The Talisman

Rick's heart felt as if it was beating right against his breastbone. He took the paper from the door, snapping it off the piece of tape that held it against the glass. The smell of incense again wafted through the crack in the door, and enveloped him as he pushed his way inside.

On the store's walls were shelves with pillar candles on three tiers, each of them different shapes, sizes and at different stages of melting. The candlelight blazed the small room with light that shifted, flickered and moved like angels against a mirror. As his eyes adjusted to the light, Rick noticed a space in the far corner of the room where there were no candles, but a doorway draped shut by a maroon velvet curtain. "Have you found anything you like, Rick?" chimed a voice from behind the curtain.

"I... um... who are you?" Rick asked.

From behind the curtain stepped a woman, petite, Asian, with short cropped hair. She wore a black crepe skirt and a thin violet, somewhat iridescent blouse that clung to her torso, outlining breasts that swelled only slightly from her chest. The skirt seemed to hang from her hips, holding on to each leg as she walked toward him. The candlelight played along her face, casting shadows here, then there. She could have been in her thirties, maybe even her fifties, Rick thought. It was hard enough to tell the age of Asian women under normal circumstances, let alone these. "My name's Sun Li," she said. Her voice was gentle, almost a whisper, but sweet, lyrical, like wind chimes. "You might want to look over at the display case over here," she pointed to a small, waist-high showcase along a wall near the right-rear of the store. "I think you'll find what you need, there."

What I needed, Rick thought, was a two hour porn video and some Wet. Being stood-up by Melissa this morning was a far gone memory, and a far gone cry from what was happening now. Now he was inside some strange store that seemed to appear overnight. Now he was peering through candles and garments hung from the ceiling, to make his way toward a blue-glass case near the back of the store. Rick wondered about the rice-paper Kama Sutra murals that adorned the walls, moving three-dimensionally in the candlelight.

Sun Li followed behind Rick, and slipped in front of him to position herself behind the case. She reached inside, and removed one of the shelves, placing it on top of the case. On the shelf sat stones of various sizes and colors. Of those that caught Rick's eye, there were a dark grey stone set as a pendant, an octagonal sand stone with a Yin/Yang symbol set in the center, and a rose quartz stone that almost resembled a woman's genitalia.

"Try the one you like, Rick." said Sun Li.

"Wait," replied Rick. "How do you know me?"

"Women know all men who are frustrated the way you are, Rick. It's in the way you walk, the way you smell. Some women are attracted to this frustration, for it offers them the gratification they want without the involvement of a relationship."

"Whoa. Are you saying that women are dogs, too?" Rick asked.

Sun Li continued, barely noticing his question. "Some women are repulsed by this. They perceive this frustration as a sort of desperation. Desperation is poor aphrodisiac."

"No shit. But you haven't answered my question".

"The answer to your 'question', is here, Rick." Sun Li gestured again toward the shelf. "Try the one you like."

Rick pointed to the grey stone. "What's this?"

"Hematite," she replied. "It's useful for grounding the spirit, when in meditation."

Rick grunted. I don't need meditation, he thought, I need a woman. He picked up the sandstone piece and cradled it in his palm. This is cute, he thought. I could probably use this as a paperweight at the office, or something. Sun Li bent her head slightly, looking into Rick's eyes, as if trying to read his thoughts. She looked down at the rose- quartz piece and picked it up, placing it in front of his face. "What about this?" she asked.

Rick looked at the vagina stone, wrinkling his brow. "You know, if I'm hungry, I don't want to watch some guy cooking a steak. That thing's only going to remind me of what I'm not getting. No, thanks." Sun Li placed the stone gently back on the velvet. She peered into his eyes again, trying to read him.

Suddenly, Rick's cock started to stir again, and he felt it grow between his leg and the fabric of his boxers. He looked at the stone in his palm, and saw the symbol moving, changing form.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It is Yin and Yang," Sun Li replied.

"No, it's something else." Rick stared at the stone in his hand as the forms shifted, animating in his palm.

Sun Li looked again at the stone. "No. That is Yin and Yang."

Rick continued to stare at the stone as the symbol changed, forming a couple, a man and a woman, copulating. It looked as if they were making love on a circular bed, undulating, pushing, spooning each other. Rick's arousal waxed and his dick rose under his pants leg. Sun Li looked down at his erection, and looked back at his face. Rick appeared mesmerized by the stone, watching this man and woman spin and fuck in his hand. He placed the sandstone back on the velvet, bracing himself against the case.

"Damn, I think I just came. Um... I'm sorry. Could you get me a tissue, please?" Sun Li stared at his cock, backing into the doorway and disappearing behind the curtain.

Rick felt a trail of semen snaking down his thigh and pulled his pants leg away to keep the fabric from getting wet. What did I just say? he thought. Oh God, this is embarrassing. He brought his hand up to his face, pinching his nose and massaging his forehead, dizzy from his orgasm when he caught a familiar scent: pussy.

It was sweet, tangy, syrupy, and the scent was in his hand, where he held the sandstone. Looking into his palm, Rick looked and saw a pool of wetness, drying in his hand. Sun Li returned from the back with a wet washcloth, stopping across the showcase from Rick. She looked at the sandstone, and picked it up, examining it. Sun Li replaced the Yin/Yang stone and took Rick's hand, smelling the puddle receding into the folds of his palm. Dropping the washcloth, she brought his hand closer, running the tip of her tongue along the center crack in the middle of his hand. Rick noticed her nipples become erect under her blouse, forming small points at the crest of her breasts, as she brought his hand fully to her lips, licking and slurping the liquid from his hand. She breathed deeply into his palm, pressing it into her face, until his hand was clean.

Sun Li then stepped away from the showcase and walked over to Rick, her skirt clinging to her hips and legs. She knelt in front of him, undoing his pants and bringing them down to his ankles. Sun Li brought her lips to his knee, kissing the pearl of semen that formed at his kneecap.

"Oh, my god." Rick said.

Sun Li grabbed the back of Rick's thigh, lick/kissing the trail of come on his leg until he felt only her cooling saliva where his come was. She pursed her lips at the head of his cock, partially covered by foreskin, and licked the head of his cock clean, tonguing the inside of the skin covering his glans. Straightening herself, Sun Li sucked at the silk of Rick's boxers, tasting his fluid and licking her lips before pulling up his pants and re-doing the zipper.

"Damn," was all Rick could say. His head swirled again with the heady sensation of just having come, hardly noticing Sun Li as she wrapped the sandstone octagon in tissue paper, and placing it into a black paper handlebag.

"This is your answer," she said as she handed Rick the bag. "This talisman is intended for you."

"Thank you. I mean, thank you." Rick said.

"Your luck is going to change," Sun Li predicted.

Damn right it's going to change, Rick thought as he brought the talisman home, and set it on his nightstand next to his bed. That was incredible! On top of that, she just gave me this thing! Damn, that was great! next morning, Rick strolled through the street market on Ivar, ate a tamale for breakfast and picked up some fresh flowers for Sun Li, as a thank-you. He jogged the two blocks over to the alley where the storefront was, only to be greeted by empty brick. The store was gone, if it was there at all.

Bewildered, Rick drove back to his home, certain that he had dreamed the entire encounter. He rinsed out a vase to keep the flowers in, and brought the vase to his bedside. The talisman was still there! And, if he stared at it long enough, Rick could still see the man and woman twisting, turning, making love in the stone.

"Your luck is going to change", she said. What the hell is going on?

To Be Continued...