Creeps, true stories from Reddit (Second book)

people my hometown produce cursed goods. I exports them all over the world.

I was born in a town hidden behind the deepest and darkest forest. The golden fence posts surrounding our community stand tall and shine brighter than the sun. Behind the fence are people with the strongest spirit I have ever encountered making the most bizarre and precious goods.
Tattletoe is the most beautiful town I've ever seen but I wouldn't wish for anyone to visit it.
The people who run this town, we call them the committee, make sure that everything runs nicely and smoothly. We are told that the fence is here to protect us from the outside. If anyone ever did trespass they wouldn't escape the town anyway, they'd be caught and brought right to the crematorium.
The world outside is dark and cold.
You belong here with your friends and family.
This is the better alternative, trust us.
That's what they usually say. And most people choose to believe them. The price they receive is a life fully taken care of, safely hidden behind the fence. They are happy with what they have.
There is no need to feel bad for our people though. The fence isn't just there to keep us from the dark world outside. It protects the general outside from meeting the people of Tattletoe. And from the unexpected death hiding behind each corner, each cafe and each shop.
In our town, everyone works. Not a single alive adult is unemployed. Some have better jobs than others though, it's a gamble. I used to be a worker in our town's crematorium for years and you can't imagine the things I've seen. That is until one lucky day when a new job opportunity opened up. It was unfortunate for the former worker who was burned to crisp but incredibly lucky for me.
I was made an exporter of Tattletoe's finest goods.

--
Going from the crematorium to being an exporter has given me some insights into the working of our town, which I'd rather never known. Everything is a little hush hush here but there is a time where people are the most honest and that is right before they die. The committee running our town does not appreciate one asking questions but if you have to leave the gates and actually see the outside, there isn't much they can do to keep your eyes and ears closed, is there? All they can do is make sure you keep all your nasty knowledge to yourself. And they do a pretty darn good job at that.
"You might as well follow me in there, boy. Because what you are about to bring to the world, will stain your soul for eternity."
Those were the last words the last exporter said to me. Mr. Deller was an old man by the time he stopped working. He was always a little stranger than the other people in town. He lost his wife when they were young. Only ever had one child. A son and he only ever had one daughter. This is something quite unusual in our town. Having many children gives you a lot of prestige.
I didn't care what this would do to my soul though, I was just happy to get away from the smell of burning corpses. No cinnamon in the world can overshadow the smell when you are right at the source.
Before leaving Tattletoe with my very first truck full of goods, I took a tour through town. Simply to see what kind of things I would be sharing with the world and have a little chat with the ones who make them.
I started with the outer part of the town. The green and peaceful area where our gardeners take care of beautiful fruits and vegetables. The main thing being grown here is citrus fruits. There are lemon and lime trees as far as your eyes can reach. I walked up to one of the trees, got on my tiptoes, and moved my nose as close to the fruit as I could to get a sniff of fresh lemon.
"What do you think you're doing, boy?"
The gardener was standing right next to me now, staring me down with a gaze full of anger.
"I'm not touching!" I exclaimed.
He sighed.
"Why try to smell something you can never have? Believe me, these lemons are no good. You are lucky not to try them. The limes are even worse"
"Why are they no good? They look amazing." I responded.
"That's because they will feast on your mind, take your free will." He looked me straight in the eyes "you're the new exporter, aren't you?"
I nodded.
"Listen boy, they want me to send a dozen buckets full of lemons to some nearby town. And another dozen buckets of limes to a different town. When you get to those places simply drop off the fruit. Don't talk to anyone."
And just like that he disappeared again.
I dropped off the lemons in a town where they use it to make lemonade. They offered me a glass but I politely declined. I brought the limes to a different town where they wanted to make candy out of them. I don't know if I could have said no to those, they smelled so damn good. However, the gentleman didn't offer. When I saw the stains on his shirt which looked a little too much like blood, I guessed it was for the better anyway.
I think that was the moment when I started realizing that the people who import the goods from Tattletoe are a little odd themselves. Although I was astonished how insanely happy the people in both those towns looked. Not a single person was frowning. Their big smiles still haunt me.
I know what hostages look like and they certainly were not living in those towns voluntarily. It was the Tattletoe curse that I had brought them in the form of citrus fruits.

