re-create the fun they'd had on Christmas day.
True to their word, Eric and Brenda had the conversation about "them" and what the events of that day had meant, but, in the end, they determined that it wasn't really what they wanted, and that what had happened was to be a one-time deal.
Eric, for his part, was more worried about ensuring his marriage to Brenda had not been real. He spent the entire month of January checking every database he could find for records of a marriage that had taken place between them on Christmas day. Eventually, he surmised, it had just been something they had role-played under the influence of the cards. The dress, he assumed, had been magically conjured up by the cards for that purpose.
Once he had been sure the marriage was not legitimate, he had decided that the atmosphere in the apartment was too strange for him, and, seeking the freedom to experiment with his new possession, he had acquired a small apartment of his own. It was here that he began to learn how the cards worked, and what their limits were. It was only then that he discovered his assumption about the wedding was correct: the cards could create items to be used as props if needed to fulfil a sexual fantasy.
Guided by the presence, Eric learned that the cards could be used to fulfill almost any fantasy for anyone, provided it involved sex or physical pleasure in some way. The box in which the cards had come contained a supply of blank cards for use. In order to use them, he simply had to empty the box, write a sexual scenario on one of the cards, place it in the box, and then add to the box any number of cards containing the names of a person or persons he knew.
Once all the cards needed were added, he only had to close the box, and then re-open it and draw the top card. If multiple scenarios had been added, the card he drew would be randomized, but, if only one had been added, it would always be that card. In this way, if Eric wanted a specific scene to play out, he just had to add the one card and the names of the people he wished involved. The magic of the box would make sure a name card was never drawn.
After the card was pulled and seen by him, its effect would take place on anyone involved. The effects, as he had previously been told on Christmas day, would last until the following morning, unless otherwise specified. In the morning, the box would be emptied of all the cards used and be ready for use once more.
There were several other tips and tricks Eric learned about the box and its contents, but these were the basics, and this was as much as he was willing to share with the adorable pale-skinned girl he now found himself sitting beside in front of his computer.
Amelia and Eric had been friends for several years, though never so close as they were now. As she was a married woman, her husband frowned upon her hanging out with her single male friends, so they had only been permitted to spend time together when Eric was attached to someone. This had changed in recent months, though, as Amelia began finding more and more excuses to leave the house, which freed her to game with Eric.
In the aftermath of the Jeremy and Jennifer situation, Amelia had taken the former's title of "best friend". Eric needed someone to talk to about everything that had happened, and that meant bringing Amelia into the loop regarding the cards. She was, of course, skeptical about the entire thing, and requested proof.
He briefly considered using the cards on her as a means of proving their effectiveness, but quickly decided against it. So it was that he had come up with a plan that would allow her to see the cards in action, and in a way that would not compromise their newfound closeness.
"Are you ready for the show?" he asked her, pointing at his computer.
She turned and looked at him with her piercing blue eyes, highlighted by her thin black glasses. He melted a little inside; Eric had always found her attractive in a way he could only describe as "cute as hell".
"Of course." She replied.
Eric turned and looked at the clock on his monitor: 7:59 PM
"Aaaaand Action!" he said emphatically.
Just then, a Skype video call popped up on his computer from someone named Eleni.
"What's this?" Amelia asked.
Eric didn't answer; instead, he clicked "Accept" and the video popped up.
----------------
Eleni Rogers was exhausted as she closed down the programs on her computer. This, she decided, was as good a point as any to stop working on commissions and relax her drawing hand. Additionally, she was anxious to see if she'd received any new messages from Eric, a local guy she'd met on an online dating site a couple weeks before.
She loaded up her web browser and navigated to the site's address, but was disappointed to see no indication of a new message.
He's probably busy working,
she thought to herself,
I hope
.
She secretly worried that Eric had stopped messaging her after her confession the previous night. Though she was 26 years old, Eleni had never even so much as been kissed, let alone touched in any way; not even by herself.
As a heavyset woman, she had come to expect that it was never going to happen: local guys just didn't find her weight to be attractive. She had come to terms with this fact a long time ago, but something about the way Eric complimented and talked to her made her feel like maybe this time things would be different. She couldn't help but sigh as she hoped he wasn't playing games with her feelings like all the others.
Her eyes found their way to the bottom corner of her screen to see the time: 7:58 PM. She had lost track of time while drawing, and the day had been gone before she'd realized it. Only now did she realize the sun had long since vanished behind the apartment buildings she could see from her window.
Suddenly, as if remembering something important, she moved her mouse up to the address bar in her browser and began typing in a web address. She realized as she typed it out that she had never heard of the site she was visiting. However, as soon as the page loaded, her face turned a deep crimson.
There, on the page in front of her, were a number of homemade videos of a sexual nature. Even though she was completely alone, Eleni suddenly felt like hiding from invisible eyes for being on this site. She wanted more than anything to close the window and forget that it had happened, but instead, she clicked on a recent video that had just been uploaded the previous day.
7:59 PM. Eleni suddenly realized that she needed to call Eric on Skype. She was extremely confused as she opened up the program on her computer: Why had she forgotten about this Skype date? She ran her fingers through her mousy brown hair, adjusted her thick-rimmed glasses, and put on her headset before clicking the Call with Video button.
When Eric answered the call, he didn't say a word to her. There was a woman there in the room with him, but Eleni didn't think anything of it. Instead, she minimized the call screen and went back to the video site, which had loaded her video. With no concern that she was on a video call, she clicked the play button and began to watch.
There, on her screen, she saw something that caused her to panic and drove all thoughts of the Skype call from her mind. To make sure she wasn't imagining it, she maximized the video so that it would take up the entire screen. There was no mistaking it, now that she could see it better: the woman on the screen was herself.
