Shy... by Unknown

second.
     
    “Fine choice,” Jonah said. “Now hold it up high here and let us
see how you tinker.”
     
    Gulp… Those eyes
again…
     
     
    ***

 
    In the exact instant I lifted the toy from waistline to chest
level, the loud murmur of the nearby crowd fell silent. All eyes seemed to
shoot downward for half a second at most. Not a sound could be heard afterward.
I stood alone. Throbbing , but alone. Time did not stop, no, it ticked by
ever so slowly, haunting, and taunting and mocking. As if this particular point
was somehow worth remembering with vivid recollection.
     
    And then it happened… Unbelievably, but nonetheless it happened… I
had heard it never left him. It was something that simply always existed and
always would. Like the ringing of sleigh bells or the debauching of harlots.
And yet in this moment, as Jonah Moundrammer looked down at me, I did notice
the gleam in his eye… vanish. However, the remaining portion of his face held,
unflinchingly. Not a single twitch or altering of expressions – a mere big
smile peering onward. Only a subtle, almost imperceptible disappearance of that
famed twinkle. His eyes darkening ever so slightly. Following this
unprecedented occurrence, Mr. Moundrammer quickly lifted his arm high above as
if to cast me away in the most courteous manner possible. But in this exact
instant, his wife’s hand, Mrs. Moundrammer’s, flew through the air in the most
dainty, awe-inspiring display of elegance and refinement – as she suddenly
leaned over before whispering a brief comment in her husband’s ear. Then, quite
suddenly, the head honcho's most precious possession, the twinkle of his eye,
returned to him instantaneously as he spoke the fateful words.
     
    “Toysin Tinkerbottoms, you shall be a toy tinkerer! Welcome to the
family! Now go, go and retrieve your items from down the hall.” A thunderous
laugh, the famed hearty chuckole that only mountains of money can imbue a man
with, erupted within the evaluation chamber. I had somehow succeeded; a
miraculous and dizzifying feat.
     
    I could do nothing but stare awkwardly at the floor, stuck in a
stupor, as I traipsed from the room – all the while sensing another pair of
eyes scanning over my departing figure.
     
    You might say there was something incredible about that incident.
How the crowd went silent – if I were a boasting boy, I would say they were
awe-struck with my show of virility. However, the silence probably stemmed more
from disbelief than reverence. The most shocking occurrence being the moment
the masculine Moundrammer had chosen me, ME! to be a toy tinkerer. Who
knows what Mrs. Moundrammer whispered into his ear. But it seemed to do the
trick. Maybe she told him to send me through as an example of what not to do.
Although Jonah is not a malicious fellow, not from the stories I’ve heard
anyway.
     
    With the jumbled mess of thoughts circling about my head, I walked
on, on to the backroom – the one with a large red door and ivory handle. And
wouldn’t you know it… this turned into one of those awkward what should I do
now? kind of situations. Well, in my defense there was no one there to
greet me. All that Moundrammer had said was to go get my items from down the
hall. And here I was, down the hall… but no items. Only this extravagant red
door. Knocking might help, I suppose, and so I reached my tiny hand forward to
push on the ornate object – yet just as I did so, the door flew open with a
whoosh of pleasantly scented air. The unexpected burst of wind caused my eyes
to close instinctively as the redness swung open to reveal… to reveal a very
young and very comely lady. She must have been just a little older than I was.
     
    “Hello, Toy!” she beamed happily.
     
    I felt my helpless gaze immediately drop to her bosom line. Oh,
dear lord help me! They were perfect! These gorgeous, double hand-fuls of
joyous mirth. The girl wore a skintight dress looking thing, which flared out
at the bottom