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Flash Fiction Friday: Musica Emporium

Writer's picture: Tara Rack-AmberTara Rack-Amber

I decided to mix things up a little bit. Instead of doing the "Mysterium"cards like I have done in the past, I wanted to do a roll and write. It works like this. I roll a die and whatever number it lands on that is what I write about. I have four categories so I rolled the die four times to choose my character, time period, place, and conflict.

For this particular story I rolled a 5, 1, 8, and 6. My choices were: a ghost, 1920s, haunted house, and has been cursed. Let's see what happens.

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Jenni walked down the hallway; her heels clicking off the marble floors. She know that when she saw Philip she was going to kill him. How dare he leave her in the Musica Emporium? She said she was going to powder her nose and she would be right back. Now he was nowhere in sight. In fact, the club seemed empt. It reminded her of the time right after last call, but she swore she left just a few minutes ago and it was only 9:30.

She pushed past the heavy red velvet doors and went out into the hallway.

Jenni looked up and down and didn't see anyone. She looked at a clock on the wall and saw that it still read 9:30.

Something was wrong and Jenni could sense it.

She continued down the hallway, past the doors to the club and past the coatcheck and refreshment stand.

When Jenni turned the corner she finally saw someone. Well, she saw her back. It was one of the ciggarette girls. She didn't look like one of the girls that stopped by her and Philip's table earlier in the night, but she was wearing the same emerald green bodysuit and fishnets as the rest of the girls.

"Excuse, me," said Jenni. Her voice sounded even louder echoing in the nearly empty hall. Everything sounded so different without the usual crowd gathered.

The girl stopped moving, but she didn't turn around right away. It seemed like she was trying to decide if she should answer Jenni or if she should ignore her completly.

Jenni thought maybe the girl hadn't heard her. "Excuse me," she said again.

This time the girl turned around. Jenni could see she was pretty and had bright red lips that complimented her perfectly couffed blond hair that was done up in curls.

"How can I help you?" she asked with a perfect smile on her face.

"I seem to be lost, I can't find my boyfriend. We were just listening to the band, and I got up to powder my nose and when I came back he was gone; well actually, everyone was gone. Did something happen that forced everyone to leave?"

The girl starred at her for a moment, not registering what Jenni had said. She looked all over the hallway like she was trying to find the answer to Jenni's question, out there.

"Darling, I'm not sure what you are saying," said the girl with a deep southern accent that Jenni had just noticed. "There wasn't an evacuation, are you sure he isn't still in there? Maybe you missed him. The crowd is jumpin' tonight so that would be easy to do."

Jenni couldn't belive what she was hearing. She looked out in the hallway and it was completely empty. There was no one there except for the two of them.

Fear was starting to constrict Jenni's chest. She thought maybe she was starting to go crazy. She fiddle with the new pinky ring Philip had given to her earlier in the evening. She twirled the emerald around and around on her finger trying to think of her next plan.

Suddenly, music started again.

"The band must be back," Jenni said.

When she turned to tell the cigarette girl thank you for helping, Jenni noticed she was gone. Not knowing what to think, Jenni walked back toward the club following the muisc.

When she pushed open the doors, she saw there was a small crowd gathered in the club chairs sitting at the small cocktail tables enjoying the band on stage. It wasn't nearly as large of a group as was there earlier.

Jennie stood in the back a moment and scanned to see if she could spot where Philip was sitting. He wasn't at their original table, but maybe he had deicded to move.

She looked everywhere, but Jenni couldn't spot him. That's when she noticed it, the band on the stage was completly different than the one that was playing earlier in the evening. Surely, they didn't switch bands already.

Jenni was starting to become irritated again. Nothing was making sense. This time, she knew she had to get some answers.

She walked over to a couple that was sitting at the table closest to her.

"Excuse me," she said.

The couple turned toward her.

"Was this the same band that was playing earlier this evening, or did they have a set change," asked Jenni?

The couple looked at each other. The woman whispered something to the man that caused him to become adgitated. He was so mad, he gave Jenni a dirty look before he got up and walked away.

The woman turned toward Jenni and gave her a kind smile.

"Why don't you have a seat," she said patting a red velvet chair next to her.

That is when Jenni saw it, the same emerald ring she was wearing also on the pinky of this female stranger.

Jenni looked at ring and then back at the woman.

"I can explain a lot of your questions if you have a seat," the woman said again gesturing toward the chair.

Jenni really wasn't sure what else to do so she sat down as the band continued to play.

"I see you noticed my ring," said the woman. "I'm Yvette, by the way."

"Jenni."

The woman took Jenni's hand and looked at the emerald ring on her hand.

"I'm sure you are lost and wondering what just happened. It seems like the whole world has changed hasn't it?"

Jenni nodded.

Yvette sighed and continued, "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you're dead."

Jenni thought she didn't hear Yvette correctly.

"What do you mean, I'm dead?"

"You have been dead for quite some time, I'm assuming. Who gave you the ring," asked the woman?

Stunned, the only words Jenni could say was, "My boyfriend."

Yvette nodded. "Same thing happened to me. You have to always wonder why would someone you love so much do this too you."

"Not to be rude, but what do you mean 'do this to you,'" said Jenni?

"My appologizes," said Yvette. "Whenever your boyfriend gave you that ring he damned you. He cursed your soul to be trapped in the place where he gave you this ring."

Jenni's head began to swim with all the thoughts of what was going on. Dead? She couldn't be. Philip would never do anything like that to her.

"Are all of these other people cursed from the same ring," she asked Yvette.

Yvette paused and seemed to take in the music for a moment before she continued.

"Some are, yes. Others are ghosts because they suffered a tragic death and had such deep connections to the place that their souls welded to the place. I'm sure you never thought of Musica Emporia being such a haunted house, huh?"

Jenni was starting to buy Yvette's story more and more. It didn't seem possible, but how could she explain the sudden disappearance of everyone or the new band.

She sank into her seat even deeper. She didn't know what else to do.

"You better get comfortable," said Yvette. "You are stuck here with us for the rest of eternity."

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