Sebastian Laska was having the worst day of his life. It was supposed to be the last day of his vacation, the final, glorious twenty-four hours before his return to the soul-crushing paper-pushing he called a "career." He would wake up, have coffee, grab groceries, turn on the TV, and zone out. No thoughts about Laurie, the woman he thought would be the love of his life, who had left five weeks previously, nor of the dread he felt about returning to work.
Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.
Sebastian was not an especially tall man, topping out at five feet and six inches, and his figure was best described as feminine. His slim torso flared out into hips wider than most men his age, his arms were pleasantly thin, and he could never manage to grow facial hair. He'd long been mocked for his androgynous looks. He kept his mostly-straight brown hair slightly past his eyes, and when it got too long the fringes curled slightly. He occasionally wore subtle lipstick, simply because he felt it complemented his face. He was not, all things considered, unattractive, but was certainly not model material.
This particular day began its spiral into hell at 7:34 AM. The phone rang, a shrill, irritating sound that Sebastian loathed, but he had never bothered trying to change the ring. On the other end was his supervisor, Robert, a young redheaded gay man whom Sebastian had an easy friendship with. Their mutual hatred for the only course of work available to them led to many nights spent at the bar a few streets over, Robert's boyfriend joining them for a night of bitching, which recently had included the couple trying to help Sebastian pick up a date.
Today though, work went from bad to much, much worse.
"I have some shitty news, bud," Robert's voice sounded through the receiver, "Our whole division's been liquidated. We're both fucked."
"We've been laid off? What the fuck for?"
"Our department is 'a waste of out noble company's resources,' apparently."
"Shit, man. What are we gonna do?"
Robert was silent for a moment. "Well, Seb, I get severance. You don't. I'm sorry."
Sebastian hung up without another word.
Robert did have one thing right
, he thought,
I certainly am fucked
. He was four months behind on the rent for his shitty three-room apartment, and the landlord wasn't going to wait much longer. With no job, he didn't know how long he'd last before homelessness.
He sighed, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and cussed.
*
About an hour later, he went for a walk. No girlfriend, no job, probably no apartment.
No family either
, he mused, since he'd been in foster care with no idea of his parents' identity, and he'd left for college on uneasy footing with his caretakers. He had nowhere to turn to.
He spent a few precious dollars on a cheap cup of coffee from the local cafe. A miserably weak beverage, but given the circumstances he couldn't ask for much more. The shopping center of this part of town was unusually silent for early autumn, although the overcast sky betrayed the crisp temperature. Something, however, caught his eye. An unfamiliar building.
What the hell?
Had he not noticed any construction on this street somehow? Surely it would've been in the news, he reasoned. And he visited Canal Street all the time. The building looked old.
Maybe I've just never noticed it.
The text in the window had faded over time, and he paused to read the name of the shop. INYAREL CURIOS.
He entered, the bell hanging from the door ringing as it opened.
The shelves of the shop were lined with esoteric gems. Books with illegible titles, polished gemstones that radiated an otherworldly light. The store smelled wonderful, some sort of incense with a scent of apples and honey.
At the counter sat a young woman. Slightly taller than him, he guessed, wearing a light silver dress. Fairly cute, with hair a soft blonde. She looked up as he entered, previously having been occupied by a large book in a language he did not recognize.
Russian, maybe? Certainly nothing with familiar letters.
The woman made eye contact with him, then looked him over, head to toe, with a furrowed brow. "Hi-" he managed to say, but was cut off by a gesture of her hand.
She suddenly smiled, and said, so quickly he barely caught it, "I know exactly what you need!" before vanishing into the back room behind a curtain.
She reappeared just as suddenly, holding a small box covered in some sort of carved pattern. A bright green gem, polished to perfection, was in the top. She passed it over the counter to him, smiling from ear to ear. "This!"
"What-" She cut him off again.
"This is what you need! Take it. It's on the house."
She gestured for him, to leave, and he exited more confused than he had been in a long time.
*
He stared at the box on his end table. The carvings, he decided, were definitely runes of some sort.
Like in a fantasy novel
, he thought to himself before chuckling.
I bet if I open this and say the right thing, I'll be transported into some sort of magical land
. He couldn't help but grin at such a silly idea. As he looked the box over, though, he did notice that it had no apparent way of opening. Sebastian sighed.
He set the useless thing down and lay on the couch. "Christ," he said, "I wish I could get the hell out of here."
