PUZZLED

Puzzled
by
Richard Canhan


The tinkle of bells on the door startled the young man in his mid twenties as he entered a store on a busy street to get out of a sudden New York afternoon rainstorm. He’d lived in New York all his life and was surprised he hadn’t noticed this store before; the window display enticed him to enter and proved good shelter from the storm.
‘Good Afternoon. Sir,’ the voice came from an unseen man behind the counter. It was the store’s owner; he was a grey-haired elderly Chinese man who wore a pure white silk robe tied at the waist with a red sash, his pointed beard was plaited with red beads and yellow ribbons and his silken footwear were adorned with the same colors.
‘Oh, ah yes, good Afternoon to you,’ mumbled the young man who was not only surprised at the shop owners greeting, but also at his voice as it gave no indication of his obvious oriental background.
Just like the display window, the shop was crammed full of weird and interesting items. He wandered around the haphazardly placed and narrow aisles of the poorly lit store, rainwater dripped from his long coat onto the floor. Although it was warm in the store their was a musty smell of dampness mixed with the aroma of smoldering incense and old things that intrigued him, he picked up different items at random as he walked around and waited for the storm to pass. The shopkeeper approached the young man and asked.
‘Can I help you with anything?’ which startled the customer when as he’d suddenly appeared beside him. The shopper quickly placed down the small statue he held.
‘Well, now you mention it, I am looking for something for a friend, something that’s different and interesting,’ he replied.
‘Well we have plenty of that here,’ explained the shop owner. ‘My name is Chan,’ he added as he reached out to shake the customer’s still wet hand.
‘Um, I’m Rod, Rod Jones,’ he replied as he accepted Chan’s handshake, after he first attempted to dry his hand on his wet coat. In the confines of the store Rod soon became very warm, which was noted by Chan who offered to take his coat and hang it by the door. Rod accepted the offer only because he’d already felt bad about dripping water on the carpet that already smelt damp and musty.
In all his years in the city he’d never known a shopkeeper to introduce himself the way Chan had, but this was New York and anything could happen in this city, he thought. Rod turned 25 that year and had never left New York and he had no intention of leaving, he maintained everything was available here so why leave. His short cropped dark hair and his blue eyes gave him a distinctive look of an Anglo American.
‘Now let me see what I can offer you,’ said Chan as he rummaged around the shelves of the strange little store. He pulled out a few different items but each time Rod shook his head. Chan then found what he called a magic card game and placed it on the counter.
‘Here we are, this pack of cards can do many tricks, but it can also tell your future,’ he started to lay the cards out on the counter.
Although he never mentioned it, Rod was absolutely amazed at the perfect American accent that came from a man who looked every part from Chinese descendants.
‘Too boring,’ he said. ‘I want something exciting and different.’
‘You should be careful young Rod you might not like what you get,’
Rod had always been a reasonably confident man and trusted everyone, but the events of 9-11 changed all that, it rattled him, the day before the incident both he and his girlfriend spent much of the day in and around The World Trade Centre.
Rod pointed to a chest on the top shelf that had designs on the outside like wizards and witches; it looked very mysterious and had a huge red padlock on it.
‘Hey what’s that?’ Rod shouted.
Chan looked in the direction Rod had pointed and went a little pale.
‘No, no I’m sorry, but that is not for sale, it shouldn’t even be in here,’ claimed the shopkeeper with a worried look on his face.
‘I want to have a look at it, please get it down,’ Rod pleaded.
Reluctantly, Chan got the chest down and pried open the padlock, he then wiped a thick layer of dust off the top and the hinges creaked when he opened it, as though they hadn’t moved in a long time.
‘This is a really dangerous game Rod, it’s not something either you or your friend would like it,’ but Rod just brushed aside Chan’s comments, as all he wanted was to have a look inside the mysterious chest.
Among reams of silk material in the chest he found a very old three-dimensional Chinese jigsaw puzzle with literally thousands of pieces to it.
The puzzle appeared to be very old and he saw some of the pieces of the puzzle had parts of people’s faces on them, some of those faces stared at him while others with terrified looks on their twisted out of shape faces just stared blankly, which made him feel sort of uneasy but at the same time it intrigued him even more.
Chan pointed out the unusual inscription that was emblazoned on the inside of the lid.
Beware the day ye who sets the last piece, for ye may succumb and befall with the puzzle forever more. Witching hour must nay be past. Rod knew his friend loved puzzles and this was a very different type of puzzle indeed.
Chan explained to Rod that as legend had it, the puzzle was supposed to be cursed with a spell and that under certain conditions could very well take the soul of the person who placed in the last piece of a puzzle, but that just excited Rod even more.
‘It looks perfect. She’ll love it,’ Rod Exclaimed.
The shopkeeper looked very distraught and demanded Rod reconsider, but he could see that Rod had made his mind up to get the puzzle as a gift for his friend.
‘Rod, I don’t think you understand what it can do.’
It just looks like a crazy medieval jigsaw puzzle, it’s excellent,’ he replied.
Chan again pointed out the inscription on the inside of the lid, but Rod barely glanced at it and thought no more of it.
‘How much do I owe you?’Rod asked.
