Genre: Fantasy

Plot: An antique shop owner discovers a cursed medallion

Words to use: dealer, chipped, time, history, bric-a-brac, possessed, power, wake, spirit, speciality, value, enslavement, relic, collection, rare.

I have always loved old things from furniture to bric-a-brac. Things that have a history, even a dark one. The chipped bowl from long ago had a wonderful story to tell about someone that loved them long ago. Each item had their own spirit and charm. It was my inspiration into becoming an antique dealer, a natural evolution of my life. 

The opening up of my own shop was quite an event. A dream fulfilled for me. My time at the shop was joyous for me, collecting lovely items to pass on to others to enjoy. My speciality was old coins. They were my passion once. Many people would ask for my assistance in understanding the value of their collection, be it coins or other things. 

Part of the fun of collecting was going to auctions and jumble sales. Treasure hunts as I’d like to call them. I would often find such nice lovely things mixed in with a lot of garbage. Often I would never know exactly what I was buying. It was a game for me. Sometimes a disappointment but it was the times that I found a treasure were made it all seem worthwhile. What was especially satisfying was finding that one rare item amongst the trash. 

One particular find took me down a road of both discovery and trepidation. It was a coin that looked like no other. I was stumped. I quickly took it to another professional, a historian. Sally was my friend from long ago. Another life. I knew a lot about coins myself but this was possibly a relic of some kind and I needed to get it into a specialists hands. 

“I am so glad that you brought this to me, Jane.” Sally said as she was looking at the coin under her magnifying glass, holding onto the coin with gloved hands. She turned it over to look at the other side of the coin.

“Here take a look”, she handed me the coin and magnifying glass. I took it with my gloved hands to see what she was seeing. “That symbol right there is significant. It is an ancient curse. This coin has power, an enchantment over the owner. The other side talks about enslavement to this curse.” We both giggled at the thought of being possessed. Ridiculous.   

“I think I will leave it with you for now, Sally. I don’t want to take any chances with that.” I told her incredulously. I never believed in that nonsense but it was best for her to hold onto it for further study. I got a bit of tingle like the wake of a ship went up the back of my neck but I ignored it. I thought the coin was beautiful but it was where it belonged and I felt grateful that it was in competent hands. 

I didn’t see much of my friend Sally after that day. She disappeared later that night, never to be found. A mystery to this day.