A Friend in Need

A friend in need

One Saturday, when I was off, I decided to visit the flea market. I heard of it coming that week through an coworker of mine, who was often excited about such events.

"Jamie, you just never know what you might find at a flea market!"

I looked at her cheery face framed by fluffy blonde curls and smiled slightly, while my mind went back to memories of interminable and endless visits to antique stores with my grandmother who absolutely loved finding knick knacks of some sort, dolls to add to her ever growing collection in the house.

"Thanx, Vicky but I think I'll pass. You go have some fun there." , I said as I continued working on a spreadsheet.

She leaned over to me, a conspiratorial smile crossing here face. "You know," she whispered "My cousin found an original Xbox there and on old Commodore 64"

Vicki knew what sort of buttons to push. I have been known to visit places like McKays and The Great Escape and sometimes I could find some retro game systems and cartridges. It was a hobby of mine. I even once read an article about a guy who hooked together two of the old machines from '98 and made a super computer of some kind.  The pix he took of his set up made it look like the whole room was connected to the machine there endless cables.

As claustrophobic as it sounded, I found it fascinating, so on the off chance that I might find something interesting to tinker with during my downtime, I decided to go to the flea market.

I pulled into the parking lot and looked at the massive warehouse. In my mind, I imagined filled with old dolls, but I pushed the imagery aside and met with Vicky, who cheerily hooked her arm into mine as she guided me to the entrance.  

I sighed as I went in, feeling the sudden rush of air conditioning on my face and sounds of buying and selling filled my ears, as people continued to inspect products and haggle over prices.

I saw stacked shelves amongst the rows of tables and there was some old tech there as Vicky mentioned, so she and I headed there first to check out the hardware.

The vendor's appearance reminded me of a biker from the old eighties movies. He was decked out in a black leather vest, lots of chain jewelry and a scraggly beard.

"Hey y'all!' , he intoned jovially. "If you see anything you like, I will be happy to give you a good price!"

I smiled slightly at him and nodded my head, while Vicky gave him her best customer service grin.

I perused his wares, checking out the old TRS 80, the Atari 2600 and the NES as well. They all looked like they were in good condition and even the game cartridges were properly packaged.

"How did you do this?", I asked him.

"Well, I do my best to take care of whatever I sell so that the do sell," he began. "I used to work for a used game store, a few years back,.so I learned a few tricks of the trade. You never know when that might be useful"

"Impressive," I replied as I continued to look around his table. Meanwhile, Vicky's eyes seemed to settle on something on the shelf. 

I looked in her direction and saw a pillow in the shape of a lion.  I took no notice of it myself, but Vicky seemed transfixed by it's large, yellow eyes and smiling mouth. 

I found myself asking the vendor, "say how much for that lion pillow up there?"

He turned and looked at it and then looked back to us. He was about to open his mouth to speak and name a price but no words came out. His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped as he retrieved the lion and gave it to Vicky outright, not even asking for a penny.

Vicky accepted the lion and clutched it like a life preserver. As I looked on wondering what was happening, the vendor busied himself by packing every item away in a hurry. 

"Ummmmm... Vicky?", I said, looking at her. She continued clutching the lion like a child, giving me a suspicious look.

I shook my head and forced a smile. "Okay, Vicky. Very funny"

Her eyes bore into me, almost daring me to move closer, her head and body lowering slightly as if getting ready to pounce. I backed away slowly.

"Okay..", I said to her. "We're friends, remember?"

By this time, other patrons started to notice, Vicky and started taking pics. Others got in the phone and started calling 911.

Soon, the police and the EMTs came inside and surrounded Vicky while I watched in horror as she made growling sounds at everyone. Three of them, restrained her while a fourth gave her a sedative.  

As soon as they took her away, I noticed that the lion pillow was left on the floor, so I picked it up and took it with me as I followed the ambulance.

For about 20 minutes, I followed the ambulance to the hospital, trying not to get rear ended by other drivers on the highway.

As soon as I got to the hospital, I was told to wait since she was having an evaluation done. I sat down in the area still holding the lion pillow.

A few minutes later, an older woman wearing a rustic shawl entered the waiting area and eyed the pillow with horror. She reminded me of a gypsy from the movies.

She approached me cautiously

"Excuse me, sir.", she said in an accent that would suggest she was from some part of eastern Europe.

"Yes," I answered

"That lion pillow. Where did you get it?"

I was puzzled by this question but I explained that it had been given to my friend at the flea market

The woman closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. He grey eyes gazed at me sorrowfully. "May I touch the lion"

"Sure"

She sat down next took her bony hand and touched the lion on its ear, closing her eyes. For a few moments nothing happened. Then she spoke.

"When I was little girl, I had this very lion pillow with me, when we were traveling across the old country. Papa had gotten this for my 6th birthday and told me that it was magic!"

She sighed, seemingly lost in the pleasant memories.

Curious, I spoke. "Magic?"

"Yes, magic.", she said smiling. "Papa told me, that if I was ever afraid, I could hold this lion and it would take all my fear away and give me the courage of a lion!"

"One day, when we were traveling, we found ourselves near the border between the east and the west..". She paused a moment, her face falling. I could almost feel the temperature drop a few degrees.

"The guards stopped us at the border, asked for papers. Papa didn't have any papers and the guards started taking us all away.".

She looked down, sniffling as she told her story, her voice beginning to quaver. "I remember Momma screaming 'no!' as the hit Poppa on the back of the head. The guards dragged us both towards a train car and then...."

I looked at her with interest and said "and then?"

"Then, I don't remember what happened next. I remember waking up the next day in a hospital in the west. I remember almost shrieking with joy that we had made it to the west...that is until I found out that Momma and Poppa didn't make it. "

"What i found really strange was that the guards whon killed them had been mailed to death by some kind of animal"

"I didn't know what to make of that and I was too consumed with the loss of Momma and Poppa. Later on, I noticed that the lion pillow was also gone and my fear has returned."

Wiithout warning, the whole er seemed to erupt with the sounds of shouting and clattering equipment and screaming patients.

Vicky burst through the double doors, snarling her face covered in orange fur and hair in long main. 

"Vicky?", I stammered.

She hissed and leaped out the window, breaking the glass, her tail disappearing in the evening mist.

"I am sorry", the woman said looking out the window.

"What?"

"She is here", the woman said , tapping the lion. "Inside here. The lion has taken over and now, she is here."

I looked at the woman and back at the window.

Somehow, some way, I will get my friend back.