It was a quiet Friday afternoon when a loud pounding at his door disturbed Topher Porter. He was greeted by the postman who offered him a sealed envelope. The man left towards his motor bike as Topher tore into the letter and read it.
Meet me at my home as soon as you get this. I have something wondrous to show you
~Almyra
Almyra was a peculiar girl who Topher met in grade school. Many of their peers thought she was an oddball because of the way she presented herself, but Topher found her to be charming, and they quickly became the best of friends. Topher quickly grabbed his satchel, and headed out the door towards Almyra's house.
Topher was taller that most of his classmates, and hated being so. He felt like his stature intimidated most, which prevented people from seeing the caring soul underneath. He wore a pair of brass goggles across his forehead, a white open collared shirts with his sleeves rolled up, a pair of leather gloves, grey stockings, black shoes, and a pair of dark brown shorts held up by suspenders.
He brushed his hand through his short black hair as he walked by a storm drain. He coughed into his hand after breathing in some of the grey smoke emanating from it. When Topher finally arrived at Almyra's house, he walked up the cobbled steps and slammed the lion's head knocker twice against the door. Mrs. Rowley was the first to answer his call.
"Come in, Come in," she spoke, scooting Topher into her den. Mrs. Rowley was Almyra's mother, and although Almyra claimed to loathe her, she always treated Topher as one of her own. She was a portly woman with a round warm face and sandy blonde hair draped around it. She rushed past him and into the kitchen. "Make yourself at home, dear." She called back as Topher followed.
"Where's Almyra at?" Topher asked.
"She's upstairs getting fixing her hair. Would you like something to eat? I just made a fresh meat pie."
"No thank you. I just ate."
"Hey there, Topher," came a voice from the side room.
"Hello Sir," Topher responded as Mr. Rowley came into the room. Mr. Rowley was a stout man that wore large horn-rimmed glasses. His hair and clothes were slightly shuffled, and he bobbed side to side slightly as if a small push could topple him. He gave Topher a wide almost frightening smile. Topher could smell the cheap whiskey on his breath.
"How are you today, lad?" he asked.
"I'm doing alright, sir."
"Oh, Topher. Did Almyra tell you that we went to the new cinema?" Mrs. Rowley chimed in.
"No, she didn't."
"It was quite marvelous really. We took the whole family." Mrs. Rowley went on with her story. Topher faded in and out of the conversation, politely nodding when necessary. In the corner of his eye, he saw a white blur disappear behind a door.
"Its just astonishing how they can capture moving people on that film. I still don't know how they do it," She said.
"Can you excuse me for a second?" Topher asked.
"Oh sorry," Mrs. Rowley replied."Almyra's waiting upstairs. Go on up."
Topher instead headed down the corridor towards the white blur. Beside the sofa, a white cat with long fur sat licking her paw. As soon as she saw Topher, the cat tried to make a run for it, but he quickly scooped her up. The cat looked at him with disdain.
"Don't look at me like that. It's not my fault you’re so fluffy." Topher said as he stroked her. Topher had an almost obsessive love for animals, but his family had forbade him from owning one himself, so took any opportunity he could to play with one. The cat meowed at him and struggled to get free, but Topher just held her tighter.
When the cat finally stopped struggling, Topher was finally free to notice the girl crouched down across the room. She was plain and skinny, and had her hair tied behind her head.
"Hello Anne." Topher called. Anne was busy rearranging her collection of figurines into different angles, which was almost a daily habit of hers. There was something off about that girl, according to Almyra. Topher thought that was just Almyra's jealousy towards her sister coming out, but soon realized Almyra was telling the truth. Anne stood up and dreamily gazed at Topher. She always looked like she was staring past Topher as if he were about to be attacked by a stranger, instead of directly at him, and this always gave Topher the instinct to look behind him as well, but learned to suppress that feeling over the years.
"Oh, hi Topher. Have you seen my newest figurine?" She held out her hand to reveal a tiny statue of a carousal horse.
"Err. That's great." Topher said, slowly creeping to the exit. Anne had always given him an eerie feeling. "I better go find Almyra. She's waiting for me." He left the room, and walked up the staircase to Almyra's room, still holding that cat that had renewed its attempt at freedom.
Outside of Almyra's door sat another girl. She was a dark skinned girl with a heart shaped face wrapped inside a bandana with a flora design. She wore a flowing maroon dress with many layers and long sleeves. Her name was Cynthia Dawkins, Topher and Almyra's friend, and the one that finished their tightly knit trio.
"So what's this big surprise Almyra dragged me all the way over for?" Topher asked Cynthia.
"I don't know. She just told me to wait out here while she finished." Topher let the cat out of his arms, and it scampered off down the stairs as fast as she could run. He then tried the knob on Almyra's door. As expected it was locked, so he pounded on it instead.
"What are you doing in there?" Topher asked.
"Hold on. I'm almost done!" Almyra called back from behind the door. Topher shrugged, leaned against the wall and folded his arms against his chest. A few minutes passed by when the door finally opened, and Almyra walked out. Many people thought her odd because of the untraditional way she dressed. She had a tendency to wear imported skirts or man's trousers instead of a more practical dress for a lady. Today she opted for the latter, wearing a black satin skirt with belt buckles going down the sides. She also had on a white shirt much like Topher's with a pinstriped vest over it, and large boots like a soldier might wear. But the most bazaar thing about her today was her hair. It was cut shorter just past her chin, and it was colored in streaks of purple in the back and bright green in the front.
"What do you think?" Almyra asked.
Cynthia's eyes widened in astonishment as she stood up. Topher bellowed in laughter.
"You look like a macaw vomited on your head!" Topher proclaimed.
"Don't listen to him. I think its lovely," Cynthia assured her while touching her hair.
"No, its actually pretty spiffy," Topher said, brushing a tear out of his eye. "It's just.... different."
"That's what I wanted," replied Almyra.
"So how did you do it? I've never seen anything like it." Cynthia asked.
"Well, I was at the apothecary, picking up a few things, and I saw these bottles of different colored inks. I asked the clerk what they were for, and he said they change your hair color, so I bought a few. You just put it in your hair, and rinse it out an hour later, and voila," Almyra said, finishing her story. " On another note, there's a bazaar that is running today across town. Would you two like to accompany me?"
"Sounds fun," replied Topher.
"I've got nothing else to do," Cynthia said. Almyra gathered her bag, and the three of them left Almyra's house.
Elijah Frost Community Member 
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