About : ashley furniture night stand price
Title : ashley furniture night stand price
ashley furniture night stand price
chilling tales for dark nights. fair trade by ben pienaar. narrated by otis jiry. gareth stood under an awning, watching thecrowded street. each narrow sidewalk and every shop seemed to have people moving all about,careless of the bad weather. it rang as odd to him that no one attempted to share thespace under the awning, let alone even look his direction.in lighter weather, gareth might have steeled himself and reentered the fray. he had a lotof shopping left to do, after all, but right when he stuck his foot out, ready to walk,a fresh downpour followed a terrifying peal
of thunder.without another thought, gareth turned and pushed through the tiny door, for no otherreason than to hide from the miserable day. maria could wait an hour more for groceries."hello, sir," a voice said from somewhere behind him. gareth turned away from the stormand looked into the shop, surprised by the appearance.the whole place was incredibly narrow, and when he thought of it, he was amazed thatit managed to fit between finnegan's family restaurant and benny's butchery in the firstplace. in fact, gareth had never noticed the shop before. once he got past the initialfeeling of being cramped, he realized he couldn't quite tell what the store sold, or for thatmatter, who had spoken.
two shelves ran the length of it and as garethwalked between them, he saw they were filled with nothing but certificates and trophies.they represented all kinds of achievements from swimming tournaments to chess championships,and strangely enough, marriage and birth certificates. "forgeries," gareth whispered to himself."what was that, sir?" by then he was far enough into the shop tosee a small desk at the far end of the room and a little man sitting behind it. the manwas one of those odd people full of contradictions: young but with a face full of wrinkles. heappeared stick-like, but sat with a straight back and held a steady gaze.gareth, who was over six-feet tall, already felt smaller than the man. as he approachedthe desk, he stuck his hands deep into his
coat pockets. "hello.""hello," the man replied. "i noticed you looking at my achievements."gareth raised his eyebrows. "your?" he looked around and back to the man. "oh, yes. i see.i really only came in for shelter, you know. although, i didn't...i mean, i didn't thinkthat it was legal to have a shop like this right out in the open. it's a very reputablestreet." the man laughed and stood. they shook hands.his skin was dry and hot to gareth's touch. "my name is daniel samvels. and while thoseare indeed my achievements, they are also not forgeries," he winked. "however, theydo not necessarily belong to me." "i see. they are yours, but they don't belongto you." gareth was beginning to wonder whether
the man was all there. was the rain calmingdown outside? he turned to check but was drawn back to the man speaking."i think i can help you with your problems, mr...""cameron," gareth said. "gareth cameron. um, which problems exactly?"the man shrugged, laughed, and waved his hand across the many objects in front of him. "here,pick an achievement, any of them." gareth stared at the different items. aftera moment, a half smile crept across his face. he grew worried, but the fellow didn't seemmuch of a threat. suddenly, a watch stole gareth's attention. he found himself leaningin, fast. everything else might be a forgery but that certainly isn't, he thought."alright, then," gareth said. "what's your
deal? what is it you sell?" it was very curioushow he made his living. daniel samvels beamed as though he'd beenpaid a generous compliment. "well, mr. cameron, i'll do what anyone witha good product does: i'll show instead of tell. if you like what you see, you can chooseto buy or walk away. although," he added, leaning over the desk, "between you and me,you'll buy. i'd bet on it." "i see," gareth said. as far as he could tell,it was a forgery business, and in that case it was madness to associate with fake goods.imagine a lawyer, of all people, being caught in such a place! but there was no one around,and he was curious. he nodded. "excellent!" daniel said. he turned and openeda rickety door to his right and entered without
so much as a glance to see if gareth followed.gareth looked over his shoulder, but the people outside continued to walk right by the shopwithout a single cursory glance. he had a feeling the place didn't get much businessdespite the big shelves of achievements. he followed the man through the door.the room held nothing in the way of furniture except a wooden desk in the middle with achair on either side. the wall opposite was hidden behind a brown curtain, and the wallto the right held more shelves of certificates and trophies. "those are my more prized possessions,"daniel said, making his way around the desk. daniel opened the top drawer and took outa single die and a silver coin. he laid them down in front of gareth, grinning."i...i'm not quite sure i see," said gareth.
