A set of bells that hung from a thick blue rope clanged together in a discordant rhythm as I stepped into the shop. It wasn't a pretty sound, like chimes, but it wasn't completely unpleasant either. It reminded me of another place and time, when life was much simpler, and store doors weren't automatic. As a child, I grew up going to Ben Franklin, a general store where I would spend all my money on tasty candy. Though this store was nothing like that Ben Franklin, as it smelled of mildew and old books, the bells sounded exactly the same.
"Welcome," came a husky voice from the back. I looked up to see a stream of smoke coming from a large wooden bookshelf, and the smell of cherry tobacco crept into my nostrils. Apparently nobody had told him it that it was 2016 and you weren't allowed to smoke in public stores in our city. And while I was allergic to most forms of smoke, the fragrance of pipe tobacco was an overpoweringly delicious one.
"Hi there," I replied, feeling silly at waving to a bookshelf.
"Sorry about the smoke, usually I have my air purifier running. Although today it seems to have pooped out on me," the husky voice spoke, as a very bearded older man peeked out at me from the other side of the bookshelf.
"It's okay, I rather like it." I smiled, and he smiled back. The smell reminded me of when I was little and my grandfather would smoke his pipe on rainy nights with a roaring fire going while reading me stories from Jules Verne. I never understood the them, but I loved to listen to him read while smelling the tobacco from his pipe as it filled the room.
"Well, that's wonderful, because I just lit up. Won't you join me?" His long, dark grey hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. He gestured for me to sit in a gorgeous wooden chair in front of him.
I ran my hand along the back of it, it's intricate detail in exquisite shape for how old it was.
"1895," he explained. "It's from the house of Windsor. It sat in King George V's very dining room."
"Wow," I responded. "It's in perfect condition." I marveled at the craftsmanship it must have taken to create something to beautiful.
"That it is. I just retrieved it yesterday from it's original owner," he said, as he took a big puff of his pipe.
"Really? Wow. So you got it from Queen Elizabeth? That must have cost you a pretty penny." I sat in the seat, careful to sit as slowly as possible so I didn't break any part of it.
"You'd be surprised how much things go for these days," he murmured. "So, what can I do you for?" He reached down to snap one of his suspenders, which held up neatly pressed brown dress pants.
I looked around. There were stacks of old books I didn't recognize piled up on every surface all over the room. Wooden shelves held various clocks, figurines, and oddly shaped objects I couldn't even begin to describe but I found myself drawn to wanting to touch each one of them. But I really hadn't known what I came in for, more of a curiosity than anything. But since that was the name of the shop, it seemed to be the right idea. "I don't really know, a knick knack perhaps?" I replied, while eyeing a strangely shaped palm-sized tube that I had an intense urge to put my hands on.
He looked me up and down, as if sizing me up. "Perhaps." He gave another puff, to which I gratefully inhaled the scent of. "Or, perhaps not. You don't look like a knick knack type of gal to me."
I almost laughed. If he only knew, my house was full of them. "No?"
"No. If you have some, they aren't yours. They were most likely gifted to you."
"Um, actually, you're right. I inherited them." I wondered how my looks gave away such a minor detail of my life.
"I thought as so." Puff, puff. "No, you're more of a....wait, I have just the thing!" He leapt out of his seat and rushed off to an area I could not see.
I was confused and excited at the same time. What if he brought back something completely crazy? Something I'd have to say no thank you for when he gave it to me? But, what if he brought me back something spectacular? I decided that either way, I'd be grateful and accept it. Well, that is, unless it cost too much. Then, either way, I'd have to politely decline, as I only had twenty dollars to spend. I had driven past this shop a hundred times, but never went in. I was either too busy, or just plain forgot about it. Until today. I found myself at the bank withdrawing my money to come here before I even made the choice to come. After the money was in my purse, I drove my usual route and saw the shop sign and parked. "The Curiosity Shoppe: Oddities and Antiquities" the sign read. I've always been a sucker for all things odd.
"Just a minute! I've almost found it!" I could hear him rummaging around some unseen boxes.
"Take your time, I have all day," I replied back. I did not, in fact, have all day, but I also wasn't in a rush, either. I looked around some more. That same tubular piece didn't call out to me anymore. It had only been a fleeting impulse. Which was good, because I didn't want to have to trade what he was giving me for something else. That seemed rude.
When the shop owner was near me, his tobacco smoke masked the smell of old books and must, but now it was back. Normally smoke and mold irritated my sinuses so much I would have to leave, but this place...well, it sort of felt like my grandfather. Even the haphazard stacks of sheet music, or what I thought was sheet music, reminded me of his old den where we'd read his stories. As I concentrated on the stacks to see if I could make out the composers, I could hear a piano playing somewhere in the distance. "Chopin," I whispered, as I closed my eyes.
