"Can you believe some of this stuff?" Karyn said, "What's this? 'Truth bracelet?' that's good, doesn't look like anything special, though. See any good costumes, Jon?"
"Not really, Karyn," Jon said. "I mean, there's some interesting outfits here, but I'm not sure I'd call them 'costumes', and even at 50% off, some of these prices seem a bit steep."
A short while later, the old man reappeared from behind the curtain. "See anything you like?" he asked.
"This is an interesting shop," Karyn said. "But I'm not sure we're willing to spend the prices you're asking."
"Ah, I see," the old man replied. "In that case, let me make you an offer. I'll loan you one item in this store, for oh... let's say, a week. You can try out the item, and if you're not perfectly satisfied, you can rent any costume here for an 80% discount. What do you think?"
Jon and Karyn thought a moment, and then Jon spoke up. "Well, the costume dance is just over a week away, so I guess we still have time to get costumes. I'm game, what do you think, Karyn?"
"Yeah, I guess," she said.
"Well, do you know what item you'd like?"
"This 'truth bracelet seems interesting," Karyn said. The old man grinned and pulled the bracelet out from behind the glass and showed it to Karyn.
"Yes, the truth bracelet. There's a terribly long and interesting story behind this one, but I won't bore you with it right now. But allow me to explain some things. First: whoever wears this bracelet will not be able to remove it until the week long trial period is over. Second: whatever you say while wearing the bracelet will be the absolute truth, no matter what. So be VERY careful what you say. That's about it. I assume the lady will be the one to wear it?"
"Yeah, sure, I guess," Karyn said as the man slipped the bracelet around her wrist and fastened the clasp.
"See you in a week," he said as Jon and Karyn left the shop.
"What was that about?" Jon asked. "'be VERY careful what you say'? What's so dangerous about telling the truth?"
"I don't know, maybe we should try it out."
"Yeah. Well, tell a lie, Karyn."
"Okay...
