The Old Man From The Tiles Market - Part 1

"For sale! Baby shoes! were never worn!" the Old Man shouted, a wide smile spread across his face, as those passing by his small stand on his relatively small tile ignored him completely.

"Here he is again, no one wants to buy his trash." one of the twins exclaimed with scorn, he took one look at the Old Man and smirked, before stumbling over the water between the tiles and getting slapped by his brother.

"Be careful you moron! if you fall, so do I!" He scolded him. The first twin rubbed his face. Nayo walked beside them, glancing left and right at the different tiles and decks and different stands. This was the fourth time this week where they've seen the Old Man, usually he'd appear for a day or two and then he'd disappear for months on end. He was known for the strange defect on his face, which would distort in a smile every time he was sad and vice versa. Despite not having much to sell, and despite the small marbles, thin porcelain, the carpets, rugs and antiquities in his stand not being anything peculiar or strange in the tiles market in the bay, people refrained from buying at his stand.

A lot of stuff were said about him; for instance that he whispers to the worms in the jars, picks money from trees, and that he sings to the Big Eel on Sundays and Mondays. However the most common thing said about him, and to that there are many witnesses, is that he remains by himself and wanders about in the dark hours after the sunset and lights out time.

"Little girl, would you like a pretty hairpin?" The Old Man stopped Nayo. His face crooked in a sad twist, revealing fragile and yellow teeth. The twins stood between her and the Old Man before she managed to respond, one twin turned to Nayo the disgustingly gooey stretched skin connecting him to his brother stretched even more to allow him movement, "come." he told her, "we'll be late to school if we delay here any longer." She nodded and they turned from the stand, hopping from tile to tile which were all connected by a dirty rope to create the biggest market in the city, to the dock where they tied their little boats. Nayo put her bag down and undid the knot of her boat with delicate flower decorations, while the twins were arguing about who will get the "more comfortable" oar this time. They set out on their way, which would take them about and hour and a half to arrive at the entrance and from there to the undersea neighbourhood where their school is.

"Do you think he really whispers to the worms in the jars?" asked Nayo after half an hour of silence from there part' where the only noises were the cries of the seagulls, the distant crashing of waves and the sound of their oars in the water. The worms in the jars were one of the only remnants of the Horrible Past, that was so horrible that it was barely mentioned during class. Thus it was not allowed to speak with them. for they say that the moment you start with them conversation, they start whispering about the Horrible Past until madness.

one of the twins snorted, "Maybe that one's a bit far fetched, but I wouldn't be surprised."

"Yeah, especially given the fact that he wanders alone at night" The second twin chuckled. The first twin hit him in his leg, and the other protested angrily. they started arguing once more, their boat rocking underneath the weight of the conflict, the stretched skin between them that looked like stretched gooey glue shrank and grew to the beat of their fight. lastly one of the twins pulled the other's grapelike hair, and he screeched in pain. Nayo was accustomed to their fights, they happened every day almost ten times. there was no point trying to separate them, for she would just get dragged in herself, however, perhaps she could do something.

"Didn't your mother say that she would connect you both to one if you continue like that?" The twins stopped to contemplate. "Not unless someone snitches." one snorted at last and added, "I'm not saying nothing."

"Neither am I." Announced the other. They turned to look at her accusingly, "You also won't, right?" they asked in sync. "Of course not." She replied nervously. "If so then great." said one and kept rowing, after a relatively short but calming moment, the other added, "But if Mom connects us again, I am in control this time."

"But you were in control last time!"

"And you were the two times before!"

"No! it was only once!" they started bickering again, pushing each other as they rowed for most of the way. Soon enough the three of them arrived at the isolated dock in the middle of nowhere where they tied their boats and got on it.

There are a number of ways to get to the undersea neighbourhood. one way is to pull a hair and chirp, another way is to dance and scream like the morning fireflies. Nayo's favourite way was a simple way where she just turns towards the sun and thinks about food. The twins however, preferred a way that included smiling and laughing in all sorts of ways. All it takes is for one person on the dock to do one of the ways and all will be granted entry; and the twins always insisted on doing it, it was a sort of thing for them. Therefore every morning Nayo would wait for them to do their laughing ritual. This time they shortened it for they were about to run late. Their boats started sinking and so did they, down... down... into the bottom of the sea.

The undersea neighbourhood looks like every normal neighbourhood on the land above the surface on the mountain, just with fish swimming instead of birds, corals instead of plants and sea instead of sky. A man on a black motorcycle almost ran over the twins who bumped into an old lady with gills and tripped her.

"Hands and feet! the flying pigs won't see you!" She cursed while they helped her up in annoyance and embarrassment.

"That was your fault." mumbled one of them.

"No, yours." the other replied.

"Come, we need to hurry. We have math as our first lesson." Nayo cut them short, "Oi! that's a really important lesson!" The twins said unanimously and started walking quickly, arguing on the way and Nayo right behind them.

The school day was boring like usual, tiring and full of homework. The twins were asked to stay for two more hours for blowing apples in the music room, therefore Nayo had to return home by herself. When she returned to the dock, she could see the sky slowly getting coloured in hints of orange. Soon it would go dark; which meant that at the very least she had to reach the bay soon. She undid the knot of her boat and started rowing. It was best not to be alone after sunset, even with the Glowing Lights that were in everyone's possession it was better to be at the bay or at home before it got dark. That was common knowledge, it was known that something bad would happen to whoever found themselves alone in the dark; the dark which was a remnant of the Horrible Past.

At first there were skeptics, who thought that it was not but a ridiculous nonsense and a superstition. Brave ones who decided to debunk this belief on their own. There was a small portion that supported them, a larger portion that just waited for something bad to befall them, and a portion that didn't care but for the amusement of the situation. Even so, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that everyone was mortified by the results that accompanied the following morning; It seemed like even the younger generation suddenly remembered the horrors of the Horrible Past, despite not witnessing any part of it; one case was enough to silence all the skeptics and bring an end to the conspiracies of the potheads. Since then they all made sure to keep following the custom, so that the events of that night won't repeat themselves again. However, there was minority that chose to keep taking the risk. Usually they were drunks, disturbed teenagers that craved a stupid adventure and others of the lowlifes in society. The people in that group were deemed as invisible to the rest; if one was seen alone in the dark, it was expected that afterwards the people in their life would slowly start to crawl out one by one. It was accepted that a person wandering alone in the dark is full of bad luck, that's why it was better to keep away lest you fall victim to their bad luck.