"Ahh, here it is." He walked back into my view with his hand behind his back. "Now, keep an open mind, as this doesn't look very exciting. But I assure you, my dear, it is definitely more than what it seems. In fact," he leaned in close to my face, "it's more than meets the eye." His adorable wink looked as though he had a tic, as his entire upper body shook as he did it.
It's a Transformer, I thought. I knew it, it's a toy. But then his hands held out a silver box in front of me. It was plain, with only an indentated line cut out all the way around the sides of the box, but it least it wasn't Optimus Prime. "Oh, neat, thank you." I took the box in my hands, which felt as if it was both a combination of heavy and light at the same time.
He frowned. "You don't like it?"
"No, no, I do. I just, had no idea what to expect. Is it a...paperweight?" I turned it over in my hands, but it was the same both top and bottom.
He chuckled once again as he drew in a breath from his pipe. "Oh no, it's definitely not that. Well, unless you want it to be. Do you want it to be a paperweight?"
His question confused me, but I played along. "No, I'd like it to be a..." but before I could finish, a small buzzing noise took up in my ears. I plugged and unplugged my ears, hoping to erasing the ringing. But it didn't work. I glanced around. "Did some machine just turn on? Maybe your air purifier is working again?"
He glanced back at the machine that was definitely off. "Come again?"
"That buzzing noise that just started." I tried plugging and unplugging my ear again to no avail.
He smiled. "Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. What do you think about the cube?"
And just like that, the buzzing stopped, and a cold, yet pleasant, tingling spread through my hands that seemed to come from the cube itself. "I don't know what it is, but I love it. How much?"
The man reached up to finger his collar for a moment while he thought. "How much what?"
I almost laughed but then felt bad. Maybe he had a bit of dementia as my grandfather did before he died? It started out as simple things, as forgetting what he was talking about and then progressed to forgetting where he was. It's a sad way to go, so I hoped I was wrong. "Money. How much does it cost?"
He waved away my words with his hand. "Consider it a gift. It wasn't for sale anyways."
I was surprised. A stranger giving me a gift for no reason? I wasn't used to that. "Oh no, I have to pay you something. You won't make any money just giving your stuff away." Maybe he did have dementia? Doing things out of the ordinary was one of the signs. But perhaps he always did this? I had no way of knowing.
"Fine. Let's make a deal. If you can figure out how it works, I will let you come back and pay me what you think it's worth. Deal?" He took another puff of his pipe, but then set it down on a tray.
How it worked? I didn't understand what he meant. Yes, he definitely had dementia, I thought as I reached into my purse to fish out some money. "Here, let me give you at least twenty dollars for it. And if it doesn't do anything for me when I get home, I will just bring it back for a refund. Is that okay?"
He didn't look pleased, but also not angry either. "If that's the way you want to play it. Sure then." He took the money from my hand and placed it onto the table next to him.
His responses were so cryptic that, by then, I was beginning to get uncomfortable. "Thank you so very much. I don't need a bag, I will just put it in my purse for now." I stood to go and slipped the cube into my purse. He stood up as well.
"Thank you and while I wish I could say I hope to see you again soon, I cannot, because that would mean I picked the wrong gift for you. And that will be the first time I ever got one wrong in the history of my shop." He held the door open for me as the discordant bells rang once again. The afternoon light had turned a gloomy shade of gray.
Again, confused by his answer, I just waved, and walked quickly to my car. I didn't look back, but I could feel him watching me as I got into my vehicle. As I drove away, rain had started to pour down washing the day's dirt into the sewers I looked up to wave at him, but instead of reciprocating, he just shut the door and flipped over the open sign to closed. I kept my eyes on the road, but I saw in my side mirror that he also shut off the lights inside the store. Who shuts down their store at three in the afternoon due to a little rain? I wondered, unable to shake off the eerie feeling that something wasn't quite right with the whole transaction.
Today was an odd day, but at least it was one that will go down as memorable. I reached over to feel the large square that was taking up a large amount of my purse. It didn't feel cold anymore and I couldn't hear any humming either. It must had been my imagination, I assured myself. I had no idea what I was going to do with a metal cube, other than use it as a paperweight, but I would wait until I got home to see. Maybe I could look it up online? It could be worth something. Or, it could be something he made in his garage.
It didn't matter, I had to think about it later, as I had to get home for the cable guy to come over and hook up my internet and television. Although I couldn't shake the idea that something more than strange had happened just now. Or how the man knew I had inherited all my knick knacks. One thing was for sure though: there was something different about his gift. And hopefully I'd be able to figure out what.
Click here for part two. (link when part two is ready)
No comments:
Post a Comment