THE MOMENT
Grady ignored the microwave and flowers and reached for the katana. The bouquet of roses and the new-in-box microwave seemed normal enough; but, the dark violet sheath of the sword seemed to glow with black energy. He couldn't see a glow per se; but, the air around the weapon seemed to flicker with living shadows. He tried tugging on the handle but the sword did not move.
"Ah well," he gave up at the first sign of resistance and dropped the sword back on the table. "I look forward to meeting your owner," he added as he turned around and headed to the front of the shop; it was time to open. He switched on the 'Open' sign, unlocked the door, then returned to his seat behind the display counter. He owned the busiest pawn shop in town and he knew it wouldn't be long until customers started coming in. As he settled on his stool, the front door chimed. A green-haired woman walked in. She carried a white paper sack of groceries with a red logo on them and she went straight to Grady.
"Good morning," she smiled at him and set the sack on the counter. "I have these ingredients...," she said as she slid the bag to him. Grady didn't recognize her; but, she obviously wasn't there to pawn the groceries. That meant she was there for the other thing.
"I'll take a look," Grady gave her his best customer service smile and lifted the bag. It wasn't particularly heavy and he glanced inside as he carried it to the back. He approached the table as soon as he stepped into the back room. The microwave was out of its box now, and working, despite not being connected to an outlet. "Thanks for making it easy," he chuckled to himself. Unexplained happenings no longer surprised Grady; not since he first got the bag.
The bag itself was part of a deal to get his pawn shop. A demon promised him a lot of customers in exchange for holding the bag. Every day the bag would provide him with items to distribute and he would stay in business as long as he continued to do it. Despite his wariness early on, over time Grady felt like the demon delivered on his promise. Grady set the groceries on the table and opened the microwave. Then, he began unloading the bag into the microwave; it wasn't many items. He put a pint of cream, a whole chicken, three eggs, and a loaf of bread inside the microwave and closed the door. He pressed the 'Start' button.
The microwave glowed and hummed for a brief second before it dinged. Grady opened the microwave and pulled out the basket of fried chicken that replaced the ingredients. He gave up on anything making sense the moment he made a deal with a demon. He carried the basket back to the front as he heard the front door chime again. The woman with green hair was waiting patiently by the counter. She sighed as Grady placed the basket on the counter.
"Awww, I already know that recipe...," she said. "Thanks anyway," she waved at him and grabbed the basket. She turned to leave and passed the pair of teenagers that just entered. A boy and a girl, both pale. The boy's pale skin had an almost blue tint to it; but, it could have just been his light blue hair making the rest of him look blue. The girl had a dark, wine-red ponytail that was longer than the boy's blue one.
"Hi," the girl nodded at Grady as they reached the counter. She dropped a basketball-sized burlap sack on the glass surface and the top opened slightly. It was loaded with stolen wallets. "I found these," she said.
"Wonderful, thank you!" Grady said. He somehow knew exactly what reward she deserved. "I'll be right back." He carried the sack of wallets to the back while the teens waited at the front.
"What's next?" The boy asked.
"Nothing," the girl shook her head. "I wanted to finish this quest yesterday; but, I got distracted," she answered. "This was all I planned today, wanna get lunch?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'd like that," he nodded at her. "You can tell me about your new team."
"Nah, nothing worth talking about there," she replied with a flat tone as Grady returned to the front. He carried the sheathed katana and set it on the counter.
"Oh, Jackpot!" the girl's smile widened as she reached for the sword. She pulled the handle and drew the sword out partway, then she slid it back in. It was a smooth, quick motion that happened so fast that Grady wasn't sure if he saw the blade or not. All he saw was empty, dark blackness where the blad should have been. It was darker than a shadow and twice as intangible. "This is great! We're going to some place special," she said as she turned away from the counter.
"Go ahead, I'll catch up; there's something I want to look at first," the teen boy said.
"Just remember, lunch is your treat," she added with a wink. "`You owe me for the ribbon you lost this morning."
"How expensive could it be?" he asked with a shrug.
"That doesn't matter, it was mine," she said. He chuckled and nodded at her.
"Yeah, fair enough," he said. "Pick somewhere nice, I'll see you in a bit." She nodded and walked out of the shop. The teen turned to Grady and dropped a win-red ribbon on the counter.
"Be right back," Grady said. He took the ribbon into the back. He dropped it on the table and picked up the bouquet of roses. The table was now empty except for the ribbon, and that would be gone as soon as he turned his back. "I love easy days," Grady sighed to himself and carried the roses back to the front.
The bag gave him everything he needed to accomplish. Any other visitors he got would be genuine customers, and there would be plenty of them. But, they were always easy to deal with.
"Here you go," Grady handed the roses over to the boy, and he thanked the old clerk.
"Oh...," the teen sighed as he accepted them. "They're just regular roses?? Never mind," the roses froze solid in his hands, then he tossed the frozen bundle into the garbage can by the counter. Then, he dropped a black card on the floor. It opened a black hole at his feet and he began to sink into it. "It'll be faster if I just get them myself," he said. "This quest is too random."