《Rumors》 The gossipers ¡°Did you know? Did you hear? There is a new rumor downtown¡± ¡°Tell me, Tell me!¡± You take a sip from your coffee cup as you take a look at the two women seated at your right, how long have they been talking? They were here before you came in and it doesn¡¯t seem like they are going to leave any time soon¡­ At least they aren¡¯t as annoying as the couple in the back ¡°Well¡± The taller woman starts ¡°They say that there are two women that gossip about the strangest of things, they gossip about monsters and curses, about things that almost happened or what will soon do¡± She takes a pause to take a sip from her tea cup¡­ Wait, weren¡¯t you on a coffee shop? ¡°But, that''s not the strangest thing about them you know¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°No, the strangest thing about them is how they appear¡± She leans forward as if she was about to thell a secret but she doesn¡¯t lower her voice at all ¡°sometimes they appear as little girls playing on the street, sometimes they are old ladies waiting the bus, sometimes they are sitting across you on the bar, or on the changing room next to yours, they can appear anywhere¡± ¡°Anywhere you say?¡± The sorter one asks without a hint of surprise in her voice Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Yes! And I mean anywhere, they may appear as part of the ad that¡¯s playing on Tv, as guests in the podcast you are listening to, as characters in a book you are reading, they can appear anywhere¡± ¡°Oh my, oh my¡«, do you know why do they gossip about those thigs?¡± ¡°Sorry but I don¡¯t, some say that they try to warn people, some say that they mock the ones that appear in their gossips, who knows¡± The woman pouts at the answer ¡°Great, now I¡¯m gonna be wondering about it all day¡­ Do you think we could find them? I would really love to talk with them¡± Her face twists with excitement at the thought ¡°Plus, I''m sure they know a lot of juicy rumors, not that they can compare with yours of course¡«¡± The woman can¡¯t help but laugh at the excitement of her companion ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to do so, apparently they can only be seen by whoever they are targeting¡± Her companion visibly deflates ¡°Oh, don''t worry, I''m sure we will meet them, eventually, in the meantime, want to hear another rumor?¡± ¡°Of course I do! And I believe that so does our dear interloper here¡± She says staring back at you, before you are able to mumble an apology she pats an empty seat between the two of them ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a seat with us? I always say that stories are always enjoyed better with some company, and what are rumors if not stories?¡± Admittedly you are a bit sceptical about joining them, something about them just seems a bit off, but after debating it for a few seconds you take your half full coffee cup and sit in the empty seat, after all you could really use the conversation ¡°Right, now where were we?¡± She asks taking a white teapot and refilling her tea cup ¡°Oh, right, I was about to tell you another rumor¡± Mirrors ¡°Did you know? Did you hear? There is a new rumor downtown¡± ¡°Tell me, Tell me!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m¡­This one is¡­You see in this¡­¡± The woman seems to grow more frustrated with each word spoken until, finally, she explodes in a frustrated rage ¡°You know what? Fuck it! I¡¯m not telling this one¡± ¡°Now, what''s ruffled your feathers?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡± She chokes on her words for a second ¡°this one is so obviously fake!¡± The shorter woman gasps in mocked surprise¡± What? A fake rumor you say? That¡¯s ridiculous, absurd, preposterous even!¡± She stifles a laugh as she continues ¡°No shit Sherlock, of course it¡¯s fake, that¡¯s the nature of most rumors¡± ¡°Okay, first¡± She lifts her middle finger ¡°Fuck off Watson, second¡± She lifts her index ¡°I pride myself on the fact that my rumors are, at the very least, mostly true, so you can imagine why this one is grinding my gears¡± ¡°I know, I know, I¡¯m fucking with you¡± She proceeds to take the empty teapot and exchanges it with a different one ¡°Why don¡¯t you relax, try my new cherry tea and tell us that odviously fake rumor?¡± The woman scoffs at the request and turns to look at you, silently asking for support ¡°I mean, if it¡¯s as bad as you say we can just laugh at it, right?¡± With a look of utter disappointment she turns to her original position, grabs the teacup and begins telling the rumor ¡°So, they say that if you stare in to a mirror at 3 Am, because of course it has to be at 3 am, and say Mirror mounted on the wall eat me bones and all, then the mirror will shatter in such a way that it resembles a maw and will then eat you head first leaving only a puddle of gore and blood on the mirror to prove that something happened¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­That¡¯s it? It just a bloody Mary rip off!¡± ¡°I told you it was bad¡± ¡°ugh, now I¡¯m the one that¡¯s frustrated¡± She said as she slumps down on the chair ¡°And the worst thing is that the mirror theme can be so interesting if used right, just look at the mirror room¡± The taller woman nods before looking at you ¡°Oh right, you weren¡¯t here when I told this one, would you like to hear it?