An Introduction with Jeremy and the Truth!

Jeremy shuffled his feet, looking around for the tenth time as the hands on an old grandfather clock leaning against a brick wall ticked away. Did I somehow mess up? The instructions say to wait by the clock and keep one hand on the wall while the other stays on your heart. There’s no way I can mess up something so simple… unless this is a hoax, like everyone said.

“Things I do for a story,” he muttered as he looked at the clock again… only to see a gray tabby with blue eyes staring at him. “Woah, where’d you come from, kitty? You scared me.”

Jeremy wanted to rub the back of his head but stopped himself in time. Come on. Focus. You came here to investigate the rumors, and you’ve never failed before. You just need to wait at least a couple more hours, and you can go home and try again tonight. He looked at the cat just in time to see it yawn and chuckled. “I don’t suppose you know when the Bizzaro Magica and Oddities open, do you? The website I found didn’t give a time of operations.”

The cat licked its paw. “It’ll open once you’ve decided what you want.”

Jeremy’s eyes widened as he looked around. “Who said that?!”

The cat paused, pink tongue an inch away from its paw as it looked at him. “I did. Didn’t the website mention that some assistance would be provided if needed? Surely, this isn’t that shocking.”

Jeremy didn’t know if he should laugh or run away. The website did say some people have a hard time getting in. But why a cat…? He shook his head. “There’s no way I’m falling for such an obvious trick. The Bizzaro Magica isn’t real. There’s no such thing as talking cats. I hope you’re having fun, whoever you are. But I should warn you. I make my living off of debunking crazy rumors and legends. I’ll have this place the talk of the town before you know it.”

The cat resumed licking its paw. “Suit yourself. But you’ll miss out on quite the experience if you don’t decide what you want, Jeremy. The Bizzaro Magica and Oddities won’t wait forever, you know. We have other customers needing our unique services, and I’m sure you read the part about how we constantly travel to meet every customer’s desire?”

“I did, yeah. But only fools believe everything they read, especially on the internet.” How are they making the voice sound like it's coming from the cat? It’s definitely alive, and I checked the top of the clock when I got here. Maybe someone put a speaker under it?

The cat nodded. “Indeed, only the foolish believe everything they see and read. But how do you explain your ears? You can take your hand off the wall, by the way. You’ll need to move around to find the truth, won’t you, Jeremy?”

Jeremy shook his head. “I already said I’m not falling for any tricks. I’m staying just like this for at least an hour.”

“Fine, but aren’t you going to ask how I know your name? Most people would have by now.” The cat tilted its head, amusement oozing into its voice as Jeremy scoffed.

“You know who I am. You’re either a fan or a hater trying to mess with me. I appreciate you putting in the effort, though. I can’t tell you how often I’ve stood around like an idiot, bored out of my mind, waiting for something to happen.”

The cat yawned and hopped to the ground, walked up to Jeremy’s leg, and swatted him hard enough to draw blood.

“Hey!” Jeremy yelped, jumping back in surprise as he looked around. “Okay, this isn’t funny. You can’t just train animals to attack people. There are laws against that!”

“You took your hand off the wall, Jeremy. Do you plan to wait another two hours, or do you want to figure out what you want so you find the truth?”

Jeremy slapped himself in the forehead and groaned. “That was a cheap shot. Look, I know the last post I did wasn’t the best, but”-

“Do you want me to aim higher this time? I have better things to do than listen to you being foolish, boy. The Bizzaro Magica needs to move on. Kindly make your choice so we can both get on with our day.”

Jeremy rubbed his forehead and sighed, holding his other hand up in defeat. “Fine, we’ll play it your way. How do I find out what I want?”

“What did you want to achieve from coming here? Humans always want something. There’s no shame in that.”

“I wanted to tell a harmless story about a so-called magical bizarre that grants wishes. Maybe make a little money from it. No one is going to get hurt.”

The cat tilted its head. “Has someone gotten hurt by one of your stories?”

“No, but some people get mad when I prove an urban legend is fake. The last story I did was about a haunted closet in an old hotel. It was just your standard ghost peaking out at you in the middle of the night story. But everyone acted like I made the whole thing up! I even found the original post explaining the story. But no one cares about the truth anymore. All they want is drama.”

The cat blinked. “It sounds like you’re the same as your audience.”

“I’m not!” Jeremy immediately deflected, but the cat continued staring at him until he broke. “Or… I don’t try to be. I like doing research on scary things. There are so many stories out there. It’d be a waste not to go deeper into their lore! I’m not trying to get rich. I just want a fun way to spend my time instead of sitting behind a desk or flipping burgers all day.”

“So, you want to know the truth about Bizzaro Magica and Oddities?”

Jeremy nodded. “Pretty much, yeah. I’m not trying to hurt anyone.”

“And what are you going to do if no one believes you?”

Jeremy shrugged. “Honestly, I’d be surprised if anyone did. My stories are about entertainment, not education. I’m not trying to change people’s minds. I’m trying to make life a little more interesting for those who like these kinds of things but don’t want to visit the locations themselves.”

The cat purred, stretched its back, and smirked. “In that case. Why don’t you try the opening ritual again? I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

“But it’s almost ten. The site said the Bizzaro Magica opens at nine every morning.”

“Have you already forgotten you shouldn’t believe everything you read? What kind of business turns customers away an hour after they open?”

Jeremy slowly nodded and placed a hand on the wall and the other over his heart before closing his eyes. It can’t hurt to try again. But I have to admit this is one of the most interesting pranks I- Jeremy didn’t know how to explain what he felt. The wall beneath his hand felt solid and unmovable.

But it also felt like he was touching a large soap bubble. He could feel it curve and quiver against his palm, and Jeremy opened his eyes without realizing it. The wall was still there. The cat was still there. Everything was exactly as it appeared when Jeremy first arrived. But the wall directly beneath his palm still felt like a bubble.

“What… what is this?”

“It’s what you’ve been waiting for. The thing you desire above all is the truth. And here at Bizzaro Magica and Oddities, we guarantee that you’ll find what you’re looking for and have the means to take it home with you on the same day. All you need to do is walk inside. Window shopping will always be free, after all. So, you may as well treat yourself while you can.”

The cat idly rubbed against Jeremy’s leg and asked. “Or, are you too afraid to obtain what you want now that you know you can? There’s no shame in that, Jeremy. No one will force you to choose, but I’m sure you’ve already guessed that the Bizzaro Magica might never return to this ally just because there’s a grandfather clock.”

Jeremy looked at the clock. It was what the website said to look for, the whole thing that helped set the story apart from the others. Bizzaro Magica and Oddities is a place where one can find exactly what they’re looking for and walk away unharmed. That’s what the website and all of the comments promised.