Stories

A Story by StarNinja

Stories

“No, here’s the way I see it. That other world? The one you go to when you’re drunk? When you’re high? When you sleep? When you’re dead? It’s just as real as this one. And what happens there affects what happens here. And people need to respect that, man.”

“You’re trippin.”

“I ain’t tripping. It’s the cold hard truth.”

“How do you know all this s**t?” Theodore “Teo” Sanchez took another swig and burped, punctuating his question.

“Let me tell you something. The world is a weird place. We’ve made it boring but it really isn’t that boring. There are lots of beautiful things here. Beautiful beautiful things.”

“Like tits,” said Teo.

“Yeah. What? No you f*****g… I mean like mystery. Wonder. This town has legends, man. Like real legends.” Benjamin “Benny” Bracken stared off into the space beyond Teo’s head as he let the sentence hang.

“Yeah? Like what?” asked Teo.

“Like f*****g… Here. Let me tell you a story about this place.”

“Is this like a ghost story or what?”

“No, it’s better. Back in the 70’s there used to be this guy who lived in the alley right next to this bar. I think his name was Gregory Chains.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. That’s just what his name was. Now, Gregory loved singing. You get a few drinks in him and he could sing any song you could possible think to name. The guy was a musical genius.”

“If he was such a genius, why was he living in an alley next to a bar?” asked Teo.

“He was a Vietnam Vet. Came back and couldn’t hold a job. He tried to be a singer but then there was drugs and everything just went south for the guy. So he ended up in the alley. But that’s another story. Anyway, Ol’ Greg would sing any song you could imagine and he was f*****g good. One day he’s sitting in the alley, burning some trash or whatever, singing like he usually did.”

“I thought he only sang when he had a few drinks in him,” said Teo.

“He always had a few drinks in him,” said Benny. “Anyway, quit interrupting. S**t. So, anyway, he was singing in the alley warming his hands when all of a sudden, a little man showed up.”

“A midget?” Teo asked.

“No. A little man. A man, but three feet tall, like he’d been hit by a shrinking ray,” said Benny.

“Are you shitting me?” Teo laughed.

“Nope,” said Benny.

“Oh, I’d pay to see that s**t,” said Teo.

“So this little man shows up. He tells Greg that he can give him a better life. He tells him he can grant wishes.”

“Like a f*****g genie?”

“Yeah. Greg tells him, he don’t need anything. Life in the alley was enough and he was happy. The little man knew Greg was lying. He knew Greg’d been wanting to get out of this town for years. So he tells Greg that to spurn a wish giver is one thing but to lie to one is quite another. He tells Greg that he really can give him a wish and he can prove it free of charge. So Greg takes him up on the challenge. He tells the little man that if he can make a brand new car appear out of thin air, right there in the alley, then he’ll believe the little man and wish for something.”

“I know where this is going, man. He done fucked up,” said Teo, who took another swig.

“You bet your a*s he did. The little man made a car appear right then and there. Poof! A brand spanking new 1974 Pontiac Firebird Formula. Greg is shocked. This little man had f*****g magic powers!” Benny practically screamed.

“Get outta town. You’re f*****g bullshitting me,” said Teo.

“As I live and breathe, the little man made a 1974 Pontiac Firebird Formula appear out of thin air.”

“Jesus. So then what?”

“The little man made the car vanish. Said he’d proven himself and now Greg had to wish for something. Gregory Chains pondered and pondered and pondered for hours. Finally he told the little man his wish. He wished that the little man would come back to the alley the next day at 6:00 p.m. with an ice cold beer and a couple of dice.”

“That’s it?” Teo asked.

“That’s it,” Benny replied. “So, the little man bids Greg farewell and the next day at 6:00 p.m. on the dot, the little man comes back to the alley with an ice cold beer and a bag of dice. Greg’s waiting for him with a beer and a handful of dice himself. He asks the little man if he’d care to join him for a game of dice. The little man couldn’t believe it. Greg had been the first person in a long long time who hadn’t wished for money or power or anything like that. So the little man agrees and soon the two are having a blast. Night turns to day, day turns to night and the two are still f*****g playing. Finally, the little man asks Greg why he didn’t wish for anything big like the presidency or a billion dollars.”

“I would have asked for that. S**t.”

“I know right? Greg tells him he knows what the little man is. His mother had told him stories as a child. If something wants to grant a wish, just one, then it’s probably something that wants to harm you. Two or more wishes and you’re safe but just one? Bad news. The little man chuckled. He liked Greg’s honesty and simple nature. He decided to challenge him to one last game of dice. If Greg won, the little man would leave. If the little man won, he would give Greg the one thing he wanted most in the whole world.”

“F**k, that don’t sound too bad,” said Teo.

“Shut the f**k up, it ain’t good. So they play one last game. Greg bets the little man he can roll a double with five dice. He rolls and gets a triple. The little man bets he can roll two doubles with five dice. He rolls and sure enough, two doubles. Greg bets he can roll three sixes. He rolls and bam, three sixes. The little man is impressed. He bets he can roll all six dice, fives. He rolls and there it is; all fives. Greg smiles. He knows he’s been beat. Knows it. So, on a whim he decides to go out in a blaze of glory. He bets the little man he can roll a one, a two, a three, a four, a five and a six all in a row. The little man laughs. He says he knows it’s impossible, but he wants to see it anyway. Greg gives the dice a good luck kiss and shakes. He shakes and he shakes and he shakes and he shakes and finally, when he can shake no more, he rolls. God wouldn’t you know it, a straight. One through six.”

“Holy s**t, dude.”

“That’s right,” said Benny. “The little man is true to his word. He gets up, thanks Greg for the good time, and leaves. Greg never sees him again.”

“Benny, I love you man, but, that’s a fucked up story. Where’d you hear that?”

“Greg told me,” said Benny.

“Really? Whatever happened to him?” asked Teo.

“He disappeared one day. Said his people needed him. Got up and walked and no one ever saw him again.”

“What the f**k, man?”

“I’m telling you. This town is full of legends. Full of weird unexplainable things. You live here long enough, you learn about them. If you’re lucky, maybe you even see it,” said Benny. Teo finished his beer and gave a full body burp.

“I wanna see something weird,” said Teo.

“No s**t? Like what, man?” asked Benny.

“I don’t know. Something. I’m f*****g drunk.”

“Sounds good. Let’s get the f**k out of here then.”

They tipped the bartender and left the bar in a daze. They walked down the lonely streets looking for something weird. Benny knew the town pretty well. Teo not so much, and he was drunk as f**k.

“So, like, what other weird things does this town have other than magic midgets?” Teo asked.

“I told you, he wasn’t a midget, he was a little man,” said Benny.

“F*****g whatever,” said Teo.

“Well, there’s a crack house around here that people said was haunted, but ain’t no one ever lived there but strung out druggies, so it’s not that big a deal,” said Benny.

“I want to see it,” said Teo.

“Of course you f*****g do.”

They wandered down some streets and alleys before Benny finally found the place. It was an old two story house that used to belong to one of those landed families from a hundred years ago, but their fortune dried up and they sold it to the city for pennies. The city abandoned it soon after and the crack heads moved in before long.

“This place is f*****g creepy, dude,” said Teo.

“Wait till you see the inside,” said Benny.

And they were never heard from again.