I went to the store with fifty cents in my pocket.
The old man behind the counter had two spectacles precariously balanced on a nose that made him look like a vulture. He looked me up and down. “We don’t have anything here you can afford,” he croaked.
“I just want to browse,” I said examining his dusty store.
“If you’re not gonna buy anything you might as well leave!”
Ignoring him, I walked to the back of the shop and could feel his icy glare following me. I found a grimy shelf labeled “DREAMS.” Beneath it were mason jars filled with swirling colorful mist. Labeled on the jars were things like, “Falling-$17.99,” “Being Chased by Wolves-$6.50,” “Flying-$30.95,” “Finding the Love of your Life-$99.99”
I tossed my two quarters up in the air and caught them.
The old man sniffed, “If that’s all you got you might as well run back to your hovel! We’ve got nothing for you here!”
The next shelf was filled with jars that were labeled with things like, “Justice: Granted-$500.00” and “Justice Not Granted – $1.00.” It seemed that I was too poor to not even afford injustice.
There were also jars in the store that read, “Heartache-$0.75,” “Tears-$2.75,” “Revenge -50.00,” and “Adventure-$1,000.00”
“Alright!” The old man snarled. “Tour time is over. Get your filthy rags out of here before I call the orphanage!”
It was then that I found a solitary shelf with a sign that read, “One time only 90% off sale!” There was a single jar on the shelf. It was filled with coal colored powder and had a label that read, “Bad Luck-5.00.”
I grabbed the jar and walked up to the counter. “I found something I can afford!” The man looked over the jar, examined the sale sign twice to make sure it was accurate and finally took my two quarters while grumbling under his breath.
As I left the store I opened up the jar and sprinkled the contents on the floor. I was halfway down the sidewalk when I heard an explosion. It sounded like every shelf in the store had broken at once and was soon joined by the old man screaming.
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