Walt was bored out of his mind.

It was 1 PM on a Saturday, and he had only one customer come into his jewellery store. This acne-face 15-year-old came in looking for a ring with a budget of $75 and an expired book token. The kid spent ten minutes looking at rings priced $250 and up, ignoring Walt's advice of looking at items in his price range. Once he had finally chosen a ring, Pimple-popper decided to try to bargain with Walt. It took a lot of self-control but Walt managed to sell the ring for $60 and not bash his own head in using his anvil. Success? Who knows.

The clock ticked away and the minutes passed, but no-one turned their heads to even glance at Stone Jewelers. Once upon a time, Stone Jewelers was the talk of the town. Business was booming and the store was never empty. But that was before his father's death. The recession had hit hard but Jackson Stone's death hit the community harder. It wasn't unexpected, being a jeweler, he was always in contact with Borax. His organs failed because of it and his craft caused his death. The same went for Walt's grandfather, Lewis Stone and his father before that. Walt's mother used to joke that the family business was cursed, that a rival had cast black magic upon the family.

She never made jokes anymore.

Valerie Stone had never properly recovered from her husband's death. There would be days where she would set the table for three, waiting for Jackson to walk into the dining room, full of stories and gossip he learned. When shopping, Walt would have to stop her from buying Ginger Ale and hide the bottles she did. But there would be days where Valerie had to pry Jackson's trumpet from Walt's sleeping arms, returning it to its velvet-lined case hidden in the attic. The whole community had attended Jackson's funeral. Jackson's friends from the Jazz club lined the streets, others joined the procession, escorting his coffin to the graveyard. Walt was only eleven at the time but he vividly remembered the influx of visitors in the month afterwards. Customers and shop-owners alike had started a college fund for Walt. They had even paid off the mortgage for the shop.

Walt shook his head, he couldn't afford to cry on the job. He rested his head down on the display case, trying to regain some composure. After a while, Walt became preoccupied with the jewelry he was wearing. He held the amulets in his hands. All except for one were made by his father. Jackson had spent a gap year in Siwa and had fallen in love with the ancient customs and mythology, most of the amulets Walt owned were Egyptian themed. Jackson had made Walt, Shen, Shu and Boat amulets. They were all made of gold, each one a reminder of the talent Jackson had. Walt also wore twin camel amulets. They were the first jewelry pieces that he ever created. The camels were two different sizes and their shapes were all wrong, but it was the memories that counted. Walt closed his eyes, lifted the camels up and rested them on his forehead. The cool metal felt nice against his skin.

"We can come back if you're busy?" a deep voice said. The speaker had an accent but Walt couldn't identify where it was from.

Walt snapped his eyes open and in confusion threw the camel amulets forward. Before him stood two potential customers. There in front of him was a young man, 23 at most. His dark brown hair cropped short, but not completely shaved off. The young man was slightly lighter than Walt's. His deep brown eyes reminded Walt of a falcon's, beaming with curiosity. He wore a starch white shirt, the first two buttons undone and sleeves rolled up, revealing his muscular forearms. The young man wore a pair of khaki chinos and black Oxford shoes. Around his neck, the young man wore a simple eye of Horus. Walt immediately recognised his father's craftsmanship. Everything about the young man screamed academic, the way he held himself and the sense of accomplishment that he radiated.

Accompanying him was a young woman, maybe Walt's age. She wore a Gun's and Roses shirt, a triangle cut out right above her cleavage. Walt quickly looked down. She wore a short jean skirt and ripped fishnet tights, worn combat boots on her feet. Walt snapped his head up, "is there no safe place to look at this girl?" he wondered. He finally chose to look at the young woman's face. Her eyes were bright blue, like the sea on a summer's day. Her skin was a deep bronze colour. She gave off a laid-back aura but if you looked a little closer, you could sense that she was hyper aware of her surroundings. Walt quickly peeked down to look at the necklace the woman was wearing. Its was another one Egyptian themed necklace made by his

Father. It was a tyet, an Isis Knot. The gold glittered against her exposed skin.

Walt wasn't sure if he should be jealous of the guy because he's with the girl. Or he should be jealous of the girl because she's with the guy. Walt snapped out of his thoughts, "Oh shit I am in deep." he thought.

The young man caught Walt staring.