yiler-5 [Biases & Fallacies]

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====== Yiler's Story: Chapter 5 ======

By [[yiler-huang| Yiler Huang]]

Damon stood in front of a store. He looked down on a piece of paper, given by the arrow maker, that had the address of the store written on it. He scanned the plaque on the wall. He found the snake wine store. In front of the building, there were two wooden doors with **__shapes__** resembling twisted snakes sculpted neatly on them. Unlike the previous store he had visited, this one seemed more clean and tidy. Damon knocked on the doors tentatively and waited for a response. 

After a minute or so, no one answered Damon's door knocks. 

He pushed the doors open carefully and stepped into the building. It was dark inside. The curtains were drawn, and the only light source was shimmering candles sitting on tables. Damon looked around and noticed that he was surrounded by dozens of cages stacked on one another, each one with one or two snakes in it. Some of them stayed still as if they were asleep, and some of them hissed at Damon aggressively. 

“Is there anyone here?” Damon asked. 

No one responded.

Damon walked deeper into the store and realized a woman was sitting at a desk at the very end of the store. The room was so poorly lit that she almost appeared invisible. Her black **__clothes__** made it even harder to spot her in the dark room. She had her arms folded on the table and her chin resting on her arms. A small cage containing a slim white snake sat on the table. The woman stared at the cage idly, occasionally sticking her finger in it to play with the snake. 

“Um… are you the owner of the store?” Damon asked.

“Sorry, but we’re opening for business today,” The woman spoke with a flat tone.

“Someone told me the store opens on **__weekdays__**, and today’s a Monday. Shouldn’t it be open today?” Damon questioned.

“Yes, it should.” The woman sighed and said dully.

“Can I buy a jar of snake wine from you then?” Damon asked politely.

The woman sighed again. “My apologies, but I just don’t feel like working today.” She said and proceeded to bury her face in her arms.

“Why is that?” Damon asked curiously.

The unenergetic store owner sat up again as she spoke. “I bought a **__ticket__** to Roderick Chantweaver’s show, but it got canceled.”

“I’m sorry, but who is he?” Damon asked.


“Have you been living under a rock?” She remarked. “He’s the greatest bard to ever live, and I’m his biggest fan. It’s a show that I must see. I’ve been waiting for quite a long while. I even bought the ticket from a reseller. They even charged me twice as much. The bloody resellers!”

“What does this have to do with the store not opening?”

“I’m waiting for him to announce where his next gig will be, and I’m not in the mood to work before that happens. I’ve already missed a gig, but I won’t miss the next one. Not this time.” The store owner face-planted into her arms again. 

“Wouldn’t you spend more money and time if you do that?” Damon questioned.

“Perhaps.” The woman said with a sigh. “But I’ve already paid for the first ticket, it will all go to waste if I can’t even see Roderick’s show. Unless you can somehow make Roderick play a gig here in Silvereach, which I think is impossible, or else I’ll be here waiting for the announcement.” Her voice muffled in her sleeves.

“What if I made him play a gig here? Would you sell me the wine if I was able to do that?”

“It sounds lunatic to me, but good luck with that.” The store owner chuckled unenergeticly and said. 

{{::yiler-chapter-5-illustration.png?1000|}}

===== The fallacy in this chapter: The Sunk Cost Fallacy =====

{{ ::yiler-sunk-cost-audio.mp3 |}}