722 words (2 minute read)

Ego

He was feeling immense satisfaction watching the plumes of fragrant smoke rise from the end of the stick. It was very calming, now that he did it himself. He sat on the stool, took a very deep breath, and stared at the door as if a customer would arrive at any moment.


After about 5 minutes of this, he grew bored and decided to pull out the book that the old man had given him earlier. He had just gotten past the introduction when the front door bell jingled. The boy looked up from his book, surprised to see anyone enter the shop. 


A short Asian man with spiky hair walked in. He was wearing a very expensive looking beige suit and alligator shoes. The boy wondered what he was doing in the shop, because he looked very out of place. He had on tortoise shell ray ban sunglasses, what looked like a gold Rolex, and he smelled like a million dollars. 


The short Asian man approached the counter.


“Hello, I’m looking for a gift for my girlfriend. She’s into all this shit.” The man said while making an off putting gesture. “But I don’t know what the hell to get her.” 


The man looked around as if overwhelmed by everything in sight. 


“She burns a lot of incense though, and she likes crystals and herbal remedies and shit like that.” Continued the man. 


“Ok, sir.” Said the boy as he rose from the stool, tucking his book back beneath the counter.


He walked over to the bookshelf where he remembered seeing a book about herbal tonics.


“Might I recommend this book, The Herbal Apothecary, which has information on 100 different herbs and how to use them.” He handed the book to the man who smiled. 


“Also, we have different statues over here that also double as incense holders, as well as over here.” The boy led the man to a display of crystals and geodes. “We have almost every crystal she’ll ever need, as well as books about them over there on the shelf.” 


The man leaned in to look closely at a beautiful Amethyst geode that sat in the center of the display.


“How about this thing?” Asked the man. 


“$1000.” Said the old man suddenly from the back doorway, causing both the man and the boy to jump in surprise. 


“Sorry to startle you.” Said the old man with a grin. “All prices for crystals and stones are on the bottom of the item.” 


The man turned back to the geode, and handed the boy back the book. He picked up the geode and flipped it upside down, noticing the small orange sticker with the $1000 on it. 


“Yea she’d love this thing. But $1000 is pretty expensive! You can’t come down on the price a bit?” Asked the man.


“No sir, unfortunately not. The geode is already underpriced as it is.” The man stood tall, pressing his fingers to his chin as he considered the stone. 


“Alright deal.” Said the man. “You do take credit cards, yes?”


“Yes sir!” Replied the old man brightly. 


The boy watched as the old man slid the man’s credit card, trying to remember the steps as best he could in case another customer were to come in. 


“Thanks, kid.” The man said to the boy. “I’ll tell her about this place, maybe we will be back again sometime.” With that, the man gave a peace gesture and exited the store. 


The old man turned to the boy, “Nice job! I’ve been trying to get rid of that thing for years. It was only worth $500.” He said cleverly while he laughed. 


The boy was shocked that the old man had doubled the price of something to sell it. 

“I’m surprised you got double the price for the crystal. I would think if it cost $500, you wouldn’t have doubled the price on him like that.” He said. 


“Because it’s not what the item is worth in dollars, it’s about what the item is worth to you. Besides, that’s just good business.” Said the old man. 


The boy  understood, but he still thought it was wrong.


Next Chapter: The Truth