The Bruising Ego

The Unexpected

I was strolling on the streets of a state within US when I saw a street merchant with a big banner quoted 'Auction'. I got curious and asked what it was all about as I had never seen an auction in the streets like that.

He said that he has a bunch of valuable things that he sells every day to the highest bidder so if I wish to enroll before the auction begins then I can but once I do, I won't be allowed to back out as he will make me sign in a few documents which will make it official. Also the big bonus was that there was no base price.

I thought to myself that since there are no competitors around, if I really find something valuable I could probably get it at a nominal price so I enrolled for it. The minute I did, two other people from opposite directions came along and one of them inquired in a similar way I did and they enrolled in as well.

This was unlike any auction I have ever been to, I didn't understand how valuable were the items that were being auctioned but from the looks of it, it appeared to be old and priceless which made me gain some interest.

The first item was displayed, it appeared to be a belonging of a famous deceased personality, they say if a person is deceased then the value of their belonging rises up exponentially. The auctioneer asked for a base price, I said 10 dollars and immediately the guy on my left took out a brand new 100 dollar note and slammed it on the table where auctioneer was sitting and said "I see you and I raise you 10 fold".

I didn't realize how huge that person was until he slammed that note on the table, he was over 6 feet 7 inches tall, almost like the Undertaker with an equivalent level of physique. He had tattoos all over his body. He looked like an old American bad boy kinda dude who is usually seen riding a Harley Davison bike.

I stood there staring at the way auction transpired, the other guy who was on my right took out 200 dollars and slammed it in a similar way. This was an aggressive auction, boy was I in the wrong part of the town to have encountered with the most influential beings I have ever seen. This other guy was as tall as I was but he also appeared to have a good physique. If I had to bet on it then I would say more than just 6 pack of abs, maybe 8. This other guy appeared to be richer i.e. appeared to have the aura of a rich man, with branded attire.

Now it looked like there was a cat and dog rivalry among the two. They kept on slamming money on the table as if there was no tomorrow. At last the richer guy won at a whopping 900 dollars.

The next item was a first edition of a comic book which I have heard could go for millions if they were in a mint green condition which it was. The big guy started the price with another 100 bucks, the richer one gained control of the situation slamming 300 bucks and they both along with the auctioneer looked at me which made me embarrassed.

Believe me I am not a greedy guy but the way these guys looked at me, it seemed as if I were a miser but believe me when I say this that this didn't look like an auction but more like a gambling table where I was forced to be a part of so I can prove that I am also the big fish. I hate misers then how can I be one, my mind started playing tricks on me as my grey matter lost the battle.

I took out a 500 dollar note and was in the auction, to my surprise these guys got even more aggressive and started slamming even bigger bucks, so much so was the tension that the value just got raised over the bar, we were talking about thousands now. My last bid was 1500 after which I folded. You wanna know where it got finalized, if you think 1500 bucks is huge then you haven't seen anything, this time the big guy entered the big game and slammed 11500 dollars to get the comic book. I just wanted this auction to end. I was feeling miserable and really really tiny in front of these people.

But I had to sit till the end of the auction as per the clause even if I don't buy anything.

This time, the item on the table was a poster signed by a famous personality, they started the auction at 500 bucks, slammed by the rich guy, I raised the bar to 2 folds and became as aggressive as they were. I went on as high as 5000 bucks and this rich guy was determined to take away the price to a whole new level, the other guy folded early. I was feeling proud that at least now I am not at the bottom of the chart.

When we were at 7000 bucks, a strange thing happened, this guy said "Oh, this is the picture of the hunter" and then folded as well. I won...finally I won but the way he folded, I felt suspicious.

Coincidentally, that was the last item in the auction and the guy started to pack up and walk away with the big bucks he collected today.

I looked at my signed vintage poster and felt like I was holding my fortune. But then a strange alliance was seen which shook my world and I felt this dreaded feeling which was unexplainable. All three of them, the two guys from the auction and the auctioneer were walking side by side. I just had to follow them, when I did, I realized that they were talking as if they had known each other for years.

I joined in from behind to rejoice on our fortunes, they were least concerned as if I were the black sheep.

Now my suspicion grew stronger and I started making comments as if I know what's going on.

I said " You guys are getting along well, you guys know each other? ".

The tall one said "I just had a good deal, does it hurt if we do get along well?".

I continued "oh, you are going to the parking lot, is it just a coincidence that all three of you have parked your vehicle in the same parking lot when there are over a dozen lots in this vicinity?".

The richer one replied, " this one is the nearest, why would it matter? Where are you getting at?".

I continued "Another major coincidence, you guys have your cars parked in a sequence, next to one another".

This time the auctioneer replied " what do you know, it is a day of pleasant coincidences and mixed fortunes".

My last words to them made my suspicion into a dreaded truth "You know I am going to the cops after this, right? ".

All three responded at the same time "We know".

That was the moment I knew that I was conned and there wasn't anything I could do about it as it was a legit con!!

All I could do at that moment was to watch them take my hard earned money away in their respective cars. I felt like a fool but I wasn't perhaps the first one.

Things were popping in my head such as revenge, betrayal, 'I knew it all along and yet I fell for it', 'it is a disgrace to my intelligence', ' conned for the first time in my life', 'what will the cops think?'.

Maybe this is a dream? Let's do the old pinch thing:

Ouch

I am awake, it was a dream! !

Perhaps a dream that I need to turn into a new story one day, 'Conning the convict', wait that shouldn't be the title. This should be a secret, for now lets keep it the way it is, a dream!

Until the readers demand for more!