¡± you nod before taking a sip from your suspiciously cherry flavoured beverage, a giggle and a wink gives away the culprit, not that she was trying to hide it ¡°Well then. Did you know? Did you hear? There is a new rumor downtown¡± ¡°Tell me, Tell me!¡± Both women exploded into a fit of giggles ¡°Ah¡« sorry, sorry, we always say that whenever we tell a rumor. It¡¯s our little tradition¡± She explains upon see your confused face ¡°Now my dear Watson, would you like to retell it?¡± ¡°Oh would I?¡± She giggled before changing to a more serious tone ¡°They say that downtown there lived the most beautiful woman that ever lived, with skin as white as snow and lips as red as apples is of no surprise that she was nicknamed Snowhite, but to be truthful, she was more akin to the evil queen. So obsessed She was with her own beauty that every room in her house was half covered with mirrors of various sizes¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°We went to see it once¡± The taller one interjected ¡°There were so many mirrors that it could have passed off as a mirror house¡± ¡°Yeah but the worst one was the mirror room, apparently it was originally a closet, but, wanting to view herself from every angle she covered the walls, the ceiling and the floor in so many mirrors that not a single inch was unreflective, she even changed the door to a body sized mirror!¡± ¡°And She did such a good job with it that not even the seams between the mirrors were visible¡± ¡°Hey aren¡¯t I supposed to be the one telling the story?¡± She glared at her companion ¡°Anyways, since there were no seams she wasn¡¯t able to tell were the door was, now trapped, the woman tried everything she could to escape, but nothing worked¡± ¡°Even trying to smash the mirrors didn¡¯t work¡± ¡°As the days passed her condition began to deteriorate, hunger, thirst and exhaustion did quite the number on her and the hallucinations from a lack of sleep made everything worst, and eventually¡­she disappeared¡± ¡°Well, to be fair she didn¡¯t completely disappear, when the police found the room every single mirror had been covered in blood¡± ¡°See? A lot better that the people eating mirrors, ain it?¡± She flashed a smile to you that quickly soured ¡°hey, you okay there? you are looking a bit blue around the gills¡± ¡°Oh? yeah, I¡¯m fine, is just that the ending kinda reminded me of a story that my classmates used to tell the girls¡± The woman gasped in surprise ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, another rumor?¡± ¡°It was just a stupid thing that the boys made up to scare the girls, nothing important or interesting¡± ¡°Oh no, you are not leaving us with the intrigue now¡± She repositioned her chair so it would be easier to see you With a sigh you made your best to try and remember ¡°So, basically it-¡°barely tree words in you were interrupted by the one at your right ¡°NOnonono, you know what you have to say¡± ¡°Do, do I need to really?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit dumb, I know, but it is our tradition¡± ¡°Okey, okey¡± You sigh, again, before continuing ¡°Did you know? Did you hear? There is a new rumor downtown¡± The sentence was immediately followed by a ¡°Tell me!¡± from both sides, you tried not to roll your eyes ¡°So, as I was saying, the boys made up a story about an ugly witch obsessed with her own beauty that lived in the other side of the mirror¡± ¡°Keeping to the mirror theme aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°So it seems¡± you responded taking a gulp of your cherry tea ¡°The thing is that She hated everyone that was prettier that her so, every time a pretty lady came in front of the mirror she in she would push her arms out of the frame, she would grab the person and She would push them against the glass until they became a mush of blood and guts¡± You finished trying to use the same words your classmates used ¡°Mmm, it might be just be hunch but, what if those two stories are connected?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Think about it, the woman disappeared leaving nothing a pull of blood smeared in the mirrors and the witch leaves her victims leaves everyone in much the same way¡± ¡°So, you are saying that either the witch killed the woman, or the woman is witch?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the basics of it, yes¡± ¡°And how are we supposed to find out exactly?¡± ¡°By asking her ourselves of course! After all we are quite beautiful ourselves aren¡¯t we? She¡¯ll definitely try to smush us if she sees us¡± ¡°I suppose we can try, but it would be a shame to leave all of this tea behind¡± ¡°We can try later, in the meantime, want to hear another rumor?" The two women started talking again... You really need a new way of referring to them as Parasites ¡°Did you know? Did you hear? There is a new rumor downtown¡± ¡°Tell me, tell me!¡± ¡°Lately people say that you shouldn''t get close to anyone with a backpack, especially is they are acting somewhat off¡± ¡°But why tho?