I Wished for a Bottle of Wine

A curious wine shop exist on Melcher Street in Boston. One that does not close until late and one that, thankfully, has stayed open during these troubled times. I made a pilgrimage after work the other night in order to resupply my dwindling booze. I had sounded the 5:30 whistle and polished off the last bottle of wine I had in my apartment, but as I reached the end I knew one would not be enough.
Now admittedly I set off late, and that was my fault. It was a ways to Melcher from my apartment, but the night was nice and the air was just cool enough to enjoy especially walking Boston's empty streets along the harbor. I arrived at Melcher around 7pm. This wine shop does not have a traditional door or signage. It is in fact one of two wine shops on this street and unless you spend some time around the area you would never know it exist.
In order to find the place you have to round a corner and go down to the basement of what looks like a residential home. The only signage they have is a picture of a bottle of wine with an arrow pointing at the top of the stairs. The sign is only there when the place is open.

When I walked in there was no one there, not even the clerk, but I saw the cellar door was open and assumed they were just down below and would return momentarily. I decided upon an odd bottle of Chianti from a place I had never heard of but the bottle assured me, it was in Italy. Then stood at the counter waiting for the cashier to return.
I waited at the counter listening to a podcast and going through Twitter on my phone before it dawned on me just how long I had been waiting. It had been fifteen minutes of standing there and not a single person showed. I took my headphones out and shouted in the room.

"Hello?"


"Help!"

A cry came out from the cellar doors. It sounded distant but the terror in the voice was still present.

"Where are you!"


"...he...lp!"

The voice wafted out from the cellar again this time seemingly further away. You always want to imagine yourself springing into action to save someone from a foe, but I instead walked wearily to the cellar.

"Please!" The voice was louder this time.

I briskly went down the steps there were not that many and found myself among large rows of wine shelves full of bottles. I began carefully walking down the main drag looking between each row.

"HELP ME!"

The voice cried out again from the end of the room. I ran towards and found yet another cellar door. ‘Why would there be a double cellar?’ I questioned in my head. I looked into the well I found another set of stairs, but these were spiral. The walls around the stairs were grey brick and looked like they belonged to a castle.

"Are you down here?" I yelled down the shaft.

"Help me!" A voice retorted from below.

I let out a sigh and started down the spiral staircase.

The stairs
were not
made of
brick like
the rest
of the
wall but
of metal.
An iron
as best
I could
tell.
My boots
made a
satisfying echo
with each
press of
my heel
down onto
the metal.
I didn't
bother
to count
them and
just ran
downward.
The spinning
around and
around made
my head
dizzy.
The light
began to
fade the
further I
went down
and I
paused to look up. I could see the dull glow of the fluorescent light of the cellar at the top.

"OH GOD NO!" The voice echoed from below. I caught my breath and grabbing the rail…

I started
down again
at a
quickening pace.
The further
I descended
I could
tell there
was no
more light,
but I
could still
see. I
was bathed
in a
dark royal
blue light
all around
me. Glimmers
of white
popped out
along the
walls like
stars helping
me keep
track of
my feet.
I stopped
looking down
and with
that last step I fell over my feet stumbling beneath me. I hit the ground hard my face colliding onto something, but I couldn't tell what.
I couldn't tell what, because the ground looked exactly as the walls. I knew I was looking down and that I was in fact laying on something hard and immovable, but I was still seeing this dark royal blue and white lights flickering within my vision. I pushed myself up and got my feet underneath me. I felt like I was standing in the ocean.

"AhhhhHhhh!"

A cold scream echoed from in front of me. Amongst the white light of the stars one was not like the rest. It was a pale red and shaped as a thin sliver. I turned to look at the staircase only to find it was gone. I looked all over in panic but all I could see was an endless blue and twinkling white lights. Other colors swirled around above me. Greens and yellows, and married with the blue and twisted away. I felt I had no other option but to walk towards the red sliver.
I could almost see through it into, another room maybe, but it was very hard to tell. A bright light interfered with my vision. I took one more gander around the blue room and put my boot in front of me.

The path seemed to open up for me with every step
and as I moved forward I could tell that it was
in fact another room in front of me. I was
starting to be able to make out
a wall of the grey brick.
And Candles burning.
Lots of candles
aligning
the floors.
I was stu
ck
a
n
d
h
ad
to p
ull myself
hard through towards the light
but the room seemed to want to hold me
in place, but at last it gave way and I was able to break out into the candles.