"then i'll put it as simply as i can," danielsaid. "you give something to me, and i give something to you. we can start by flippingthe coin. or, if you're suspicious, you can use one from your pocket."gareth reached into his pocket and drew a coin. "this?""yes, whatever. now, that's a normal coin, so if you flip it ten times, roughly fivewill come out heads and five tails, correct?" "yes, i'd say so.""now i'm telling you, if you give me something, i can make it land tails every time, or heads,if you prefer. and it only needs to be a small something, since i'm only giving you a smallsomething in return. understand?" "i think so," gareth said hesitantly. "whatexactly do you want from me to do this magic
trick?""a fingernail." "a fingernail?""any one will do. your pinky, even." "i don't see how that will--""no, i'm sure you don't, mr. cameron, but that wasn't the agreement, was it?"well, gareth thought. it is only a fingernail, after all."okay, it's a deal," he said at last. daniel drew a pair of nail scissors from thesame drawer. "allow me." gareth put his hand forward warily, and daniel snipped the fingernailwith practiced ease. he caught the tiny crescent in midair, and then dropped the clippers backinto his desk. "go on, then, mr. cameron. ten times, all tails."gareth raised his eyebrows and flipped the
coin once, twice, three times. all tails.he checked beneath the desk for some kind of magnet and found nothing but rotted wood.gareth flipped his coin again--four, five, six, seven more times. he flipped it differentlyeach try, but it always came up tails. he checked to see if daniel had somehow exchangedit for a two-sided coin and was disappointed. on the eleventh flip it came up heads."impossible." all thoughts of getting groceries and returning home to his wife were gone.daniel laughed. "what about the dice?" gareth inquired."ah, well, that will require the rest of your fingernails, i think. say, to land a six tentimes in a row?" gareth could hardly believe his ears, butout came the scissors and away went his nails.
ten times the die landed on six. by the timethe final die settled, gareth felt like a man in a dream. it was, of course, a brilliantmagic trick. "it's a trick then, isn't it?"daniel sighed. "we can go on all day, mr. cameron. you can bring me dice or coins ofyour own, but then we do it with your toenails. you can have the room analyzed for devicesif you would like. or, the easiest way, we could bring up the stakes to the point wherefaking is impossible." "like what?""you tell me. you name something you want, and i will make it happen...if you pay theprice." "and what exactly is the price based on?""gain--the more that is gained, the more that
is lost.""ah." gareth looked around the dusty room for ideas and found none. then, at last, itcame to him. "my groceries!" he said. "make them appearright here--everything on the list." as he spoke, his hand delved into his pocket, foundthe list, and scrunched it up as though he were afraid daniel might read it through hiscoat. daniel simply nodded and his eyes rolled upfor a minute, as if calculating a few minor equations. "mmm. . . yes, a good choice. impossibleto fake but without too much gain. i think i will need the tip of any extremity--yourchoice. and only the very tip, you understand. almost nothing at all."gareth put his hand on the table. this would
be the final experiment, and if it didn'twork...well...he thought the tip of a finger would be worth it for the show he'd been given,bizarre as it was. daniel whipped a scalpel from his coat pocketand took hold of gareth's pinky. gareth forced himself to watch, resistingthe urge to pull away. daniel whipped the scalpel through the endof his finger with frightening speed. gareth pulled his hand back and clutched it, waitingfor the instant of pain to pass. a shiny oval of blood now sat where his fingerprint usedto be. "well, i suppose that wasn't so bad."daniel gestured behind gareth. for a moment, gareth didn't want to turn around.he was certain there was nothing there. he'd
been tricked by a sadistic madman. and who'sto say daniel wouldn't attack him as soon as he turned his head? but he turned, andthere the groceries were, in a neat pile of plastic bags just by the door.breathless, he pulled his shopping list from his pocket and touched every item while danielchuckled. when gareth was done, he shook so badly hefell back into the seat. he didn't dare take his eyes from the bags, as though they mightdisappear at any moment. "are you satisfied, mr. cameron?" daniel said,with only the slightest hint of impatience present in his voice.now gareth understood the shelves in the front of the shop. they were achievements boughtfrom this man. he must have copied them as
a way to advertise. or perhaps, he thought,so a customer could walk the shelves, choose an achievement, and buy it using a piece ofhimself. gareth's mind reeled with the possibilities.the potential of what he could accomplish became overwhelming.that's it, he thought. i have it. my whole life, everything i've ever wanted. it canall be mine. in a strange ecstasy, gareth took off hisleft shoe and sock, leaned back in the chair, and slammed his foot on the table."what can i get for these?" he asked, wiggling his toes.daniel threw his head back and clapped his hands, laughing with seemingly genuine amusement."now we are talking my language, sir!" he
stood up and walked over to the brown curtain.in one easy motion, daniel swept the curtain aside. gareth saw a surgeon's armory hanging,from pliers to cleavers, razors to bone saws--everything one would need to dismantle a human body intoa thousand pieces. for a second, gareth felt terrified, but thenhe remembered that this was a business deal. the man had honored everything thus far, andwhile what he wanted as payment was bizarre, no one could say he hadn't delivered.daniel took something from the wall that looked like a brand new pair of hedge clippers.he set the clippers on the table and folded his hands in front of him, smiling widely."yes," daniel said. "there is plenty you could get with the toes on this foot, and plentymore with the whole foot. but it is better,
i think, if you name your want, and then iname my price." gareth noticed how clean and new the toolsseemed, gleaming in the room's dim light. "ah, alright then," gareth said, his mindspinning with ideas. it should be something decent, he thought, something worth toes."you must keep in mind, mr. cameron, that i have been quite lenient with my prices sofar. not too much, but do not think you can make your life perfect with a hand or a foot.""yes, of course." gareth nodded. it was sensible after all. didn't all salesmen do that? atest drive before you paid for the real thing. "i would like...to win the lottery," he saidslowly, knowing he was pushing his luck. "the biggest one in the world--the biggest jackpot,i mean. whatever it is."
