The Body Shop - Part Three

With a loud gasp I come to, my eyes snapping open as the dim light of the store and the relative darkness of the stairwell I had fallen in is replaced with harsh shafts of morning light streaming in through somewhere nearby.

My head sits partway up, a soft downy pillow or three beneath me providing more than enough support. Despite being able to feel the cushioned pillows behind my head I find myself struggling to make out much more below the neck. Despite the hazy and numbed state of my body I can still feel it shift and, the low slumbering breathes being forced through my lips and my head shifting with each deep inhale and exhale.

Blinking rapidly I try to clear my vision, my sleep filled eyes begging to be rubbed clean of the gunk from what was apparently a long nights sleep. As the bleary and blurred sight of the room slowly comes into focus I find myself shivering beneath the sheets in some strange apartment as rain pelts down heavily outside.

The sound of the heavy rain hammering the thin panes of glass rumbles throughout the room, the near all-encompassing noise leaving me with a building panic. My apartment was never this loud, the thick walls and the numerous floors above me shielding me from much of the noise from outside. As my eyes adapt to the light of the room I quickly find myself staring at an unfamiliar wall covered in white plaster and a small bedside table, the phone buzzing on the tabletop emanating a blinding light I had mistaken for sunshine.

The Body Shop - Part Two

With a snap of her fingers her face brightens up, her eyes going wide as if struck by an epiphany.

"That's it!" she calls out, her fingers clicking over and over as she points towards a distant rack with her other hand. "That one! Yes yes to the left, you can hoist him up... Oh..." she states, pausing for a moment before looking back to me.

"Sorry, just realized where to stock that old body of yours" sh explains, waltzing towards me as I feel myself slowly get placed back down atop one of the many wooden boxes stacked around the storefront. She looks away from a second, giving a nod to one of her many helpers before musing to herself once more.

Musing for a moment, poking and prodding at the inside of her mouth with her tongue in thought, the witch finally pipes up to announce "I'd say your trade-in is...a... Hey! Put him down! He's a valued customer!" she cries as my world spins around me. A set of soft hands wrap around my cheeks and squeeze firmly as I'm pulled from the crate, my mouth opening to scream in shock as nothing comes out much to my terror.

The Body Shop - Part One

My hand traces across the exposed red bricks as I descend down the narrow stairwell, the rain slicked concrete steps feel all too dangerous to walk down without some means of support. The tiny passageway is made even more precarious thanks to the limited light, the old iron lamp hanging above the plain wooden door at the bottom of the steps being all that illuminates the space at this time of the night.

However it was precisely due to it being this close to midnight that I had come out to this otherwise deserted part of the city, the old run down buildings which once housed all manner of ship fronts now sitting empty and mostly vandalized.

With a stumbling step, sliding slightly as my foot plants awkwardly on the ground before the door, I reach out to juggle the door handle. The rusted and rough metal grips at my palm, the heavily worn knob creaking slightly as I try to turn it to avail. Biting at my lip slightly I look down at my watch, my heart skipping a beat as I note that I had made it to my destination just a little bit early. I watch with baited breath as the numbers on the digital display snap to the beginning of a new day, my building anticipation ebbing away as I find myself still simply standing in the gloom and cold at the bottom of the stairs.

As if sensing my mounting disappointment a loud thud comes from the door, the aging swollen wood suddenly pushing out towards me as something presses at it from the other side. Warm air rushes out from any gap that it can find within the door and its frame, a faint warm light quickly seeping through the same gaps. As the racing wind from behind the door begins to ease a slight click emanates from the handle, the door inching open as I'm forced to step to the side.

"Please come..." grunts a croaking feminine voice from within, her words cutting short as she seems to struggle with something. "Come in dear customer, and welcome to The Body Shop!"