Glasses that see into Body, Mind and Soul

"Fuck!" swore Davy to himself. "FUCK!" This time he swore to himself louder, loud enough for a passer-by to look in his direction. The reason for the first fuck was that the right lens had just fallen out of his glasses. It had been loose for awhile but Davy had never found the time to fix the lens before it fell out. The second, and louder fuck was because the lens had cracked when it hit the pavement next to Davy's feet. Normally this would have been an inconvenience rather than a problem. However this was not a normal day.

Davy's normal day was usually waking early afternoon, having a healthy breakfast before a couple hours at the gym. After that it was a shower before a 10-hour, sometimes 12-hour shift as a taxi driver. Davy didn't mind one bit, in fact he loved driving. He was also a very good driver. Good in the sense of could have been a rally driver and not in the sense of sticking to speed limits and stopping to let old people cross the road.

However this was not a normal day. For one it was 8AM, a time when Davy would normally be in bed. The second reason was that today Davy wasn't driving his taxi; he was driving a getaway car. "Fuck," he said again, Davy needed his glasses to see. Without them he wouldn't be able to drive. He looked around trying to find help of any description. Davy was picking up the car in 15 minutes. All he could see was takeaway places, laundrettes, and other shops of little help. Out of the corner of his left eye he saw a shop called 'Emperor'. It wasn't the name that caught his eye but the velvet curtains in the window. Davy figured any place that had velvet curtains, especially the dark red that this shop had, would have someone that could help. "Fuck," Davy said as he walked over to the shop.

+

A bell rang as Davy entered the shop. "Welcome to my emporium," said the shop keeper, looking up from his seat behind the desk.

"Thanks," replied Davy. 'The sign must have said emporium and not emperor,' he thought. Davy looked around but all he could see was junk. It looked like a complete mess. Davy couldn't understand how this guy made any money. Davy approached the guy figuring he might be able to tell him where to fix his glasses as he was running out of time. As he approached a shiver ran up his spine. Something seemed off but Davy just put it down to nerves. "Excuse me but do you know where I could get my glasses fixed?"

"May I?" asked the gentleman as he held out his hand. Davy handed over his glasses as well as the broken lens. "Hmm."

Davy watched the guy roll the lens in his long, thin fingers. Davy was growing impatient. "Do you know where I could get my glasses fixed Mr.?"

"King. It's King."

"Look Mr. King, I'm kinda in a hurry here," said Davy, not wanting to come across too impatient.

Mr. King closed his right eye and put the glasses on. "I don't know anywhere around here that would repair your glasses but I may just have the pair for you. One moment please," said Mr. King as he stood, put the glasses on the desk and went to a different part of the store.

"I bet you do," Davy said under his breath when he was sure Mr. King was out of earshot. Davy shivered; somehow this place managed to be cramped and spacious at the same time. Davy just wanted to get out.

+

"Try these on."

"Argh!" shouted Davy with a jump. He had been so lost in thought about how much he was going to be charged for the glasses that he never noticed that Mr. King had materialised beside him. Most people would have apologised for giving a potential customer a fright; Mr. King just gave a twisted grin. After a few deep breaths to try and calm himself, Davy took the glasses. "Thanks," he said in a noncommittal tone. Davy put the glasses on. He could see Mr. King giving him a weird grin so he quickly looked around the shop. It took a couple of seconds but Davy quickly realise that he could actually see better than his usual glasses. Davy thought it was weird but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind as he needed to get going. "They'll do. How much?"

Mr. King's smile widened. Davy waited for the price to be astronomical. "These glasses let you see so much more. See and do so much more."

"Right," said Davy as calmly as possible but in his head he could hear his voice start to crack.

Mr. King began to stroke his chin to give the impression of thinking but Davy couldn't help but feel that there was no thought going on inside Mr. King's mind. "You said that you were in a hurry so I'll tell you what. As you have not had ample opportunity to test the glasses properly, you may borrow them for one day. Return in 24 hours and if you like the glasses we an discuss a price."

A confused look spread across Davy's face. "So you are letting me ... "

"Walk out my shop without paying? Yes."

"How do you know I'll come back?"

"Oh I know," said Mr. King with a mischievous smile.

"Right," said Davy. "Thanks," he said as he walked to the door.

"And if you come across any items that you think would be of interest to me, please bring them and I may lower the price of your glasses."

"Bye," said Davy as he walked out the door. He was glad to be outside the shop. "Weirdo," he said with a glance back towards the shop before carrying on to collect the car.