daniel grinned and nodded thoughtfully. "thisi can do. if i take all of your toes." gareth stared. his heart beat so hard he couldfeel a vein throbbing near his big toe. "all of them?" he asked."yes. but the largest lottery in the world, that is in america, full of taxes. you woulddo better to take the english lottery. it will be easier to claim your prize, and themoney you get is still one hundred and sixty million pounds. tax free.""that's sixteen million pounds per toe." daniel watched him patiently.the silence dragged on. gareth turned and looked from the piles of shopping bags backto the man. "i'll do it," he said, almost whispering.no sooner had he said the words did three
of the toes disappear, and the pain struckhim like an iron club. he fell from his chair, but daniel kept one impossibly strong handon his ankle as he worked his way down his foot.the blades cut through his last two toes an instant before the clippers snipped shut.a terrible popping noise accompanied the departure of each, followed by the soft clicks of themlanding on the wooden floor. gareth squeezed his eyes shut and let outa scream that must have rattled the front windows. in his agony, he forgot that he'dpromised daniel another five toes. daniel didn't bother to take off gareth'sright shoe, but instead, he walked around the table and cut right through it, severingall five toes in a straight line, and taking
a good part of his foot, as well. all of itfell onto the floor--a chunk of flesh and blood, mingled with leather and fabric.for a long time, daniel did nothing but roll on the floor and scream. he blacked out once,and when he came to, he threw up. as the pain became more manageable, he opened his eyesand focused on daniel standing over him, chuckling. his face shined from a thin sheen of sweat."ah. now that was something, mr. cameron. you won't regret it, i promise you." withthat pledge, he took out a long rectangle of paper and pressed it into gareth's shakinghand: a lottery ticket. "you now hold the winning numbers for next week's jackpot, sir.congratulations." "i...good god, let me out of here! let meout!" gareth clutched his ticket and crawled
towards the doorway."don't forget your groceries!" daniel called after him.gareth wiped his mouth and attempted to stand. the absence of toes made it difficult to keephis balance. he noticed the trail of blood behind him, but the flow seemed to slow downsurprisingly fast. he managed to drag his groceries all the wayout the front door, but received no help from the sly and sharply dressed salesman. whengareth glanced over his shoulder, daniel was to where to be found.gareth won the lottery the following monday night, which was a good thing because thefirst thing he'd done after he returned with the groceries was leave his wife. he had wantedto do it for years, and oh, was it sweet seeing
her sour face turn to gaping surprise. thatmoment was enough to pay him back for every evil word and threat she'd ever heaped uponhim. for nearly two weeks, gareth laughed abouthis good fortune. using crutches to help him hobble on his toeless feet, the pain hardlybothered him at all. and people stared at him, yes, but he knew it wasn't the disability.it was the money. already he'd received phones calls from people he'd never met, claimingto be long lost relatives. he quit his job, telling all his co-workerswhat he thought of them. he purchased a mansion on the edge of town. his new wardrobe consistedof nothing but ten-thousand-dollar suits. his new car cost more than what most peoplepay for their homes. he purchased everything
he ever wanted and lived the life he had alwaysdreamed. but gareth still was not happy. all he couldthink about was the weedy little man in the shop, and what he still had to offer.eventually, desire got the better of him and he decided to go back to see daniel samvels."ah, mr. cameron," daniel said, welcoming him with open arms. "i was afraid you'd neverreturn! you left so unhappily last time, you see, and i was also a little afraid i'd maybegiven you too much." "i've been thinking about you a lot, actually,"gareth said, shaking daniel's hand. "is that so?" daniel asked. "well, why don'tyou sit and we can talk about it?" it wasn't long before they struck a new deal.gareth gave a kidney for an iq of two hundred,
his entire right arm for an extra life, andhis left eye and ear for the ability to understand, speak, and write every language.next, he gave his teeth for the ability to charm any woman he wanted. that one was particularlypainful. the worst part of the entire process was the enjoyment daniel seemed to have whileworking with pliers. he shrieked with laughter all the while, dancing around a half consciousgareth. he spent most of his left leg on eternal wealthand gave his right for the ability to fly. who needed legs when you could fly, anyway?that one, daniel told him, would take three days to take effect, just like the languageskills and irresistible charm. they were all powerful abilities, he explained, so it wouldtake some time.
