8

Merry abruptly came back to the present, blinking hard at the memory.

She sat forward and noticed three pairs of eyes - Graham, Jackie and a tall waitress with streaked hair of light tan and deep crimson.

"Are you ready to order?" asked the waitress. Merry wondered how long she had been daydreaming. Apparently Graham and Jackie had already ordered and were waiting for her.

"I - I'm sorry, I got a little preoccupied. I'll have the salmon." They had ultimately decided against the popular vegetarian eatery Saffron Path and opted for a fishhouse.

As the waitress nodded, Graham said to Jackie, "thirty three."

"Absolutely not," said Jackie.

"Look," said Graham. "As sure as I'm sitting here in this vinyl booth."

"What are you talking about?" asked Merry.

"Graham says he can read a number on that man's ring." Merry followed Jackie's gesture. At a table behind some stained glass pillars, an unkempt old man sat eating some salmon. He wore a round ring on one hand. The ring had a symbol which looked like some kind of surveying equipment.

"That ring says 33, Graham," said Jackie.

"Why don't you just ask him?" said Merry.

Graham blinked.

"I'll ask him." Merry stood up from the vinyl booth. "Excuse me, sir-"

The man with the ring peered at the three of them. As he turned his head, they caught the glare of his jaundiced eyes.

He spoke, but he was too far away to be heard. There were some stained glass pillars in the way. Merry got up and was joined by Jackie and Graham. The man caught them with his gaze. He reeled them in, and they took shuffling steps towards him.

"Hello, my children," said the old man, now revealed upon closer inspection to be a bit dirtier and less imposing than Merry had initially thought. His Members Only jacket had a blotch of discoloration on one shoulder, and his hair puffed out in a cloud of white.

"Hello," Merry said.

"What is your name?" the old man asked, addressing Merry.

"Merry."

"Glad to meet you, Merry," he said, extending his hand. She shook uncertainly. "My name," he said, "is Down-the-Well."

Jackie muttered something. Graham shot him a look of horror. Jackie furrowed his brow at Graham.

"Well," continued the man unbidden, "I should tell you that my name actually is not Down-the-Well, but that will have to suffice. My true name may not be known."

In an effort to break the steely silence that settled over all four of them, Merry asked, "How's the salmon?"

Down-the-Well tilted his head so-so. He pointed at Merry. "Merry," he pronounced.

Merry nodded.

"And you?" he pointed to Graham.

"Graham."

"Really!" said Down-the-Well. "That's very good. I'm having a very good day. Sam Raimi, Sam Wood, Sam Pectopah. I never knew that all these guys lived in Sloan."

The three friends blinked, because they had no idea what the old man was talking about.

"And Grahams. That's what they told me, Sams and Grahams. So," he looked at Graham. "I hope it goes well down there. They'll take good care of you."

Graham blinked.

Down-the-Well wiggled his pointer finger and Graham disappeared!