12DoC: The First Day

"Don't say it!" the proprietor interrupted him. "That should be part of the surprise. Besides it's bad luck if the recipient of a gift hears how much it cost." He turned to Sharon. "You should go home, Miss McCormack. There is a transport waiting outside the main entrance as part of the gift."

Sharon hesitated a moment, then she kissed Jim and started walking away.

"Okay, so what's this about cost?" Jim asked as soon as she was out of earshot. "I thought this was meant as a gift from you?"

"Yes, but I still have to charge you the tax, and besides the magic only works when paid for, even if it's only a token amount."

Jim pulled out his wallet. "I see. And how much is this token going to set me back?"

"A quarter for this card, two for the next..."

"And twelve for the last one? Or does it double so I have to pay 2048 quarters (512 dollars) for the last one?"

"No, you got it right the first time. But you have to pay in quarters, so better start stocking up on small change."

After pondering a moment, Jim handed the old man a quarter, took the card and borrowed a pen to fill it in.

"Full names," the proprietor pointed out. "Less chance of ambiguity, you know."

Jim wrote. To: Sharon McCormack. From: James Russell. If he had expected anything special to happen after the last penstroke, he was disappointed.

"Now what?" he asked as he handed the pen back.

"Now you walk over to Miss McC's place and deliver the card to her."

"So you're not providing a transport for me as well?"

"Yes and no. You'll find out. Just don't make any detours."

Jim turned and started walking down the passage. After a few steps he suddenly thought of something and turned back to ask a question, but the storefront was dark and looked like it had been closed since before Christmas.

Crazy magic shop! he thought. There was something fishy about the whole deal. Maybe he should just throw away the card and forget about the whole thing? It had only cost him a quarter after all...

1. He throws the card in a trashcan, but someone else finds it...
2. He goes to deliver it, and halfway there he gets picked up by a truck.
3. Forget Jim, let's follow Sharon as her "transport" (not necessarily a car) makes a detour...
4. Something Else

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