The Silent Thief

XXIII

XXIII

       Oh how this small town could hold so many answers, I thought gladly as soon as I reached the store.

I was reluctant to go in. I only knew from the signs and the various things hanging over the door that the place might aid me.

I opened the door slowly and stepped in. I wasn’t afraid but I didn’t know what would be in there. My hands were sweating so I stashed them into my coat pockets. Feeling something small and smooth, I pulled it out I saw that it was the handgun Sir William had given me the first time we met in that bar.

How did it get into Jake’s coat? I wondered.

“Hello?” A squeaky voice asked startling me.

I turned toward the voice and saw an old woman dressed completely in beads.

“Can you speak English?”

She stepped closer to me and my hand gripped the gun in my pocket tighter. The old woman examined me closely squinting her eyes. She finally answered, “Yes. What is it that you are looking for?” She turned around and walked deeper into the shop. “We have many items here,” she advertised. “Perhaps you are looking for love,” she looked back at me and I shook my head. “No? Well then, maybe you wish to find a doll to hurt someone who hurt you. Or maybe you wish to summon one from the dead, or-”

“Excuse ma’am, I am not looking for any of these things,” I interrupted her. “I merely wish to ask for some information. I am trying to find something and I would like to know what it is.”

She stopped walking. We were now surrounded by clothing; all different kinds. Some completely black, some bright as the day.

“You understand that in this shop, one does not pay with money but with exchanging.”

I nodded my head.

“Also, you must be worthy of the answer,” she said grinning.

I didn’t exactly know what she meant. How was I supposed to be ‘worthy’? I wondered.

The old woman lunged at me with incredible speed for her age. She knocked me down to the floor and straddled me with her legs. She then pulled a knife from behind a dress that hung beside us, and she raised it above her head. I didn’t have to wait to know what she would do next. I shoved the woman off as hard as I could. She landed on her rump with a loud OOF. She was shocked at first but then with one quick slash with her hand, she sliced the hood of Jake’s coat along with the string holding my hair, clean off. My hair tumbled down my shoulders as the hood fell to the ground.

I jumped to my feet and pulled the small gun out, aiming it at the woman. What happened next surprised me.

The old woman still sat on the ground with the knife in her hand. She set it down and a huge smile slowly came across her face. She started clamping her hands while cheerfully saying, “I knew it!! Oh I did! I knew it from the beginning.” She laughed so delightfully that I almost forgot she had tried to kill me.

When she finished laughing, she rose to her feet whilst complaining about her joints. “Ooh, I’m getting to old for this.”

I still held the gun at her, unsure of what she would do next. She looked at my face and said, “Put that gun down! I’m not going to hurt you. How else would I get to see your lovely face, my dear? I knew you were a female when I saw you.”

I waited a few seconds thinking if I should obey or not. I finally did put the gun back into my pocket. “You could’ve asked me to remove my hood.”