Found Treasures

Dear Stupendous Zombies,

Another story for you all today. A boy in a museum store finds an extraordinary item.

Enjoy.

-Matt


"A Fool's Bargain" By Matt Mok

The glint of metal catches Sam's eye, even through the throng of bodies milling about shopping for museum souvenirs. The gift shop occupies the greater part of a level and it takes him several minutes to wend his way through the crowd, craning his neck to catch brief glimpses of the light.

There's a table. And a man. And in his calloused hands he holds what has drawn Sam from across the room.

The knife catches the light from the overhead fluorescent fixtures on its blade and temporarily blinds him. When he opens his eyes again, he sees that the man has taken notice. He tosses the knife side to side, his elbows resting on the table, then holds it up as if he has just realized that it's there.

"Do you like it?" he says.

The knife is so thin and sharp that Sam almost loses sight of the blade. The handle is worn with age and the steel looks discolored at closer inspection. But this is still more interesting than following the rest of the class on their field trip and he is glad he decided to wander off on his own.

"Do you work here?" he says.

"Of course," the man says, pointing to his name tag. "You know, this is a special knife."

"Why?"

"It belonged to an Egyptian pharaoh, thousands of years ago. It's magic."

Sam looks at the man, the skepticism most surely plain on his face. "What does it do?"

The man rubs his stubbled chin. "Well..."

"You don't know?"

"Wait! It has something to do with the way you use it, I know that much. Do you want it? It's a bargain at fifty dollars."

Sam has five dollars in his pocket, but he doubts it's even worth that much. "Show me," he says anyway because he is bored and has nothing else to do.

"Show you what?"

"How to use it."

"I think it's something like this," he says and loops his finger into the hole in the knife's handle. He proceeds to twirl it round and round and Sam, suddenly unsure if he should be standing so close, shrinks backward.

"A ha!" the man says excitedly. "I remember now." In mid-twirl, he flings the knife up into the air, so high that is seems it might hit the ceiling. It comes hurtling down, twisting and somersaulting, with a thud, the knife blade embedding two inches into the wooden table.

"Hmm. That should have worked," he says, scratching his head.

Then, a voice calls out.

"Sam! Where have you been?" Mrs. Hanson cries. She drags him away before he can explain himself. "When your mother hears about this..."

"But there's—" He twists his arm and looks back.

"But what?"

But he says nothing because the man with the knife and table is gone. In his place is a display of fossil keychains.