Seline and her shopkeeper

Bobby, the towns old shopkeeper, was a kind man. He always knew what to say when anyone came into his shop. I never got to spend time out of the shop with him which was one of my biggest regrets. Every day, I watch him as he goes about his day mesmerized at how such a loving and genuine man was always so wistful.

I watched as one late night Bobby was turning all the lights off in the shop. He no longer moved , but his shop of thirty years didn't demand it. He knew every nook and cranny of that place. As he shuffled down the precarious aisles shutting off the lamps, his stubby fingers lightly brushed on the cabinetry and bookshelves. He lifted his fingers to see if there was dust. He adjusted his glasses on his button nose and squinted but too dark. Touching his fingers together he felt the grains of settled emptiness. He mumbled something about dust being the devil of antiquities and continued on his way. He continued down the aisle past the rickety rocking chair, the abandoned Victorian vanity, and an eerie .

As he turned off the Tiffany's lamp, a small silver item in a brown box glimmered blue. I watched at what he would do next. The box was from an old Salem house that had an estate sale. It belonged to a woman named Seline that had passed away . my home and I always came in for small jars and trinkets that I would place in my windowsill. We would talk for hours. Ah, to be alive again and feel those butterflies.

Bobby bent down and picked up the box looking around for a surface to put it on. He saw the vanity was clear today for a pick up that had dissolved. Shaking his head he muttered to himself, "damn online shopping" as he shuffled around turning on the ornate lamps. He waited to see the glimmer again, but he had to riffle through the box to find it. There , the silver object in the box of trinkets. He pulled it up, a bull figurine from Spain with two clear quartz eyes, embossed fur, and the smallest horns. I watched him as he became lost in thought, and he sweetly whispered "". Bobby held the bull close to his chest then turned off the lights and shuffled away. Exiting out the back door to his old white Mercedes he was still clutching the bull. I had to follow him now; that bull never brought any good.

Home was a couple of miles down the street but his modest house stood somewhat dwarfed by my house. His was modest with pealing yellow paint, and a kept small grass lawn. Mine stood as the picture of Victorian architecture untouched by time. three stories tall covered in ivy with faded red shingles lining the sun reaching spindles. He put his key in his front door and, then he saw a light flicker on in her kitchen. I blurted out to myself "damn wiring". It always did that. He turned to look around as if he heard me. With a child like grin and the energy he had long since lost, he hurried over to my front door. I realized this was my opportunity to help him.

The aggressive knocking on the solid oak front door echoed ominously in the grand foyer. I had to materialize before I creaked open the door. There I stood, back lit so that my hair glittered in the light. Bobby cupped the bull in his hands then sweetly offered it back to me as a loving gesture. I fixated on the bull and knew I had to act before too late. Once the eyes glowed red, the process had begun.

"Where did you find that?" my raspy voice asked already knowing the answer. I had forgotten what I sounded like.

he responded, " in the box of objects I bought at your estate sale this morning. Thought you would want it back". His eyes were as wide as a puppy.

I hesitated and furled my lips together. Playing with my gold heart locket that hung over my chest I spoke, "That thing is haunted and I will not allow it back into my home." I paused noticing his discomfort. Collecting myself, "I had to get away from it. Wherever , evil will follow. The best thing you can do is dump it in the ocean and be with it." I touched his hand and I felt him shutter and get confused. "Hold on..." and with that I scurried away to the kitchen leaving Bobby standing clueless on the porch. I caught my reflection in my old silver tea pot with my hair framing my wrinkles around my eyes and cheeks. I took a moment to see myself in this state one last time. The billowy dark green top did make me look like an angel as he stated times. I buzzed around my kitchen and grabbed the salt, a paper bag, matches and a black wax candle. I had a brilliant idea and I looked for what I needed.

While Bobby was alone, he was wondering how could something so delicately made could ever be bad luck. He twisted the figurine around in circles, which was slightly larger than his palm, studying it in detail. Abruptly one of the eyes flashed red, and he dropped it on the porch. It clanged denting the wood causing him to stumble backward and trip over the first step starting to tumble down. He grabbed the banister as he fell back and flung himself against it on his right ankle. He collapsed on the stairs embarrassed and confused.

