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The storm has yet to pass. Luckily, the torrential rain has stopped, making the walk home much more manageable. I wish I could say the same for this wind. I made the unlucky decision today not to tie my long hair back, and now I'm dealing with those consequences. Being me, I did not bring a hair tie, thinking I wouldn't need it. Boy, how wrong I was. I mentally kicked myself for making such a tiny mistake as I made my way down the street, fussing and wrangling my hair out of my face so I could see where I was going so I wouldn't hit a pole like last time. I wish not to talk about it. It was an event I did not want to relive, considering I had an audience then. Pushing that horrible thought out of my head, I kept going down the empty streets, dodging the spray of water as the cars sped by. Nearly ten minutes later, I finally gave up with my hair and stuffed it inside my jacket, pulling the hood over my head for an extra precaution.

I could've done that earlier, but the thing is, I hate the hood on this jacket. Don't get me wrong, I love this jacket. It's my favorite, but the hood could be better. For some reason, the hood is way too big. Compared to the jacket itself, half of the hood covers my face. Pulling the hood back a little so I could see, I spotted a lone crumpled piece of paper. Curiosity got the best of me as I sped up to catch the paper. The wind wasn't as insistent as before, making catching it much more manageable.

The paper was a little damp, but other than that, it was new. It felt new like someone had just dropped it. My brows furrowed as I glanced around me, not spotting anyone, which could mean this little piece of paper came a long way with the wind. Standing in the middle of the walkway, staring at a crumpled piece of paper, glancing around one more time, I gently peeled the paper open, curious if anything was written on it. For all I knew, it was just some person's grocery list. Whatever thoughts passed my mind of what this paper held, what I found was very unexpected. The paper consisted of just one word written in big blocky letters. I just had one thought: why? Confused now more than ever, I stared at the word in front of me, actually debating if I should or not. What could happen? Shrugging my shoulders, crumpled the paper back into a ball and dropped it. The wind picked up again, making the ball roll with the wind. I waited while I watched the mysterious piece of paper as it made its way down the sidewalk. When it was a good foot ahead, I started walking again, closely watching the ball. I did what the paper said.

I followed it. I've been told that I'm too curious for my own good, and maybe they were right, but I want to know what would happen if I followed it. Will it take me somewhere that I need to be? I could find my soulmate; that would be interesting. What am I thinking? It's not like it's magic. For all I know, It's just garbage blowing in the wind, and like an idiot, I'm following it. So why isn't it acting like it was just garbage? The paper's behavior was indeed odd. The wind carried it along the street, but the ball moved on its own accord, dodging obstacles that were in its way and keeping in a straight line, which was very odd for a piece of paper; maybe it was magic?

Thinking of giving up and turning back whatever was going on, I wanted nothing to do with it, stopping to turn back and continue on my way home when, at the corner of my eye, I saw the ball make a hard left turn. The movement was unnatural, unprompted by the direction of the wind, which hadn't changed. In the spur of the moment, I went after it, my hood falling as I ran, abruptly stopping at the sidewalk corner and looking at where the ball had turned. But I didn't see it. Disappointment washed over me, and breathing heavily from the short sprint, I caught my breath while frantically trying to see where the ball had gone. Looking at the dark gray sky, I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and slowly release the air through my lips. Being frustrated isn't going to help me. I took a few more deep breaths when I felt a tapping on my shoe and the sound of crinkling paper. Confused, I looked down to see the ball of paper hitting my shoe and then rolling off, only to stop a few feet as if waiting for me to follow, and without hesitation or thinking, I did just that.

I don't bother to fix my hood and let the few stray strands of hair whip across my face. I followed the strange ball for another block when, all of a sudden, it flew across the street right into a dark alley that I didn't even know existed. Looking both ways before I made a dash across the street before any cars showed up. I found the ball waiting for me at the entrance. When I got closer, it continued slowly down the alley, coming to a slow crawl and stopping before a door. A small, narrow door that seemed out of place. It didn't fit. It was awkwardly placed inside a brick wall, making the wooden frame and door stand out.

The ball hopped up onto the low step. The door opened, and the mysterious, strange ball of seemingly ordinary paper rolled in. Perplexed, my mouth hung open, eyes wide. I did not just witness that, so I wasn't imagining things earlier. That the ball had been moving on its own. The ball came back, sitting in the doorway, moving back and forth a few times before continuing to go inside as if inviting me in. Shoving my cold hands into my pockets, taking a deep breath, and maybe making the mistake of entering a strange building, I stepped onto the step and walked through the door.