at last, gareth had enough.daniel propped him up in the far corner of the room, his right side--what was left ofit--pressed up against the window. blood pooled everywhere, but still, he felt fine. that,daniel assured him, was part of the deal. you felt the pain, but the damage quicklyhealed. "dead customers are not likely to come back,after all." daniel smiled. gareth suffered plenty of pain, and with eachthrob of agony he knew he made the right choice. nothing in the world could stop him. his lifewas made. in the matter of weeks, he would become the most powerful man alive--the richest,and the most charismatic. he watched daniel wipe the bloody tools cleanand place them back behind the brown curtain,
humming as he went. when he finished, he walkedover to gareth and shook his left hand heartily. "well, mr. cameron," he said, "it's been excellentdoing business with you. three days from now, the more extreme of your requests will begranted, but the others you possess as of this very second."gareth grinned back at daniel, fresh blood streaming down his chin. "dank you, missersam'els. can'd waid." what daniel didn't know was that gareth wasgoing to have most of what he'd lost replaced with expensive modern devices. and then, whathad he really lost? even arms and legs could be replaced with machines."yes, yes! it will be brilliant!" daniel agreed. "just be patient. here, you can rest in myshop until the effects come into play. just
sleep a while, and when you wake, the worldwill be yours." gareth smiled gratefully, muttered anotherthank you, and then fell fast asleep. he dreamed he traveled the earth, rich andfamous. he experienced every delicacy, every adventure that the world had to offer. hedreamed of becoming a president, of stopping wars, and of becoming a legend.when he woke, he saw a long rectangle of grey sky above him. he sat up, with much difficulty,using his stump to push himself against the wall. on either side were two moldy walls--analleyway. gareth frowned. it was all very well if mr. samvels hadn't wanted him lyingin his shop, but had he really had to dump him like trash?he crawled like a lopsided tortoise to the
end of the alleyway, disgusted by his surroundings.mold and garbage, he thought as he pushed along. all he needed was to flag down a taxiand get back to his mansion. lucky, all of the bleeding had stopped, and his wounds provedto be healed. but when he reached the pavement, he realizedthat no taxi would pick him up in his current state. everyone who saw him crossed the roador completely turned around and walked the other way.gareth tried asking a man for help, but his lack of teeth rendered the words incomprehensible.the other man stared ahead and walked past, but not before dropping a few coins at hisfeet. fool! gareth thought. i'm infinitely rich,not a damned beggar!
when he turned back to the alleyway, his heartnearly stopped. benny's butchery sat on one side and finnegan's family restaurant on theother. he was right where mr. samvels had left him--only the shop had vanished.gareth wondered how long he'd been asleep. obviously less than three days, since he couldn'tfly yet. he still had infinite wealth, a second life, and an iq of two hundred. he just neededto get back to his mansion. but no one would help him. for three days, he kept to the alleyway,begging and snatching the discard from benny's and finnegan's dumpsters, and waiting forhis powers to arrive. his mind traveled to the things he would dowhen he received what he had paid for. the first step would be having a shower, and thena good meal. then he'd charm a woman or two.
the thought made him laugh.the third day came to an end, so did the fourth, and then the fifth.the truth settled in and he began to beg in earnest.gareth remained in the alley, waiting for daniel samvels to come back and give him whathe was owed. if you paid him enough coin, and had a good ear for his toothless speech,you might hear a decent story in return. it's not a likely story, maybe, but it's a goodone, and it even has a moral. "qui' whi'e you're ahead," gareth would say."a phew phingers, or 'oes, and den 'eave phorever. iph you can do dat, da world can be yours."