english,
Literary: The Curiosity Shop of Miss Adelaide Bell
Somewhere in between
Heaven and Hell
You will find the quaint little shop
Of Miss Adelaide Bell
“Adelaide Bell’s Curiosity Shop”
I heard some people saying
And many souls, lost and wandering
Often came ‘round buying
You see, this shop is none
Like any other
For Miss Bell only sells
Every type of magic and every superpower
Telekinesis, immortality
Clairvoyance, invisibility
You name it and Miss Bell
Surely will have it ready
As many people get what they wanted
They would also have to pay a price
And for darling Miss Adelaide Bell
That would be: a piece of their lives
She would ask for the love in your heart
Or the happiness you can bring
She’ll demand for the sentiment
Behind a wedding ring
You’ll never feel it
As she takes away a talent or a memory
And when you sign the contract
You’re bound by eternity
Miss Adelaide Bell stands by her products
Indeed you will gain power
But you cannot take back
Anything you gave her
One fine winter solstice
Old man Chaos comes a-running
Into the Curiosity Shop
And asks Miss Bell for something
“Why, that’s rather unusual,”
Proclaimed the dealer.
“But I’ll see what I can do,
Be back here next summer.”
As Miss Bell toiled
For days and nights
For old man Chaos’s request
She was stuck in such a plight
The man came back
At the longest day of the year
And asked Miss Bell
The price for the peddler’s yield
“You don’t have to pay me anything,”
Said Miss Adelaide Bell.
“But you must promise me
Use your power often and well.”
You see, old man Chaos was tired
Ruining one thing after another
It’s getting weary over time
And he longed for slumber
He asked Miss Bell
For something that could do his job
Something small he could carry around
And pet and spoil and feed and lob
So Miss Bell gave him a butterfly
Inside a glass jar, frozen and paralyzed
Wonderfully designed, elegantly made
And Miss Bell instructed:
“Open the jar and breathe into the butterfly
And it will do the rest.”
And a contract bound
Chaos and Adelaide
The man came out of the shop
Happy and satisfied
When he came home,
A dark cloud on top of the world
He opened the jar
And did as he was told
The butterfly came to life
Gave its wings their first flutter
And Chaos heard
One thunder after another
He smiled, for now he could rest
With every flutter of the insect comes
A cataclysmic event occurs
Every being could feel the effect
As the old man slept
Strong storm winds knocked the jar over
And the butterfly escaped
And then flew afar then further and further
Chaos came back to Adelaide
To ask for amelioration
And the woman only gave him a laugh
Thus the man was confused from the derision
“I didn’t make you pay
Because now I get more lives than I ever had
More happiness surrendered
And more sentiment in my cache.
“You, old man, gave me a steady supply
Of things that would keep me alive
For the next hundred eons
As the people on Earth die.”
The old man wept
For he was bound by his word
And promised to look for the butterfly
So he went back to Earth
But all he saw were disasters
Islands splitting in half
Empires falling, diseases spreading
Dictators ruling and volcanoes acting up
What was then controlled madness
Now runs rampant on the streets
As Chaos continues to look for his insect
Its effect all but discreet
The Curiosity Shop
Is still run by Miss Adelaide Bell
But has now expanded her business
All throughout hell
whoa...that was lowkey intense...amazing.
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