The rushing blackness stopped suddenly as the bright lights of the mall blinded Jon. In shock, he took a step backwards. His foot caught on something and he tripped, falling onto a pile of junk. "AACK!" he cried out as he lost balance.
Karyn, still on the phone, heard Jon's cry nearby in the food court. She rushed over to him. "Jon!" She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up. "Are you ok?"
Jon staggered to a nearby chair and sat down. "I, I think so. But I think this thing's been giving me a headache. " He put his head in his hands.
"Stay here, I'll get you a drink" Karyn ran off and got Jon some water.
"Thanks." He took a few sips.
"So, I guess it works, right?" Jon looked up to see Karyn practically dancing with excitement.
"I guess so."
"Just think! Real magic! Have you ever thought such a thing could be possible? Think about what we could do with it! Imagine how much we could save on gas! We could travel the world, see Paris, Egypt and Hong Kong in the same day! Or Space! Jon, we could be the first people on Mars! Think about it!"
Jon smiled, his headache temporarily forgotten. "Woah, slow down, young lady. Don't forget, it may be magic, but its broken magic. The shopkeeper said as much."
"What? You mean your dress? I think it looks lovely on you" Karyn teased.
"Thanks," replied Jon, not catching it was a joke, "but I mean, this stuff that nearly broke my leg. What is it, anyway?" They started picking the stuff up and put it on the table.
There was a small lamp made out of a Mannequin's arm, gloves with 7 finger holes, some kitchen dishes with large square holes in the center, a few stacks of $14 bills, a small statue of a dog with 3 tails, a BetaMax box set of Firefly Season 4, a bag of bras made for 3 breasts and a Vinyl record of Bill Gate's Greatest Hits of 1954.
"It's like a garage sale from another dimension or something." Karyn grabbed the BetaMax, "Think this is worth anything?"
"I'll pay you 14 bucks for it." Jon tossed her on of the stacks of bills
"Unreal..." Karyn said in awe, "Whose face is this? Do you recognize him?"
"Nope," Jon read the name under the picture "Some guy named Bill Ford Pines"
Karyn shrugged. "Well, you gotta admit, for a magical side effect, this isn't too bad. Come on Jon, let me have a go!"
Jon looked at her uneasily. She reminded him of when he was her age, so excited at the prospect of the world. Too Eager to see the warning signs. His first boyfriend, Todd Swanson came to mind. What a prick. Everyone said he was an asshole to women, but when he started paying attention to Jon, Jon hadn't cared. Jon knew it was different. Todd loved him. But once they once they had... once Jon had given him his.... Todd was a fucking asshole.
"Hello? Earth to Jon? Come on! Let me take it for a spin" Karyn was already fiddling with the clasp on the back of Jon's neck.
