The Fool With the Clever Eyes

Hands in pockets, inhaling sharply, and exhaling a sigh, Freddie glanced around the room that was not an escape room. He was standing in front of a typical-looking door smoothly painted in a pleasant shade of beige. He adjusted his glasses and peered at the textures on the door’s surface. His friends murmuring amongst themselves behind him. They weren’t trying to get out of the room. They were trying to get into the next room.

That was the objective of the game. Because the room they were trying to get into was filled with treasure. And that “treasure” could have been anything from a book of gift certificates to a brand new car.

Freddie felt and heard the rumble in his stomach. He sighed again, turned his head around, and said a single word.

“Legerdemain.”

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The Incident of the Imp

A kid…in a costume. It had to be.

Still, it was frightening. To think I almost hit the poor little guy.

Maybe it was a good thing that the costume was so good, so convincing. The sickly yellow glow-in-the-dark contacts. The pro-quality fang fixtures. That tail that almost looked as if it were whipping back and forth on its own. I thought it was some animal I’d almost hit. That would have been bad enough. If I’d known it was a kid, I might have panicked and lost control of the car. Maybe I would have hit him.

But Halloween was days ago. Was some kid having his last hurrah? Loved his costume so much, he decided to keep wearing it?

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Detective Day

The visions. I’d had them all my life. They’re tricky to read, like tarot cards. Vague sometimes, like dreams. When I was a kid, I would tell my mom, and she had this way of pretending it was normal while still keeping it secret. By the time I became aware that my ability was unique, I knew how to hide it. I started to teach myself how to control it, and soon enough, how to use it.

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