Ten Little Mysteries

Prologue

One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six... Seven... Eight... Nine... Ten...

Tick Tock Tick Tock

The clock strikes at 10 when the school recess starts.

Under the fierce sun rays glorified by the one and only sun, there was a single child on the grass patch. They seem very diligent. Holding a cup of cold iced chocolate, with a red-striped white straw sticking out in the middle. And on their right hand, holding an English textbook which is on the page of 199. The page was about one of Gulliver's Travels. Gulliver in Lilliput, a great story.

They sat beside the big oak tree that was in the middle of the grass patch, within the borderlines of the school. They read every single word in the book with full concentration while sipping out dark brownish liquid from the red-striped straw. Until, they saw as the pages of the textbook started to get darkened by a seemingly shadow of a person. Not just a person, more like a tall and slender man? Or woman. Standing in front of them.

The child looked up and cannot find themself to define the person's gender. That tall and slender body, with quite a fair length of hair. From up to bottom, they wore a black top hat, like the ones you see magicians wear. Following with a white t-shirt, a black cardigan, black jeans and black boots. Every thing on this person is black. Well, aside from the t-shirt, probably to attract some attention to themself. The cardigan they wore looks like the kind of black curtains you'd see in a dark mansion, as wind blows and it flutters.

Looking familiar, the child figured that particular person is a teacher in the school. The same person who has been notorious for conducting some sketchy things in the school, but no one knows if those acclaimed "sketchy things" are true or not. The gargantuan figure bowed low enough to speak faintly to the child. They asked for help with cleaning the backside of the school.

The seemingly mini-sized student hesitated for a bit. No one really goes to the backside of the school, let alone cleaning it. Since it was a request from a teacher, the child pondered for a short period and decided to go along. They put aside their English textbook and began to traipsed in somewhat heavy steps alongside the dark and edgy figure. As they walk through hallways, two of them started to engulf in pure darkness.

Under the tree, a semi-perfect rectangular shaped item on the shining green patch glowing under the tree, taped with a translucent duct-tape and a label on it, written in black ink.

"10"