Continuation of my new story.

She set her things down on the counter and settled down on her couch. Aya cut the tape holding the box shut. On the very top was an envelope. Aya bit her lip and decided to open it.

"Congratulations. Your curiosity has gotten you this far. Now, I'm sure you have many questions, but they will be answered. First, I suggest you keep the flier you found today safe. It will come in handy later. Second, be very wary of new people you meet during this time. Third, this is not meant to be a dangerous challenge, but if you don't pay attention, it just might be. Lastly, you cannot back out of this challenge now that you have read this letter. Go through till the end. Good luck."

Aya frowned deeply. The letter didn't sound good at all. Setting aside the letter, Aya searched through the newspaper padding the other items in the box. One by one, she got the items out and lined them on her coffee table. By the end, she had 3 animal figurines, a framed wedding picture, two old musty books and a stone with the word 'Tame' on it.

Quizzically, Aya looked over everything. She ran her hands over the animal figurines. They felt like they were molded from clay, fired and unglazed. However, Aya realized that they had amazing detail. Her personal favorite was the tiger. It was crouched and ready to pounce, mouth open ready to bite. Next was a panda, sitting upright with a piece of bamboo in hand. Lastly, there was a penguin. It stood tall and regal, beak high in the air.

Next, Aya looked at the books. One had tape running along the spine. It seemed to be diary, the writing was small and plain. There were no loops or anything that hinted at a character. However, Aya knew it was hand written. Ink splotches appeared on almost every page. Some pages even had doodles. Mostly flowers, but there was an
occasional house cat here and there.

The other book looked like an ancient medical journal. The script was very carefully written and looked very official. There were many drawings, and most looked super accurate. Sighing, Aya closed the book. How would any of these things help her?

Not wanting to give up, Aya looked at the picture. A simple wooden frame held the picture. The picture itself was the bride and groom, standing side by side, with grins plastered on their faces. They looked stiff and nervous, almost as if they weren't sure if they wanted to go through with it.

Aya took out the backing that was holding the picture in place. She wanted to get a closer look at their faces. "There must be something more..." she thought. Upon taking the back out, a piece of paper floated to the ground. She picked up the paper,cautious. "Beware the one that sows happy dreams." Aya read aloud. Her face immediately crumpled in confusion. "What is that supposed to even mean?" She exclaimed, and threw her hands up in exasperation.

She sat, staring at the wall for many moments. Beginning to get frustrated, Aya looked for the paper that lead her to this. While she was up, she also grabbed a pen and paper. She settled back down on her couch and began to decipher the numbers. The big part was just making sure the numbers were correct. However, it wasn't long until her concentration was broken by another phone call. "Hello?" she answered.
"Hey, I'm going to come pick you up around ten tomorrow. Is that OK?"

"Mhm, sure. Just fine Kayin"

"Awesome. Oh, and check your e-mail when you can. I sent you pictures of the place you're working with."

Aya sighed loudly. "Alright. I'll check them out. I hope you're going to be content with fake flowers, though..." She trailed off.

"Hey, whatever works. I'm sure you'll make it wonderful." Kayin replied, almost sounding like she was shrugging.

"Um, ok. Well, I have to go now... so I'll talk to you tomorrow, OK?"

"Yeah, sure Aya. See ya tomorrow."

Sighing, Aya checked her e-mail. However, she had to admit, she could envision a lot of things going on. Thankfully, it wasn't going to be a huge project.

Exhaling, Aya looked at the last thing from the package. She ran her fingers over the stone many times. She just could not get over how smooth it felt. The light gray stone had mesmerizing swirls of black running through it. 'Tame' was etched deeply and deliberately.

It wasn't long before Aya turned back to the flier. It wasn't that the stone didn't interest her, she just thought that the flier was more important. She jotted down the numbers on her own piece of paper and set to work. However, the later it got, the more she was looking at the drawing. Aya was pretty sure that's the last thing she saw before falling asleep, right there on her couch.
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And thus concludes chapter one