Lost Art of Mystery

Over time my sales listings dwindled and the apartment was looking much less cluttered. Early one beautiful Sunday morning, I looked around and saw the large plate glass mirror that had been mounted on the wall for my makeup station. Since pandemic, I’d had it removed, but it had been leaning against a wall since, taking up space and looking awkward. It was too heavy for me to lift, and, living up 3 flights of precarious stairs, it would be risky to carry even with two people. I posted the mirror with detailed dimensions and logistics, offering it free with pick up.

After the post was done, I set about the usual cozy quiet Sunday, making some coffee, putting on music and straightening up my place. It was a sunny day, so I opened the balcony, letting in a light fresh breeze. I sat on my new sectional, enjoying the sound of finches singing as they splashed playfully in a small birdbath on the ledge. Soon enough, the online sales app began to ping. A flurry of notifications came in for the mirror. The messages were from “FireSlayer38” saying he wanted to arrange a pick up, but he would need to coordinate with his buddies to schedule. He seemed very serious and adamant that they would pick it up later that morning, telling me it was for a gym. After a bit, I received another notice on the phone from “FireSlayer38” saying that they would be coming by in the fire truck later on around 11. I rolled my eyes and laughed. Fire truck, right. Shortly, he sent another message. “we’re on route be there close to 12.” I’d given the street which ran between two main roads in the city, without the exact address to be safe. He pinged again, saying they had a break and would be driving over. I got up and decided to get dressed in my most baggy and unflattering outfit. As a friend of mine used to say in NYC when going to risky locales, “better Ugly-Up just to be safe”. I did just that. No makeup, hair in bun, glasses. No attention wanted from this stranger with a firetruck obsession. Oh, and I put on my pandemic mask, of course.

Next, I get another ping from “FireSlayer38” saying they got lost on the way. This confirmed to me that it was some sort of game. Everyone has GPS and if you have a fire truck, you absolutely use GPS! I rolled my eyes.

A few minutes later, I heard it, the sound of a loud vehicle slowly making its way down the narrow street. The noise got louder and louder as it neared our building. I went to look down from the balcony and leaned over to see a full sized fire engine pulling up and four uniformed firemen stepping out!