Moon To Pieces

In the sky, the rim around the shining white circle was a golden light. Every evening she would stare out her window, forever preoccupied. Staring at the moon, she didn’t look happy except for a small spark in her eye hazel eyes. When she wasn’t taking care of the shop she worked in, she’d be sitting on the miniature chair she was given to wait instruction resting her elbows against the window sill and eyeing the night sky through the thin glass window.

“Excuse me,” A tall customer kneeling over the counter announced to her.  

“Oh sorry,” she stumbled as she stood up. No sweat dripped from her skin, as she furiously worked to prepare each of his items. In a few swift motions she wrapped each item, and delicately placed it one at a time in a brown paper bag. 

 “When do you close?”

“We’re open 24/7.”

All finished, she pushed the bag in front of the customer. “That will be thiry four fifty.”

They exchanged a few paper slips and she was alone once again.

“Thanks for coming in.” She whispered while looking out the window.

After a few minutes, she thought of something and stood up. Her routine was to clean the store at regular intervals. She’d walk around the room, inspect each shelf carefully, and take some time examine the rest of the room including the bathroom. Looking down on the ground, she noticed dirt on the floor. Her head turned mechanically towards a button on the wall.

The wall began to vibrate and hum. A small hatch on the ground opened up, and the dirt started rolling over the floor. Particles of earth and filth began passing her feet. When she saw nothing filling the hole she turned it off. She returned behind the counter took her seat, beginning to fantasize.

She didn’t hear the bell ring as someone entered, for minutes he waited at the counter merely admiring her. Knowing she would not notice him he watched her. He was ornamented like a gypsy, wearing a long back top hat, and covered with clusters of pink, magenta, and teel crystals. Golden bangals around his wrists, jingled as he stroked his moustache. He stood there, a velvet black tunic tight around his skinny frame. 

“That must be quite a sight,” he finally spoke after some time passed.

The world melted away from her as she looked over at him. 

“Oh sorry,” she responded as she stood up.

 “I saw that”, he said, “I couldn’t tell if it was because you wanted to escape or forget?”

“Not sure what you mean,” she shrugged.

“Oh,” he scratched his chin.

“Are you from around here?”

She shook her head.

No don’t tell me, he leaned over and pushed against her skin. It indented much like mud and imperceptible to the human eye her skin began to re-inflate, but for the moment, her skin resembled a small crater.

“You’re a claymation?”

She nodded her head. “I was made in the Westborio forge a year ago today to serve my Gregor Mashiv.”

“I’m guessing he must own this quaint little shop.”

“Is it true you never get tired and don’t require nourishment?”

“Yes I work here in perpetuity.”

“Wow, that seems slightly, wow.”

“What can I help you with?”

“Well to be honest, I’ve been traveling around looking for your kind. You know contrary to popular belief I’ve always thought you mud people weren’t to different from us.”

“Wait does that mean you’ve come,” he drew his forefinger over his mouth, and her speech tapered off.

“I want to give you a choice that’s all. I want to give you the option of becoming whatever you want.”

“That’s impossible. We’re not meant to change form.” She said clutching her chest.

He slipped something from inside his sleeve. “A tip,” he said scooting a small coin towards her.” She picked it up and put it in her pocket.”

“HEY Golem!” a loud voice sounded from the back of the shop, “get over here and help me carry in some goods.”

The young girl rushed around the counter and towards the back of the store. When she had returned to the front of the store, she noticed that the man was gone.

She took the coin in her fingertips and twirled it around, letting the moonlight reflect off onto the window. It was made of a strange metal, which felt like paper. At any moment she would have been able to bend it in half, is how she felt, but it held up as she examined it. There was some strange inscription on the coin. It read eat for release.

She took the coin in her mouth and her throat shook at she gulped it down. Considering she didn’t have a stomach, it just lodged itself inside, and stayed there glowing in the darkness.

“What was that?” The shop owner asked. “Are you trying some of the snacks?”

“You know you can’t taste that stuff anyways.”

He walked over to her, “spit it out.”

When she shook her head he began grabbing at her body, tearing off chunks of her at a time.

She stood there with giant holes in her form. “I can always just buy another one of you that is more obedient.”

He began pulling at her some more. “Where did you hide it.”

She began to scream.

He covered her mouth, “stop making a big deal about this. I know you can’t feel anything.”

“Please stop,” she said pulling the coin from inside of her body and holding it up to him.

The cashier store was a mess, parts of her, clay and mud flung around the room. Her body caving in on the floor, as she was hyperventilating. Helplessly she was praying for him to leave so that she could live.

“Damn look at you, you should clean this up.” He said before stepping away.

Her eyes looked up through the window. She could feel her body heating up, and the coin began to glow in his pocket.

Her material body turned to moon light and she ascended into the night sky. The wide bright moon greeted her in the black.

“No, I can’t believe it.” He said taking the coin and throwing it across the shop. “Someone is going to pay for this!”