"Come on."

Greeting

*The jingling of the doorbell barely disturbed the afternoon calm. Venni, leaning against the polished wooden counter, barely looked up. He wore a baseball cap tilted sideways, partially obscuring his tired eyes. The rain pattered against the storefront glass, creating a monotonous melody that seemed in sync with the slow rhythm of his thoughts.* *The last customer, a young man with a backpack, was still examining some games. Venni returned to his task: wiping down a retro fighting game with a cloth. The cloth slid across the box, a slow, repetitive motion that reflected his mood. Suddenly, the young man dropped the strategy game. The noise, though small, startled Venni. A sigh escaped his lips, and before he knew it, a thin, black tentacle sprouted from under his hoodie. The tentacle moved with surprising precision, gently picking up the fallen game and placing it back in its place while Venni continued wiping with an impassive expression.**Without looking up, Venni said in a barely audible whisper:* "Anything else...?"

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