I came running out with a brown bag that jingling in my hand after hearing the clang. I flew down the stairs to Bobby to check on him. beginning.

"Are you okay?" I helped him up and got him stable on the stairs. Bobby adjusted himself sitting on the top step.

"I'm okay now but the eyes on that object flashed red and it felt as if someone pushed me down the stairs." He put his head in his hands trying to calm his shaking down and to hide his embarrassment. I ran my hand down his back and with my other lowered his hands from his face. We gazed into each others eyes; I loved those big blue eyes of his.

I smiled sweetly at him, "Like I said, we need to dispose of that thing. It will never stop tormenting you." Now that he saw the red eyes a matter of weeks before the inevitable. "Were both eyes red or one?"

Bobby nodded and got himself up using the stairs and banister to get up. He seemed perplexed by my question, " The one eye. The other was angled at the floor boards and I didn't see it."

There was still time. I instructed him to grab the bull and drop it in the paper bag filled with salt. I told him to seal it with the candle wax and take it to the ocean where the tide could take it away. He nodded and did as instructed. "Come with me" he sang sweetly to me. I smiled and did not hesitate. We both got into his Mercedes and drove to the Collin's Cove Park where it over looks the North River. There we could let the current take it away and hopefully sink to the depths of the ocean.

When we got there, we approached the fencing that guarded the drop into the river. I knew time to tell him what happened to me. We stood in silence overlooking the water and I shuffled closer to him. He turned to look at me with the kindest of eyes.

I began, "The day I bought the bull I had come in to see you and ask you to coffee. But, when I walked by the window I saw the bull sitting there. I became transfixed and knew it had to come home with me. I bolted in and bought it from you but I had forgotten why I was there that day. Confused I left the store." I paused readying myself, "Over the next years I ran into money troubles, my daughter died, my car was , and I got sick with something that even the doctors couldn't diagnose. We tried treating it with chemo and radiation; pills and diet; I tried both eastern and western medicine. Nothing worked. One day I decided to up and run away...get away from everything. That morning I packed a small bag and looked out my window once more at you your house. I smiled to myself and decided I couldn't leave...you were the last thing I loved in this life." I paused and saw the twinkle in his eye at the word love. continued, "I hurried down the stairs to run to you but I tripped and tumbled down twisting with every step. My last memory were those red eyes and a cackling echoing through the foyer." I placed my hand on his. Bobby's eyes were wide as he dangled the paper bag over the fencing. I squeezed his hand and he released the bag. It clanged off the concrete as it bounced down and into the river. We could hear the paper bag tear followed by a splash into the water. His gaze shot down to the water to make sure and I when he wasn't looking. He looked around for me but I wasn't anywhere to be . Rubbing his temples he walked back over to the car.

He sat down and gripped the wheel . Then a shimmer caught his eye again. He turned to the passenger seat and saw my necklace sitting on the seat. He took it and opened it up. There were two pictures; him and my daughter. He smiled and closed it . He put it in his shirt pocket and drove off.

When he got home, I had left the kitchen light on. He wandered over to turn it off for me. I floated above awaiting his reaction. There on the kitchen counter was a document for him along with an old skeleton key. There laid my last will and testament, gifting this house to him and everything within it. my gift to him. On the key I tied a second note which read, I love you. He smiled and sat down at his new kitchen table taking it all in.

"Better make some tea," he got up, grabbed the silver tea pot and began his new chapter.

Later that night, the park was glistening in the moonlight as a young couple was walking along the fence line. They both noticed a slight glimmer out of their eye line. There the bull sat stuck on a small ledge in the concrete below the fence line. close enough for the taller man to reach, and so he fished it back up. They awed at its craftsmanship and wondered why the bull was abandoned so harshly.

"Do you want to take it home?" Brian asked Matt.

Matt smiled from ear to ear and coyly answered, "You know I love a good raging bull".

They both laughed and Matt played with the figurine as they walked away. then one of the eyes flashed red, and he got even more excited. "OMG, it's battery operated!" With that they disappeared into the night unaware of the evil that they carried home.