Tiptoeing behind the back of a park bench, where anyone could plainly see the little man, for he wasn't that short...was the man from the shop earlier. You know the one, that man. THAT man.
The man who had the thingy that one could use to get whatever they wanted, within "reason", snicker.
Your eyes popped out. You turned to look at Jack to see if he had seen the man who was quietly making his way toward a trash can.
Jack was giving you a really, really odd look.
"Um, hey, I think I've got to be going," he said nervously as he turned to leave.
"Not so fast," you blurted out, uncharacteristically bold. "Do you know that guy?"
"To be honest, not really," Jack replied, keeping his eyes on the ground. "I've got to be getting back home. If I don't log into my Utopia account by a certain time, I won't get my free income bonus."
"Dude...you're not even playing this age!"
The little man was standing at the waste receptacle, staring at you with a funny smile on his lips. His eyelid went down slowly...in a wink.
As Jack rushed off, he whispered, "Be careful how you word your wish!" And then he was gone.
So you were alone in the fog with the man who had pointy ears and the height of some elementary school students, not that you were "heightist".
Fearing to do so, yet, strangely compelled, you stepped toward Swizzle from the mall.
His smile grew larger. His eyes twinkled intelligently.
"Can you help me?" you say, shuffling your feet, feeling a little ashamed of having backed away from the man's help before.
"Maybe," he answered. "That depends upon you."
There was a pause, as you let that sink in, and realized he was taunting you, daring you to be as foolish as Jack had ben.
'Well, I'm smarter than Jack.'
"Have you got the stuff?"
From somewhere behind you, you heard what reminded you of a digital camera shooting a pic.
You whirl around and see a birdwatcher staring up at a blue bird, camera in hand.
You turn your attention back to Swizzle.