--
All in all my first day as an exporter went pretty well. An occurrence happening shortly after that however made me almost want to quit this all together. I'd much rather just gone back to the crematorium.
It was the day that I met the shoemaker.
The shoe store had always been one of the places that fascinated me the most in Tattletoe. From a young age my parents had forbidden me to go inside, which of course only made me want it more. But I was a good kid and obliged my parent's wishes. I could only observe from the outside.
The shoemaker is a man named Theodore Tously. Tously's shoe shop must be one of the oldest shops in town. From the outside it looks like the most precious little place we have. Dark blue tiles surround the big store window. The tiles are freshly painted every week because Tously doesn't accept anything to look old and dusty. Inside the window you can see some of the magnificent shoes he has made in the past. Anything from crystal shoes to leathery boots. Every pair is unique and you can see the hard work Tously puts into them. I wished to own a pair of Tously's boots more than anything. Everyone in Tattletoe is damned to wear the same grey sneakers. Tously won't allow the town to import any other shoes because he is afraid they could possibly outshine him.
He's a bit of a narcissist as you might have guessed. And a cruel one too considering we're not allowed to purchase anything he makes.
My eyes were shining bright as I walked into the shop. It was the first time. Tously had classical music playing from a beautiful old school record player which added onto the dark atmospheric vibe in the shop. I couldn't stop staring at all the wonderful items I was suddenly so close to. Tously was working in the back of the shop and humming along to the music.
"Mr. Tously, I'm here to pick up an order?"
I cautiously called into the shop.
He exhaled loudly, making sure I knew that I was interrupting him.
"I'm almost finished." He grunted. "They asked me to make a couple dozen pairs of boots. Do I look like I mass-produce shit?" He shouted.
I shook my head.
"No of course I don't. I'm a fucking artist."
He got up from his chair and looked down at my feet.
"You know as you're leaving town, you might as well try on decent shoes. Nobody will see. I have just the perfect pair for you."
I swallowed. Those were the nicest boots he had ever made.
"I'm not allowed to use any of the products, just exporting, sir."
"That's because you're weak, boy! Do you always do as you're told?"
I didn't know how to answer that question. We all did. That's how we survive.
He finally pointed me to the boxes with shoes and I started loading them up.

--
This time I had to drive further. It took me almost a day to get to the place. They had a festival going and had invited many foreigners. As a gift to their visitors, they ordered custom-made dancing shoes. It was really nice and kind of precious. They even invited me to stay and for a second I was tempted to put on those boots that Tously had added to the order.
Almost.
I kept my grey sneakers on and stayed somewhat in the back. I didn't know if I was allowed to stay with the people who import our goods longer than necessary but I wanted to see the festivities. While we have our own fun festivals in Tattletoe, we never dance much.
The music started and the festival committee started handing out the shoes. Everyone was laughing and the atmosphere was simply joyous. I didn't want to leave.
Until they started dancing.
It took a few minutes but suddenly one person after the other fell onto the ground. Just like dominos. A few were still shaking a little but it stopped shortly after. Their eyes were wide open, I will never forget those empty stares.

--
I got back into my car and didn't look back. I wasn't delivering precious goods but cursed ones. You might be wondering why I would ever go back to Tattletoe after witnessing this. I knew they would make me export even more items like these and there might even be more townspeople who would try to trick me like Tously almost achieved. But there were also people in Tattletoe that I needed to get back to. My family. My friends. People who needed me. I could never leave and I could never give up the job.
The town committee was already awaiting me at the gates. I guess they had a hunch I wouldn't be too happy about my last delivery.
"We always try to tell you how terrible the world outside is, don't we?"
That was one argument. Of course there was also the argument that they would kill my family if I ever disobeyed. They did offer me something that made my job slightly better though: A privilege only granted to the most loyal workers.
When delivering the lemons to the town with no name, I was allowed to have a tiny sip of their lemonade. Not more than a shot but I honestly have to say that it has helped me appreciate my job more. My mind just feels a little more free and easy.

Posted by u/likeeyedid