The Mysterious Encounter *Edited

          I grasped the smooth handle of the door to the newest restaurant in town, The Italian Swallow, and pulled. As I walked in, I smelled the familiar aroma of hot garlic bread as it rushed towards me. Glancing around the dim interior, I saw a few brightly colored tables open. I had arrived a few minutes after the appointed time for my meeting with the Mysterious Stranger but as was his way, he was late.

         The waitress greeted me in the usual fashion, handing me a friendship fish and showing me to a table. Once I was seated, I put the fish in my pocket to save for tonight's dinner. I heard the familiar tinkling of the restaurant's doorbell, looked up, and saw Mysterious Stranger walk through the door. He was wearing a bright orange cape with a hood and announced in a loud and aggressive voice, "I am Mysterious Stranger." He waved away his friendship fish, and I gestured him to my table. He began the customary greeting by grabbing my foot and shaking it around. I responded by tweaking his nose and giving him a wet willie. When we had confirmed we were whom we had said we were, we sat down to eat. I began looking through the touch-screen menus. Browsing through the items, I stopped at one of my favorites. I pressed the button and ordered lasagna and a tall, cold glass of Snarkfitz.

         After we had ordered, Mysterious Stranger announced, once again, loud and proud, that he had to visit the loo. I watched him walk off and sat back to examine the brightly colored walls filled with paraphernalia. The display had changed since last week. This week, there was a collection from old television shows and movies hanging on the walls. Among other things, there was the original model of the starship Enterprise from Star Trek, a genuine vacuum cleaner from Leave it to Beaver, and Gene Kelly's plastic yellow raincoat from Singin' in the Rain.

         After a few minutes, Mysterious Stranger arrived with my food. He set the steaming plate down on the purple tablecloth, and I cut into the tender layers of pasta and meat, raising a forkful to my lips. My mouth exploded in a frenzy of goodness. After a while, I glanced up at Mysterious Stranger. He was staring expectantly at me. I cleared my throat and said, "I hear you have a package that could make my job easier."

         "You may have heard correctly."

         "Do you have it with you?" I asked.

         Mysterious Stranger produced a small brown paper bag from beneath his cape. "Possibly."

         "What do you want for it?"

         "Well…let me think…" Mysterious Stranger said.

         He thought. He pondered. He thought and pondered so long that I fell asleep with my head on the table and was drooling.

         "All right! I've decided," Mysterious Stranger declared, "I want your left shoe."

         I was astonished! Why would he want my left shoe? Could he have known that this was my favorite pair? Possibly. I reluctantly gave it to him. He slipped it into his cape in company with the many other mysterious things he had stored in there. He then picked up his precious little paper bag and slid it across the table toward me. I hurriedly put it into my pocket.

         When we were finished with our lunch, I asked Mysterious Stranger if he wanted dessert, but he declined. I, on the other hand, wanted to satisfy my craving for chocolate. I pressed the red button on the table and instantly the table swallowed my lunch plate. I went back to the menu and chose the Mega Brownie Deluxe. As was the custom, it came out on a sliver platter to people singing and dancing around it. I sat back in my chair and let the people try to throw it into my mouth. Apparently, they had gotten better with their aim since the last time I was here, because most of the brownie landed in my mouth instead of on my face.

         After the brownie was gone, a waitress handed me a towel with the bill. I glanced down at the bill and back up at Mysterious Stranger. I looked away for a moment, and he was gone and out the door before paying his share.

         Five hundred dollars lighter and a full stomach later, I was walking down the street to my house. I was rather perturbed at Mysterious Stranger for not paying, but satisfied that I finally had the little package in my possession. I took it out of my pocket and carefully unwrapped the small object from the paper. I looked down at the rare, little bottle cap and sighed, happy to be one-step closer to completing my collection.