Down the quiet, unassuming street of Bermond Ave, where homely little kiosks and novelty shops adorned the city blocks, all eagerly competing for the guileless eye of an unassuming tourist, a black-haired, baby-cheeked boy with a bright red baseball cap and thick-rimmed glasses saunters along the barren sidewalk without a care in the world, basking in the light of his procured prize. Before he knew it, the sun had already begun to cast a harsh orange glow over the surroundings. 'It wouldn't be long before things got dark, and he was still a ways from home.
Richard stopped upon encountering a nearby alley to his right, one that he'd taken a few times before to cut through a couple of blocks whenever he was in a rush. His big bro Nick had told him not to go down any strange places late in the evening, but he didn't see why he couldn't make an exception here. Nothing bad had happened to him going down there, and Nick would be far more concerned about him still wandering around the city while it was still dark outside. If he went through here, he was certain he would be able to make it before that happened.
His mind fully settled, the young boy made his way down the worn cobblestone path of the alley. The years had gently eroded away the rock, leaving all kinds of imperfections and protrusions for his tiny little crocs to stumble his way across. The maroon-colored brick walls were a bit better off, though there was a thin layer of grime that took on a wretched life of its own under the pale light of the hanging Victorian-style lamps, like some kind of monstrous black lichen or growth that had decided to take residence among the crevices and crannies. Otherwise, the alley was completely barren of any features. No metal shutters, no shops, not even the slightest hint of graffiti. It was as "pure" as an alley could get, an uncanny place cut off from the fabric of reality and left suspended in a void unto its own.
None of that served to bother Richard in the slightest as he made his way down the narrow path, not when he was still feeling light inside. He still couldn't believe his luck. Long after he'd given up hope of things ever changing, fate came along to point the way towards the solution to all his problems. The feeling of the charm gently bouncing on his chest as he walked gave the young boy a fluffy, bouncy feeling in his chest that he hadn't recalled feeling in a long while.
From pre-k all the way to the fifth grade, he always stood out in how much he didn't. He was the shortest kid in school, at home, everywhere he went, a perpetual baby lost in the crowd and stumbling on short, uncoordinated stubby legs that everyone could look over both figuratively and literally. The short fry, the shrimp, the midget, good-natured or otherwise he'd been called all sorts of names when he wasn't simply ignored. At school, at home, everywhere he went he was surrounded by big gangly boys and girls who towered over them, some of them a grade or two below him. Sure, his perpetual "vertically challenged" status sometimes had its perks, as he was able to get away with acting cute far more often thanks to still having soft baby-cheeks that made him look oh-so-precious to the adults. None of that could even slightly make up for how much he yearned, more than anything else, to be able to reach up to his locker without help, or sit at his desk without having to hoist himself up, or even just try out for any sports team without being immediately laughed out from the starting gate.
Every day served to remind Richard of his lesser status. He been mistaken for a kindergartener no less than three times this week alone, and no matter how often his friends tried to assure him otherwise, he knew they were looking down on him. How could they do anything else, when they needed to literally look down just to see him? Richard would rather jump off a cliff and swim with the piranhas than continue to live such a demeaning existence, so anything that could help him even a little bit helped. Hopefully, the lady wasn't just scamming him, and the charm actually worked; he put an entire week's allowance into this thing.
The light of the setting sun quickly began to fade, a long shadow gradually casting itself over the walls of the alley. A brisk, cold air began to assert itself, chilling Richard to the bone as he involuntarily picked up his pace. G-geez. He hadn't realized how late it was. Perhaps going down here was not so great an idea as he'd imagined.
Suddenly, his ears picked on a low, guttural sound that sounded all too close to a growl. As though a light switch had been flicked, Richard's legs instantly became a blur across the path as he hurried alone at a brisk pace. So occupied was he with getting through the alley as fast as he could, that he didn't notice the faint hum of the magic charm against his chest.
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