¡± She asked, taking a cookie from a plate you swore wasn¡¯t there before ¡°Because they aren''t people, at least not anymore, apparently some kind of parasitic centipede has developed a taste for humans,¡± At the mention of the insect the shortest woman visibly grimaced ¡°They start of small, more or less the same size of a tick, that burrows itself under the skin on peoples backs and feeds on their blood¡± ¡°Can we change subjects? you know I don¡¯t like bugs¡± ¡°Well, you are going to love this! Apparently this kind of centipede doesn''t behave like others, oh no, instead it laches itself onto the bottom of the spine of its prey and starts to eat it, but, instead of just leaving the person paralyzed from the waist down the centipede takes the place of the part of the spine that they ate, and it continues like that for months, eating away the spine without its host knowledge, until, it reaches the brain¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Uuuuuuuuugh I hate this so much¡± ¡°Huhuhu~ apparently when it finally reaches the brain it stops following the its orders, the centipede cuts the nerves to the eyes and ears and substitutes them with their antennae taking complete control of the body in the process¡± By this point the one at your right had given up on eating the cookies ¡°Of course it doesn''t end there, the centipede needs to reproduce after all~¡± ¡°Oh no...¡± ¡°Oh yes¡± The woman giggled ¡°Don¡¯t worry this species reproduces asexually¡± ¡°Thank god¡± "That does not mean the process is pretty, the centipede creates a sack of eggs on the upper half of the back with hundreds of tinny tiny eggs, when the eggs are about ready to hatch the sack grows so much that it ends up ripping the skin of the back, so the centipede has to use things to cover its young, like backpacks, until it finds a place to let them free¡± ¡°Great, now my back feels all weird and tingly, thanks for that¡± ¡°Hehehe~, sorry, sorry, I might have gone a little bit overboard with that one¡± ¡°You did¡± She said wile glaring at her companion Well, why I don¡¯t I make it up to you by telling another rumor?¡± Living house ¡°Did you know? Did you hear? There is a new rumor downtown¡± ¡°Tell me, tell me!¡± ¡°They say that in the outskirts there is a small mansion with walls painted on a pristine white and a garden littered with exotic flowers, but of course, that is no ordinary house¡± ¡°If it wasn¡¯t we wouldn¡¯t be talking about it would we?¡± The woman gave a soft giggle ¡°So, what¡¯s weird about it?¡± ¡°Well, for starters, the door frames are covered in teeth, the lights have eyes and the walls are peppered with earholes, the halls are filled with long, thin cracks that pulsate like veins, the living room contracts and expands like a heart, the basement fills with acid like a stomach, the chimney draws air in and out as if it was breathing, the supporting beams are curved like ribs and the staircase is shaped like a spine¡± ¡°So it¡¯s a living hose? Lovely¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna have to agree with them, it doesn''t exactly sound like a place you would want to visit, let alone stay at¡± ¡°It''s actually not that bad, as a matter of fact the rumors say that the house is really good to anyone that enters its halls, the kitchen is filled with delicious foods, you''ll be clothed in the finest silks and you will be given everything you could ever ask for¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°That sounds-¡° ¡°Too good to be true?¡± The woman interrupted her companion ¡°I can''t blame you for thinking that way, but the house truly means no harm, you see, the house is older than the town itself and its been alone for far too long, that¡¯s why it has been keeping its exterior in perfect condition, it just doesn''t want to be alone anymore¡± ¡°Okay, where is the catch?¡± You asked the taller woman, something wasn¡¯t adding up ¡°Catch? There is no catch of course, just a lonely house desperate for companionship¡± ¡°Yeah, no, I call bullshit, if what you said is true then there is no way the house would still be abandoned¡± ¡°You wound me, you know? But, yes, I did forget to mention a tiny little detail, the house has become a bit paranoid and believes that if someone leaves its walls it will never return, so.... it doesn''t let them¡± ¡°Ha, Called it!¡± ¡°Yeah, it tries to convince them to stay with everything it has, but, if the person still tries to go away it will resort to more.... Permanent measures¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Like, for example, locking them in the basement to slowly digest, after all, what better way to make sure they don''t leave the house than to make them part of it?¡± ¡°You know what? I might actually like this house after all!¡± The woman giggled seen the excitement of her companion ¡°Well, why don¡¯t we go and pay it a visit them?¡± Immediately both women turned to look at you, silently asking you to come with them. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ll have to pass, I don¡¯t want to be digested¡± ¡°Party pooper¡± ¡°I suppose we¡¯ll have to go on our own another day, in the meantime, do you want to hear another rumor?¡±