‘There is no price on this item, as I said it is not for sale,’ replied Chan.
‘I must have it,’ he said as he slammed $100.00 on the counter.
Chan’s attempt to talk Rod out of the purchase fell on deaf ears, and he hoped that for Rod and his girlfriend’s sake the curse was a hoax, but Rod had already picked up the chest and was headed towards the door to grab his coat without a thought for the curse or the rain that still came down.
When Rod got home he threw the chest on the dining table and wrenched open the lid to examine the contents more closely, he laid out some of the pieces of the puzzle on the table but it became impossible for him to fit any of the pieces together.
After four hours he was surprised by a loud knock on his door and it was only then that he noticed it was 10 pm, damn it, he thought, he was supposed to meet his girlfriend at seven for dinner.
Rod threw open the door to find his girlfriend, who stood in the doorway with her arms folded and her right foot tapped the floor, she was not happy about being stood up, especially on her birthday.
‘What’s going on Rod? Where were you? You were supposed to meet me three hours ago,’ she screamed at him.
‘Jane I’m so sorry I got carried away with the present I bought for you and I just lost track of time.’
‘A present for me, well Rod you’d better show me this present before you wear it out,’ although she was still displeased she was stood up at dinner and she’d never let him forget it either.
Rod led her to the table and showed her the present. She became excited when she saw it and she ran her fingers along the woodwork of the chest, and then she picked up pieces of the puzzle and looked at them closely.
‘It’s beautiful. Where on earth did you find it?’ She asked.
He explained that he’d searched the whole of New York to find her a suitable present and he found it in a creepy old Chinese store on Fifth Avenue. He could hardly tell her he only went in the store to get out of the rain.
‘By the way, they say you have to be careful because it’s supposed to have a curse on it,’ he said.
‘Oooh, now I’m really scared Rod.’
‘No really…it’s supposed to take your soul or something,’ he retorted.
‘You just wanted to have all the fun and finish it before you gave it to me,’ she flashed back to him angrily.
‘Well to tell you the truth I can’t even find a piece to match, let alone finish it.’
‘Rod just Let me do it, you know how good I am with this sort of thing.’ It was obvious even to Jane that the table was not big enough to accommodate the puzzle so together they began to lay out the puzzle on the floor. Jane was a natural and within minutes she had strung about ten pieces of the puzzle together. Gradually a series of people appeared in the puzzle, it was a huge puzzle and it covered a good deal of the lounge room floor of Rod’s little apartment.
Rod had trouble with the identification of anything except the faces on the pieces and soon the floor was covered with sections of puzzle with faces on. Jane told him he was cheating by picking the easiest parts of the puzzle; Rod was hurt by the comment and retreated to the kitchen where he soon realized he was hungry as he hadn’t eaten since lunch let alone dinner.
‘You want something to eat Jane?’ He called out.
‘No thanks. It would have been good five hours ago but I’m past that now. Hey…Come and check this out!’
Rod finished making the sandwich and took a huge bite as he entered the lounge room. The sandwich on Rod’s plate slid off his plate and onto the floor as Rod stood in awe at the spectacle he found in his lounge room. The puzzle was almost completed, with probably fifty pieces to go. The room was aglow with a strange light and Jane appeared to float just above the puzzle.
‘Look at this,’ she said. ‘Every time I join a piece to the puzzle it seems to glow brighter and the people look like they will come to life,’ she said as she slotted in a few more pieces of the puzzle, and yes it did seem to glow brighter. Rod started to worry, this was not right he thought and he wanted her to stop.
‘Please Jane, I think we should stop, I don’t like this.’
‘Stop now, no way it’s nearly finished, you can’t deny me this now.’
Jane knew how Rod’s liked to play tricks on her and she would always feel the fool, well this time he was not going to catch her out.
Rod watched the last few pieces go into the puzzle and the glow was so bright now he was almost blinded by it and a wind blew up from nowhere and swirled around the tiny room. As the last piece snapped into place Jane expected something more to happen, but nothing happened. Jane’s eyes scanned the puzzle.
‘Rod, move your foot.’ Rod slowly moved his foot to reveal a corner piece missing from the puzzle.
‘Where is it Rod? She demanded.
‘Where’s what? He asked coyly.
‘You know what, the corner piece that’s missing? I know it was there because I always do the corners first. So you must have taken it,’ she stammered.
It was true, Rod had taken the corner piece, as he was a little superstitious after all, he only did it because he didn’t want to see something crazy happen when the last piece was put in and completed the crazy puzzle.
Jane laughed in his face and called him a scared-de-cat. She demanded the final piece of the puzzle, only with a little more tact this time.
‘Come on Rod. It’s all a scam; nothing’s going to happen to us. Here let’s put the last piece in together,’ she cooed.
‘But what about the bright lights and all this wind, that seems real to me?’
‘Oh Rod, you are so gullible, it’s all a trick, you know smoke and mirrors stuff,’ She told him.
