[STORY] Mysterious Souvenir (Patreon)

Diana just came back from her vacation in Africa, she bought some tiny bottles with tiny replica of landscapes in Africa from a strange gift shop located in a middle of forest. When she came home, she visited her sister Eveline in her house, she gave a bottle to Eveline as a souvenir. After some chit-chat, Diana went back to her home.

Eveline : Thank you for the souvenir, it's really beautiful. Please give my regards to your husband.

Diana : No problem, give my regards to your son too.

Eveline : Actually he's upstairs now, as usual he's playing game all day.

Diana : You must tell him to stop playing games, he really needs to go outside sometimes.

Eveline : Yeah I will tell him

Eveline closed the door, sat on the sofa and take a look at the bottle that her sister gave her.

Eveline : Such a beautiful mountain, this replica is really well made, just like the real one. I wonder how they made things like this.

When Eveline was sitting on the sofa, her son, Brian came down from his room upstairs.

Brian : Has Aunt Diana go home already?

Eveline : Yes, she already left, why you didn't go downstairs when she was here?

Brian : I was playing online game, besides I don't really like Aunt Diana, she always told me to stop playing games.

Eveline : But she has a point, Brian. You need to stop playing games like a maniac, you should take a vacation with your friends sometimes, like your aunt.

Brian : Yeah yeah, whatever you say mom. By the way, what is that?

Eveline : This is from your aunt, a souvenir from Africa. Take it with you, maybe you can get motivated to go somewhere because of this.

Brian : Wow this is really cool!  I'm curious, I will open the bottle.

Eveline : Be careful, I think it is really fragile.

Brian opened the bottle, then suddenly the bottle was shaking, Brian tried to hold it as strong as he can.

Brian : Mom, what's happening?

Eveline : I don't really know.

Suddenly, the bottle sucked Brian slowly, first from his right hand, then his body.

Brian : WHAT IS HAPPENING??!! MOM! HELP ME!

Eveline : OH MY GOD! BRIAN, HOLD MY HAND!

Eveline tried to pull Brian's left hand to saved him, but it didn't strong enough to stop the force from the bottle that sucking her son. Eveline couldn't hold it anymore, then Brian's body sucked completely into the bottle. Right after that, the bottle sucked the tip of the bottle and closed the bottle tightly, then the bottle stopped sucking. Eveline caught the bottle before it fell. By instinct, Eveline looked the bottle closely, then she saw a tiny little speck was falling from the top of the bottle to the replica of the mountain. The tiny little speck was moving like a person, he fell on to some trees in the middle of the jungle of that replica of mountain. Eveline realized that the tiny speck was Brian. She panicked and tried to open the bottle, but she can't.

Eveline : Brian!!! Are you there sweety? Can you hear me?

Brian lost in the middle of the jungle inside the bottle. Eveline put the bottle on the desk, then she called Diana.

Eveline : Hello Diana!! What is that bottle actually??

Diana : Wait, before you say anything, did someone opened the bottle?

Eveline : Yes! Bri...

Diana : STOP! I understand, I will go to your home as soon as possible.

Diana arrived at Eveline's house.

Diana : Okay, I know what is happening, but first, who opened the bottle?

Eveline : It was Brian, he's inside of it right now!

Diana : Oh no, this is bad.

Eveline : You know something about this?

Diana : At first I didn't know, but when I came home, I also gave one of these to my neighbor who lived alone next to my house. He opened the bottle right in front of me and he sucked into the bottle, just like Brian. The one I gave to him is a landscape of a desert in Africa, so I could see him pretty clear, although he's so tiny, the only thing I saw was a tiny little speck moving around the desert. I took the bottle to my house, and I opened the bag which I got from the shop where I bought those bottles. I found a paper, it says "DON'T OPEN THE BOTTLE, IT CONTAINS A DANGEROUS DARK MAGIC". In short, this bottle was made by a African Sorcerer by using dark magic, the replica itself was made by magic, that's why it looks very real. The bottle with suck the one who opened the bottle. After the bottle is closed, it cannot be opened anymore.

Eveline : Then, why don't we try to break the bottle? We can release him right?

Diana : I don't think it's a good idea, because I tried it before. I put the bottle on my desk and I broke the bottle with a hammer, but the desert just spilled like ordinary sand, it means that the desert will stay at that size, and I was right. I saw my neighbor walked out from the bottle, he's very very tiny, I couldn't see him clearly but I knew he was panicking and tried to say something to me. But, my eyes get distracted for a second, and I realized I lost him from my sight. I tried to search for him, but there is no use, he's very small, every tiny dots on my table can be him.

Eveline : So what did you do?

Diana : I gave up, I wiped my desk with a tissue, I think he wiped along with the dust on my desk. I don't really care about him, luckily he's living alone in his house because he ran away from his family, no one will really search for him.

Eveline : But this is my son! This is my son inside of this bottle.

Diana : I know, but there is no way to restore him to the normal again. I'm sorry, but the best way for this is to keep the bottle safe. He will start to live there from now. Don't worry about food, the replica is pretty much like the real one, it can be eaten like a real food. Besides, this is a good opportunity for him to live outside.