The room was larger than I expected when I walked out into it. The ceiling disappeared into an endless black, but the same white twinkles popped forth every so often. Candles were in fact everywhere, except in front of me. They led to a table in the middle of the room furnished with more candles, some burning on the floor others on smaller end tables. A fat figure was hunched over the table moving about in an odd fashion as if it was looking at something.
"Were-- were you crying out for help?" I stammered out of my mouth. It turned around with a hiss. The face of this thing startled me and I nearly fell over in the candles. It had the face of a lizard. Its snout was covered in a red goop. Sharp teeth jutted from it's lips and then formed into a cunning grimace. Upon it's cold blooded face set a pair of pince-nez glasses, behind which bright red pupils gleamed out as if it had a new purpose. It took me in with it's eyes, then turned around pulling gloves off it's hands. I could finally see what it had been studying so intently when I arrived. A body of a man lay splayed and dissected upon the table.
"Welcome Thomas, just in time!" It's voice was sharp and high pitched. The beast shuffled itself forward, legs effortlessly propelling its large body into the space not but 10 feet from me.

I turned to escape behind me, but there were nothing but candles now.

"Thomas, my dear. Do not worry. It’s time for your game." I looked back at the thing it's head now tilted to the right. It’s tongue darted out and lapped the blood from it's jowls. Then again contorted into a deranged smile, sharp teeth still poking forth.

"Now."

It reached into it's pocket. "Here is the game. It's very simple and I think you will enjoy it." It paced to the left and tossed a dice on the ground in front of it. Then meandered back to it's right tossing another dice on the ground. It finished tossing another dice to its right, then returned to it's position in the middle.

I started to look at what the dice read, but the thing snapped it's jaws at me a loud clash of tooth on tooth resounded throughout the room causing all my focus to stare back at it.

"Thats not the game!" It slurped red spit back into it's mouth. It took a moment to collect itself, then finally let out a long sigh and then snapped it's fingers. The dice shook and grew in front of me. "You now have three cubes in front of you. I want you to pick one, but just so you know...

One cube will take you
home to your apartment
and sadly it will end the
game and out time together

One cube will allow you one
wish! Anything of your greatest
desire will be fulfilled. Few
can ever receive such delight

One cube you are mine.
If you choose this one I will
devour you and your soul
forever. As so many before you

...so it is your choice to make Mr. Thomas. I will not interfere." The creature eyed me. "No need to be afraid." It's teeth shown through quivering lips as the corners of it's mouth poked upwards near it's eyes.

I stared long at the boxes in front of me. They all looked the same and I started to grow fearful of the choice. Trapped in this room and only one more choice to be made. I thought about my brother and I playing the shell game as kids. How it was easier when you could keep and eye on the choice, but the second you lost it the game became difficult. 'Even Stevens' we would say when that occurred.

"Even Stevens" I said and stepped towards the middle box. The creatures lips widened and it squinted its eyes. With anticipation or anger I did not know.

I pushed on the top of the box. The lid flung open. I peered over in panic, but the box was completely empty. I could only smell for the first time in this nightmare, the smell of Wisteria in spring. I remembered how wonderful that smell was when I was a child.
The creature rushed forth and grabbed me by the arm holding it tight as it too looked into the box. With it’s other claw it pulled the box over to to tilt it so that it could see within.

"Gah!" it grunted and looked up at me opening it's mouth then snapping it shut. It looked back into the box and corrected it's spectacles.

"Eyaghhh" a hollow noise rumbled through it's body. It looked back at me and threw my arm away from it. It spat upon the ground and it grimaced and growled at me.

I could feel how angry it was.
Then it’s face turned into a ripple amongst water, and as it
started bubbling outward

I…

It faded
from


my
vision

as

I


started

falling



away


I awoke this morning in my bed with a terrible headache like I had drank all the wine in the world. I barely made it to the toilet and dry heaved into the bowl. Thinking about the awful dream and wishing I had never met alcohol. At last my stomach calmed and I turned on the sink. I stuck my face under the tap to lap up as much water as I could. I wiped the excess from my mouth and then noticed my wrist. There was a bruise in the outline of a hand like something had squeezed me tight.
When I walked out to my kitchen on my counter the bottle of wine I had picked out in a paper bag. Within the bag there was a small note.

"Let's play again sometime."
-- G