História The Camera: P.1 - Chapter I: Egor, The Tinkerer

“Welcome to Egor’s Antique Shop. How may I be of assistance today?” Egor asked as Amy and Wally walked into the store.

The door shut behind them. As the red painted, wooden door closed, the bell that rested a couple inches above the door, rang and sang again. The bell was there to indicate customers walking in and out of the store. Amy and Wally walked up to Egor at the front counter. Egor noticed something about this couple. He noticed that they were looking for something specific….a camera. Not just any digital camera you see in today's time, but a vintage camera from way back in the early forties around World War II. They walked over to the glass countertop and looked at one very specific camera...the Test Camera 1925.

“Ahh, I see you found the Test Camera 1925. She's quite a beauty isn't she?” Egor asked while kneeling down to unlock the glass cabinet.

There were a lot of camera displayed in the glass cabinet. But Amy and Wally wanted to see that very Camera they desired desperately. Egor then reached his hands in the glass cabinet and gently picked up the camera and pulled it out. He then set the camera down on a silk cloth and presented the camera to the couple.

“How much do you want for it? I'll give you ten-thousand for it!” Amy said as soon as Egor set the camera down.

He looked at Amy with nervousness in his eyes. He knew secrets about this camera no one else knew, except for the C.S.I Agents that brought the camera back to him after the previous owners disappeared after purchasing the camera.

“Is there a story behind this camera? Like where it came from? When it was made? Just the basics?” Wally questioned Egor as he shed a sweat tear down the side of his face.

Egor picked up his keys from off the countertop and walked out from behind the counter. He walked over to the front door and locked it. He then grabbed his open and close sign and turned it to closed. He then walked back over to the counter. Amy and Wally seemed very suspicious on why Egor was locking the door.

“If I may Egor; why'd you lock the door? Aren't you open until 8:30 tonight? It's only 4:21 p.m.?”

“Why yes, you're absolutely right Wallace. But in order to tell you the backstory of this camera, I must tell you in secret. No one else can know about the secrets this camera holds.” Egor stated.

“Now that the door is locked; allow me to begin. It all started back in 2009 when a young couple like yourselves came into my store. They purchased this very camera you see before yourselves. They paid triple the price you are about to pay today. For one, I would advise you not to take pictures with this camera. This camera has the capabilities of manipulating your mind and making you believe what it wants you to believe. Don't say I didn't warn you. Anyways, the family brought the camera home one night and decided to go against my warning and decided to take a picture of themselves. When they did, they were never seen again until today. They came into my store a couple of weeks ago. But they weren't the young couple anymore. Instead, they were older, much older like me. And so on and so forth, they came into my shop and saw this very camera. They said that they remembered taking the picture but after that, they remembered nothing. They said that their minds were blank. All they remembered was sitting on a bench in Central Park in 1942! Just so you know, this camera has many more secrets, but once you put it on display, I hope, you'll see that it's an ordinary camera.” Egor told the couple.

“Well, that seems intimidating. We’ll take it!” Wally and Amy said not caring about the consequences of taking pictures. Little did they know, that they would have the same fate as the last couple that purchased the camera a couple of years ago.

Egor then walked over to the register, hesitantly, and started punching in the numbers. Wally then pulled out his MasterCard credit card and asked if he took MasterCard.

“Yes I do. I see you have a chip reader credit card. When you hear the beep, you can insert your card at the bottom when prompted.” Egor said quietly.

Amy and Wally were so excited to take the Camera home with them and show the family. It was going to be a gift to their great grandmother, who is eighty-seven years old. Her name is Susie Parker. Susie loved collecting antiques and ancient relics of the past. One thing she needed to complete her collection was a Test Camera 1925 camera. She had never seen one, much less held one in all of her lifetime. This camera is the only thing she had wanted from the family for ages and now she's finally getting her wish.

“Alright Mr. Harper. You're all set to go. Let me come unlock the door for you. I'm closing early the next couple of days because I have family business to attend to.” Egor lied to Amy and Wally.

Egor then ran to the front door and unlocked it with his keys. He then walked back to the counter and pulled out a box from below the glass countertop. He put the silk cloth and camera into the box and pulled out his tape gun and staple gun.

“Just so it doesn't fall out, I'll triple tape it for you along with some heavy duty staples. And don't worry the purchase comes with a replacement warranty. So if you lose it, we will find a new exact camera and ship it to your house.” Egor said nervously as he gave the dangerous camera to the curious couple.

“Thank you Egor. We hope to do business again soon!” Amy and Wally said as they opened the front red painted door and walked out of the store.

Egor then put his face in the palms of his hands. He had made the biggest mistake ever by putting the camera back on display, even when the C.S.I people told him to keep it off the shelves for good.

“What have I done? I just put another family's lives in danger. Once they find out the real secrets of the camera, they'll never see the light of the 21st Century again. But hey that's not my problem, I'm just the Tinkerer,” Egor told himself.