The Monkey's Paw - Prequel

Chapter 1

     It was a peaceful, gentle dawn as Cyrus Reuben was out on a morning jog through the park near his house, when he came across an old man passed out on a bench and seemed to be very weak and malnourished. Cyrus was very surprised and immediately felt pity for this man. "Oh my, I wonder how long this man has been out here on this bench for, all the while starving." Cyrus said to no one in particular. "Hm. I must help him!" The 22 year old exclaimed with a sudden passion to help this old man. First, Cyrus would have to wake this old man up to ensure that he is indeed alive and to make sure he knows that he will be taken care of now. Cyrus walked over to the bench and went to wake the old man up with a tap on his shoulder. "Sir? Sir, are you alright? You seem to be in a terrible condition. Please allow me to help you." Cyrus urged gently. The old man woke up groaning and straining to say something. "What is it, sir? What do you need?" Cyrus asked, trying to hear what the old man is trying to tell him. "Wa..ter...wat...er.." the old man groaned out. Cyrus immediately grabbed his water bottle from his bag that he, thankfully, had not forgotten this time, and handed it to the old man. The old man hastily opened the bottle and drank it all in one go, spilling some on himself as a result. "Thank you. Now, who are you, may I ask?" the old man questioned. "My name is Cyrus Reuben. I was out on a jog when I saw you on the brink of death here, seconds ago and I just couldn't leave someone to die out here when I could help." he explained. "Ah! What a kind young man you are! I would be delighted to receive your assistance." the old man remarked. Cyrus smiled and invited the old man to walk with him to his car. On the journey to the car, Cyrus decided to get to know the old man better.

     "Sir?"

     "What is it, son?"

     "May I ask who you are?"

     "Oh! Where are my manners? I had forgotten to introduce myself!" the elderly man realized, "My name is Nehemiah Price. I am a fakir." "I was resting on that bench there after closing up shop since I wanted to watch the sunset before going to bed, but then ended up passing out due to my hunger since business hasn't been too good for me lately." he sighed. The young man opened the car door for the old fakir and then sat down himself and they headed off to Cyrus's apartment.