Ethan Woodward was not one to let things fall out of his notice, and when he read the job postings within the quiet town of Rosewood, that did not change. Not only was there a new posting  - after weeks without a single one to be seen - it was from a new employer that he had never known of. Questions stirred within his mind immediately, but they couldn’t be allowed to stir for long - he needed whatever money he could get, as soon as he could possibly get it. In a moment, Ethan assumed the best, and submitted the best application he could through the right avenue outlined on the posting.

    It was only a second after Ethan’s submission that his phone began to ring, and only another after that before he picked it up.

    “Are you available?”, questioned a voice that Ethan could swear he had heard somewhere before, but one that brought neither a face nor a name to mind.

    “Yes,” he responded promptly, shaking off an idle thought that maybe there was someone of some importance who did leave his notice, as it had to be an impossibility if he conducted himself correctly.

“Good, then come to me as soon as you can. I’ll send you the route, if you’re unfamiliar.”

    Ethan hung up the phone and booked it out of his house, ready to drive anywhere and everywhere. Thankfully, after he received the route, it wasn’t a long drive to the new employer’s location, but upon arrival came another moment of confusion for Ethan. Yet, not one of usual confusion, but one of the tricky sort of confusion generated from knowing all too well how things are supposed to function and where things are supposed to be.

    The route Ethan had been given was familiar - it was the first leg of his old morning commute. He had memorized each and every building along the entire route, and he intuitively

knew each and every sight he was going to see while driving it. However, while trying to make it to his job interview on time, that unwavering constant was rendered a constant no more.

    At the end of his new employer’s route stood a building he had never seen, in the middle of a lot he had never seen, with a turn leading to it that he had never taken. Nothing about the building was otherwise memorable - in fact, it seemed nearly designed against the formation of memories - but a feeling of unease couldn’t help but to creep through Ethan’s head as he positioned himself to park. He dismissed it as soon as it came on his way to the building’s door, but for a moment, it was present.

    After opening the door, Ethan was met with a sight more than worthy of remark. Towards the back of the building  - which wasn’t too far from the front entrance - was a sales counter with an odd selection of wares organized in a very particular manner. Four shelves held one type of item each, and each item was stranger from the last.  

    The first shelf, above the other three, held masks that each looked as if they were uniquely crafted for a given face. Fitting, as each mask was labeled with a person’s name and a price tag. No two masks were the same, no two mask names were the same, and no two mask prices were the same.

    The middle two shelves held discrete varieties of items. The second shelf held an eclectic range of photos, and the third held a range of odd trinkets. No item on those shelves had a price tag - only a name. Curiously, as Ethan came to observe, one could discern that each name matched a name given to a mask. 

    The fourth and final shelf held the most striking type of item out of them all; incredibly detailed replicas of brains. Even details down to the slightest notch on the cerebellum were

perfected, creating a perfect reference for anyone who needed to study the organ. Oddly, the replicas also followed the labeling conventions of the items upon the middle two shelves.

    In front of those wares stood a cashier just as odd. Every bit of the cashier’s body was framed in a tall, dark shadow that seemed to disobey any sort of lighting. This shadow obscured practically every feature of theirs, leaving behind only an imposing silhouette; an image never quite clear, yet never quite obscured either. They held themselves over the counter in an eager pose, waiting for Ethan to make any motion at all.

    “You’re right on time, Ethan,”, the silhouette said, speaking in the same voice Ethan heard over the phone as soon as they saw his hand move.

    “How fortunate,” Ethan replied, trying to sound as enthusiastic as he could muster without overdoing it.

    “Come with me - I’ve got a space to conduct interviews and no reason to complicate the sales floor,”the silhouette motioned, leading the way to what looked to be a supply closet slightly to the left of the shelves full of odds and ends.

    Without a word, Ethan followed, mentally trying to prepare himself for whatever interview questions would come. Clearly, they would not be standard, so he could not answer out of any sort of skill or memory - all he had was himself, and to a man who sought solace in his methods, that was a bit of a threatening notion. Still, he had to push that aside and try his best - rent wasn’t paid with a pair of idle hands, after all.

    The silhouette opened the closet door, revealing a modest room with a table in the middle, with two seats perfectly set on each long side so the pair could face each other. Ethan moved to sit down just as the silhouette did, keeping himself tense even in rest.

“So, Ethan, what unique qualities would you bring to my store?”, the silhouette began, craning over the table in an inquisitive manner.

    “Well, I could sell water to a fish, if I so chose, so if you want sales I could provide them for you quite nicely,”, Ethan replied, with a wary sort of confidence coloring his tone.

    “That’s good, that’s good. But, tell me, what unique qualities do you have? Is that all?”

    “What do you mean?”, Ethan asked, his confidence falling away for just wariness.

    “What makes you, you? Why are you any different from anyone else? And give me something good with this -  I want something that’s uniquely part of you, or at least a part of you in a unique manner.”

    “Well, uh, for a start, I’m bi. Shouldn’t matter much, but that’s at least something to distinctify me by.”, Ethan mustered, trying to think of something about himself that could possibly pique the interest of a being composed of raw shadow.

    “Oho, do go on! That’s something I don’t often hear of interviewees - tell me everything about this part of your life,”

    “It’s...really not much of a story, if I’m going to be frank. It hasn’t played as big a part in my life as I believe it has in the lives of some others.  I just realized at some point or another, then told my parents and my friends - and then we all moved on, like nothing happened. Figure I’m at least fortunate in that,” Ethan continued on, the confidence flickering back into his voice. 

“Oh, and you are! That’s truly a lovely thing to hear. Anything else to mention?”, the silhouette said, rising out of its chair, a glowing approval evident in its tone.

“Well, I’d just like to start working here. I feel like I’ll be a good fit, and I do just really need a job, too,” Ethan admitted.

“Let me ease your mind here; you’ve got the position.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“I just need to get one bit of paperwork from the register, and then I’ll have you all in and ready to go here,”, the silhouette said, moving for the door. 

It did not move to walk through the door - rather, it moved to close it and lock it.

    The moments that came after that motion were quiet ones, where nothing at all seemed to even happen. Any sound was near silent, any motion near still, and any clamor was but a bygone dream. It was as if the store had died, going limp in every aspect on the drop of a hairpin.

    After those moments had passed, the silhouette walked calmly out of the supply closet, making its way to the shelves. In its hands were four new products; a new mask, a framed page out of a balanced checkbook, a tricolor flag, and a brain. It stocked the shelves accordingly, placing each product where it fit. To finish its job, it made sure to label the prices and names of the new products correctly.

Ethan Woodward, $69.99.

Ethan Woodward.

Ethan Woodward.

Ethan Woodward.