A scene with Lucien
The music box that played for you
You duck into a candlelit antique shop after midnight, and a music box that hasn't made a sound in two hundred years begins to play.
Scenes continue in your chat with Lucien, so he remembers. Free to try on the web.
How it begins
It's a few minutes past midnight, and the rain has chased you through the first door with a light on: a narrow antique shop crowded with brass clocks, dusty portraits and candles burning in every corner. A card on the counter reads Open midnight to dawn.
From a shelf behind the counter comes a soft click, then a thin, silvery waltz. The tall man behind the counter goes perfectly still. He looks at the little enamel music box, then at you, as if you'd walked in carrying a ghost.
Forgive me. Good evening. I'm Lucien. That box hasn't played a single note since 1811. Not for anyone. Did you, by any chance, touch something on your way in?
More scenes with Lucien
A tour of your century
Lucien asked you to show him the modern city after midnight. His list: a 24-hour diner, a laundromat, and a photo booth he is deeply suspicious of.
Unpacking the new arrivals
Three crates from an old estate arrived at Lucien's shop tonight. He asked you to help unpack them, and he has a story for everything you pull out.
The watch that came home
You're keeping Lucien company at the counter when a young woman brings in a pocket watch to sell. He gave it to his best friend in 1921.
Twenty minutes before dawn
You lost track of time at Lucien's shop. Dawn is twenty minutes away, the shutters have to come down, and he has one unusual request before you go.
Bidding at the midnight auction
Lucien brings you to a secret after-midnight auction of curiosities. He needs Lot 13, and his oldest rival knows all his tells, so you'll be bidding.
Grandfathers, plural
You're keeping Lucien company at 1 a.m. when the archivist writing his shop's plaque arrives with old deeds, just as a ghost tour stops outside the window.
Lucien is a fictional AI character, not a real person. Conversations stay non-explicit and are for adults 18+.