With apprehension Rod pulled out the missing piece from his back pocket and held it out in his outstretched hand, Jane’s touch on his hand was electric which made them both jump and then they both felt the puzzle piece start to pull them towards the puzzle as if it were magnetic. The bright lights came back and the wind again swirled about them and the force was so strong they were both dragged across the room and they could hardly hold the very last piece of the puzzle above the vacant space. The noise of the wind prevented Jane from hearing Rod’s call to Jane to just let it go.
Somehow Rod’s fingers slipped from the piece of puzzle and it slammed home into place with a loud snap and pinched one of Jane’s fingers in it. Instantly the bright light ceased and the room was plunged into darkness, the wind also died instantaneously and was replaced by a deafening silence.
‘See silly boy, nothing’s happened,’ she chided him. But somehow she didn’t sound as confident as before.
‘Look at the puzzle!’ Rod shouted.
The puzzle began to glow a bright yellow hue, slowly it got brighter and brighter and the wind again began to swirl about them. Hurriedly Rod grabbed Jane’s hand and dragged her away from the puzzle as they now saw faces in the swirling wind. They were the same faces they’d seen in the puzzle, voices could also be heard from those same faces that floated about them like ghosts in the wind; which taunted Rod and Jane and called them by name.
‘Come with us Jane,’ the voices said.
‘Yes! Do come with us,’ said another.
‘Let her go Rod,’ shouted a third voice.
Rod and Jane both stood in the doorway of the kitchen as that same unseen force began to pull them towards the puzzle, they held on but it was useless to resist such a force. Soon they were on the floor and Rod braced himself in the doorway as Jane held firstly onto his shoulders and arms, she screamed as inch by inch she slowly slid down the length of his arms and held onto his hands. The voices from the faces taunted them and unseen hands pulled at Rod’s arms as he braced himself in the doorway as similar hands tried to pry open Jane’s finger from her grip on his hands.
Jane’s feet now touched the puzzle and crazy puzzle like lines raced up her legs and body, she screamed when she saw the lines move up her arms towards her hands.
Rod felt like they were being sucked into a vortex. The wind was incredible as Rod looked down at Jane and he too saw the puzzle lines, now right up to her hands and also onto his hands and arms, he also saw the fear in her eyes. She shouted out something, which was lost in the wind, and he never heard it, but it looked like she’d said she was sorry.
Rod then felt his grip become loose, he arched up his body and strained to hold on, it wasn’t Jane’s weight but the power of the force that pulled her and so Jane slipped from his grasp, he heard her scream again and then there was silence as the wind dropped off and the bright light snapped off like a switch and plunged them into darkness.
Rod jumped up and turned on all the light switches illuminating the apartment instantly. He called out to Jane but there was no answer and she was nowhere to be found, he searched the whole apartment to no avail. He looked at the completed puzzle as he noticed it again had a glow about it.
He felt the blood drain from his face as he glanced down and saw Jane’s shocked face among the other faces, frozen in terror within the picture on the jigsaw puzzle. Rod’s hallway clock struck 15 minutes past midnight and he grabbed at the picture of Jane in the puzzle in an act of desperation and frustration, it was a futile attempt as Jane was now embedded in the puzzle forever. The puzzle soon began to come apart and the shapes of the pieces also changed and soon Rod was left with a pile of jigsaw puzzle pieces all over the floor. He gathered up all the pieces and put them back in the chest ensuring he’d not missed any. Before he snapped the lock shut he again read the inscription.
‘Beware the hour ye who sets the last piece, for ye may succumb and befall with the puzzle forever more. Witching hour must nay be past,’ he said aloud to himself.
‘The witching hour must not be past. The witching hour is midnight, of course it must have been after midnight when the last piece was laid,’ he mumbled.
Hastily he scooped up the chest and was out the door and he jumped into the first cab that came along and barked at the driver to take him to 5th Avenue.
He thought that once he explained what happened to the Chinese man he’d release Jane from her imprisonment.
The cab driver stopped where his passenger told him to and Rod flung some twenties at him and told him to keep the change.
By sun up he’d walked the entire length of 5th Avenue, twice, Rod began to doubt that the store even existed; maybe it never existed at all.
He spent the entire day on the streets of New York and somewhere along the journey the chest disappeared too and by late afternoon it began to rain heavily. He was wet, cold and exhausted and as he looked for shelter, he thought he saw an old Chinese man on the road in the rain, he pointed to a store across the road but Rod looked around. He glanced back but the old man was gone.
Confused as he was Ron went into a coffee shop and ordered a strong coffee and he sat at a table at the far end of shop unsure what he should do. He’d lost his love and it was she that said she was sorry, and it was his fault.
He was heartbroken and he also he wasn’t sure how he’d even explain her disappearance. Who’d believe him anyway he thought.
A couple were seated at a table not too far away and were excitedly talking non-stop and it reminded him of the happy times he and Jane spent together and he couldn’t help but overhear their conversation, his heart sank and his eyes bulged when he heard their next comment.
‘I got something for you today sweetheart.’ The girl said to her friend.
‘What is it?’ He asked.
I can’t tell you now, it’s a surprise but I know you’ll just love it,’
‘Give me a hint,’ he begged.
The girl replied. ‘All I can say is that I found it in an old junk store and this sweet old Chinese man told me it’s supposed to be cursed or something.’