The ball was there waiting. The room was dimly lit with a red glow. Walking a few more steps, I heard a click behind me, only to notice that the door closed on its own, just like it had been when it opened. Gulping, I continued forward, ensuring I could always see the ball before me. The room was vast but also very crowded with objects and furniture I couldn't ultimately make out. The room was too dark, and the red lighting hurt my eyes. My palms started to sweat, the hair on my arms prickled, and a sense of danger coursed through my body. This isn't right at all; what is this place?

The sentient ball stopped in front of a thick, heavy-looking, deep maroon curtain, turning in a way that made it seem like it was making sure I was still behind it, pushing its way through the curtain and disappearing out of sight. I did the same, using my arm to push the curtain until an opening appeared, and I walked through, letting the curtain fall into place as I stared around the tiny circular room in awe. The walls were covered in bookshelves containing books, vials, jars filled with odd substances, paper scrolls, and other bizarre objects. Right in the center was a large, thick, sturdy table that looked older than my grandparents. It had intricate designs along the legs and edges, giving it Victorian-era vibes. The wood was dark mahogany that seemed almost black under the scarce yellow lighting of the room. At least it wasn't red. I heard a man speak close by.

"Oh, you made it back, I see. And you brought a customer, how wonderful!" jumping back from the voice, I saw a man wearing a dark blue cloak, the hood masking his face. I didn't even see him in here. Was he always here? What did he mean, customer? Is this a store? Is it a weird sort of gimmick they have going on? I stared at the man holding the ball in the palm of his hand, having a conversation with it. Weirded out and ready to leave, I was about to make my way back to the door and into reality when the man spoke again, "Welcome dear to my shop of magic and wonder, how can I help you?" the man sounded like he hasn't had a customer in well forever feeling wrong for leaving and not wanting to disappoint this stranger I decided to just buy something quick and then leave and never come back. Turning back to face the man who pulled the hood of his cloak down, he looked younger than I thought he would be, maybe in his early twenties. He was handsome; the thought reddened my cheeks as I diverted my gaze elsewhere.

"What is this place," mumbling in a low whisper as I spotted a skull on a low shelf; it wasn't any form of animal I had ever seen before sharp teeth, an underbite that looked like it would hurt, and large eye sockets that took up most of the face and long sharp horns that must have been twelve inches in length curved out from its forehead. Getting a closer look, I was about to touch it when the man yelled frantically as the thing opened its mouth wide, chomping down on thin air. I moved my hand away at the last second before the thing could bite me. Startled, I moved away, scared of what it could have done. "What was that?" My breathing was shallow as my heart pounded against my ribs, clutching the front of my jacket, trying to calm my heart down.

"That is a demon's skull. Nasty thing refuses to move on from its former self and likes to scare beautiful young girls." He covered the head with a silk sheet, a sound that could only be a huff in frustration coming from underneath as the sheet billowed. My cheeks were again warm at the prospect of being called beautiful, which doesn't usually happen.

Clearing my throat, I changed to a different subject, "the paper. It's not normal, is it," I questioned as he returned to his desk. The ball was rolling around on the surface, seeming to be playing. The ball jumped up a few times. The man held out his hand when the ball jumped onto his palm. The man scratched the little ball like a pet with his index finger. The ball vibrated in content. I've seen weird things, but they were not as weird as what I'm witnessing right now. Feeling awkward, I adverted my gaze to the demon skull, watching the sheet move with its heavy breathing. I looked back at the man as he started to speak once more.

"That is right, this is no ordinary piece of paper. I imbued some magic into its fibers, which made it somewhat sentient," he paused to glance back at me and then continued. "I sent it out to look for customers. We haven't been getting any business since we came here two months ago." He sighed while he placed the ball back on the desk, looking at me once more as a wide grin graced his face. He enthusiastically said, "Choose your pick of any magical object or potion within this store, and I can guarantee you won't be disappointed." He waved his arm toward the many objects around us. I just stared. I stared at the man in front of me, the ball on the table, the many books and vials filled with strange-looking liquids, a sheet that hid the demonic skull underneath, and finally, back at the handsome man. Only one thing crossed my mind while he looked at me, his smile never wavering as he waited patiently for what I would say. What did I get myself into?