It was a cloudy day in October. Eric was spending his time rummaging through the old stuff in the attic, looking for stuff to put on eBay. Boxes upon boxes filled with old clothes and paperwork were shoved to the side to create a small tunnel through which he was making a passage to the boxes in the back. This is where, Eric hoped, the more valuable stuff was hidden. Priceless paintings, ancient statuettes, perhaps even jewelry, stock-options or other documents of great value. But so far Eric was tunneling his way through box after box of junk with just some emotional value. In fact it surprised him how far back the boxes went, seemingly going on for a whole lot further than the attic itself. His last find was an old army helmet, which was used as a bowl for marbles.
He readied himself for another crawl through the box-tunnel. Tightening the army-helmet on his head. He figured this was not an unnecessary precaution, as he suspiciously eyed the dangerously leaning stacks of boxes. He took a flashlight and got into the tunnel, hoping to return with more than just another box of old hats this time. After a few feet of crawling there was a small crevice between the boxes overhead he used to orient himself. This was as far as he had gone, but now that he had removed the box of hats there was a small passage leading to an opening. He inspected the reinforcements he had made using an umbrella and a walking stick, and hummed to himself approvingly. He slowly crawled forward, inspecting what was beyond the opening as he got closer. There was an old sturdy coffer, apparently one of the previous owners was a douche who called himself Hypnoso the great, as this was spray-painted in elegant letters over one side of the luggage. Then the flashlight caught a small yellow glint on the floor ahead, half-stuck under one of the boxes. Eric crawled a little closer and reached for the object, which turned out to be a coin. He didn't recognize any of the markings on either side of the coin, and the weight of it made him suspect this wasn't just a foreign piece of currency but more something a magician would use, or maybe a commemorative coin of some sort. He turned around in the little space and elbowed his way back to comfort and fresh air, anxious to inspect the coin better.
The coin had a little string attached to it, and after some careful inspection he discovered a small latch, which made the coin appear to be spinning. Looking at it for only a second made Eric feel dizzy, so he decided to be a little more careful with the thing.
Looking at his phone he noticed the time, and seeing that it was already half past four, he decided a helmet and a coin would have to do for today. He left the box of hats in the corner, and went down to his room. He placed the helmet and the coin next to his laptop and opened a browser when he heard the front door close with a slam. Guessing it was his mother with the groceries, he went downstairs to show her the coin . Feeling kinda heavy there was a chance it was valuable so he just had to subtly check by his mom to see if she recognized it. If she didn't it was probably ok to pawn online and see what he could get for it.
He found his mother in the kitchen unpacking, trying to make some extra room in the freezer. "Hey mom, expecting guests tonight?" He asked her, eyeing the large amount of shopping bags filled with food on the kitchen counter. "Hey sweety. Well I was, expecting some of your dad's buddies, but he just called me to say they're eating out. Now i have to keep all this stuff from going bad. Maybe there's some room left in the garage..." She took two bags and strode out the door. Eric followed her to the garage, where she was already half immersed in the box-fridge, rummaging with ice-cream and packets of meat. "Mom, look what I found." Eric held the coin up for his mother. "What, honey?" She looked up from the fridge. "It's this coin, it kinda looks like a magic coin" "Oh, that's pretty. Reminds me of a coin one of our old renters used to have. As i remember correctly, he was a magician. Where did you find it?" Then she looked a little more suspicious "Have you been up in the attic again? You know that place is dirty as hell."
"It was just lying on the ground, it looked clean enough. Ok if I keep it?" You pocket the ring and give her a hopeful look. "Fine..." She sighs. "I guess he won't be coming back for it anyway. We rented your bedroom to him before you were born, over 20 years ago. One day he just vanished into thin air, never giving us a notice or nothing. Left all his equipment for us to clean up. Dan stored it all in the attic, in case he came back to collect it." She put the last groceries from the two bags in the freezer and closed the lid. "Very strange. He always said he'd help me stop smoking, and ever since he mysteriously disappeared I've never even thought of having a cigarette. I was a pretty heavy smoker back then." She giggles, suddenly making her look 20 years younger. "Keep the coin, maybe it's luck?" She winks at you smiling then goes back to the kitchen. As she leaves Eric realizes once again how hot his mom actually is, then tries to push the thought away. The last few years Eric started fantasizing about his own mother. Involuntary at first, but after a while he started to enjoy the thoughts.
He pulls the coin from his pocket again and swings it by the string. What if it really is a magic coin. He's seen plenty of tv to know coins are used for stuff like hypnosis, maybe this is a hypnotizing coin? That latch must be there for a reason, what if it really works? Eric decides to try it out on his mother. He walks back to the kitchen, finding his mom reading some magazine at the table. "Mom, can I ask you something else." He says, firmly holding the coin string in his hand. "What honey?" she says looking up." Could you look at this?" Eric says, holding up his hand and dropping the coin, so that it swings in front of her. With his other hand he flips the latch and makes the coin spin. "What's with the ..." Natalie starts, then suddenly her eyes glazed over. She appeared to be in some sort of trance...
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