Jared outside of Costumverse
Jared didn’t think much of the novelty shop the first time he saw that it had opened. All he saw were some goofy looking trinkets and gadgets hanging in the window, nothing that quite gathered his interest or delight. A deeper look through the front glass revealed nothing more than counters full of gag gifts and plastic toys, although he never quite took the time to look more closely than a brief glance. The only thing that really stood out to him was the name of it: Get it Here, emphasis the store’s. The way the word ‘it’ was so bombastically highlighted caught his eye, as if ‘it’ was the very thing he’d been looking for his entire life, whatever that may have been.
So he wasn’t bothered by the shop’s existence until one day he did see something worth his attention. Displayed in the front window, loosely draped over a porcelain mannequin was a black and white onesie. It wasn’t until Jared had passed the store completely that his brain registered what he had seen. He came to a quick halt, turned around, and stood in front of the mannequin for a closer look. Immediately in front of him was his reflection in the glass, face turned upwards. Most of the onesie was black, but around the torso was a tan oval like an underbelly. It had a hood pulled over the head. Semi-circle ears sprouted from the crown. A single white stripe ran down the center of the forehead. He saw through the legs a fluffy black tail hanging from above the onesie’s seat. His up-close inspection confirmed what he had thought: it was a skunk onesie.
It might not have been the thing Jared had been looking for his whole life, but it certainly demanded his purchase. His love for skunks carried back to his early childhood, something fostered by the creature’s unwarranted disdain by the public. He had always wanted to have one as a pet, but was withheld by state laws and his landlord’s pet policy. While this wasn’t the real deal, it looked pretty close. The fur seemed authentic and warm. It wasn’t something he thought he’d mind wearing on a cold night. Maybe it was odd for a grown man like him to purchase something so silly, but quite frankly, he didn’t care. He had to have it.
He waltzed into the shop at a brisk pace. The door opened to the jingle of a bell above his head. The proprietor, a tall old man with slick, white hair stood behind the counter. He was smiling at Jared with his hands clasped together on top of the desk. He had seen Jared staring through the window and fully anticipated his entry. “Hello there!” he said in a voice that reminded Jared of his grandfather’s. “How can I help you?”
Jared gulped. “Yes, um… I was wondering if I could buy the suit on the mannequin I saw?” He pointed to it. Looking at it from behind he could see how realistic the tail was. The double-stripe running down its center looked flawless, almost like a real skunk’s. He’d have thought it genuine if not for the seamless way the rest of the suit was pieced together. There was no way multiple animal pelts could be fashioned together so flawlessly.
Written by TheGreatJaceyGee on 03 December 2022
