//Are there colors here?// Shandara thought to herself. The whole place was grey, wetted down with the dimming rain. A few sodden reflections of the misted over street lamps bleared at her as she walked the sidewalk. Then, through the shifting mist, she saw a bright light streaming from a shop window. The dingy rain lessoned as she approached the store. She walked up and looked in the window. Inside, it was like Christmas morning, with every imanginable object- a rag doll, a bright marvelous little toy, a tall glass bird of some sort.
Curious, Shandara went to the door and let herself in. An old man looked up from behind a desk with an antique cash register.
"Well, hello! Welcome to my store. You can have one item- anything you want- but it can't be money and you can't ever come back and change your mind." He smiled, kindly. "Take your time- I never close." With that, he went back his work.
Open-mouthed, the young girl began to explore the store. Treasures and junk of every kind lined the shelves, with room after room of new things to look at.. she paused to look at crowns, then turned around and saw a little wind-up tin soldier. Next to it was a teddy bear, with button eyes and nose. She went through the shop for what seemed like hours, and finally found a room that was full of animals. Kittens, puppies, little hatchling dragons, birds, snakes, any kind of animal she had ever thought of, and a few more.
And, back in the corner of this room, a kitten apart from all the rest. She picked it up. It was tiny- she could carry it on three fingers- and it yawned sleepily, it's little pink tongue and mouth only just showing against the white of its fur. Carefully, Shandara tucked it up on her shoulder, where it curled up against her neck, and made her way back to the front of the shop.
When she got there, the old man looked up. "Well, did you find what you were looking for?"
"Well, no- I found something better."
He smiled. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave something here. Anything will do.. just give it to me or leave it next to the door."
Shandara paused. She walked over to the old man, put a hand on his shoulder, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."
The old man nodded. "That'll do fine- you're quite welcome."
As she walked out of the shop, the little kitten stirred, distracting her. After a few moments of letting it play with her hair, she realized that the light from the shop is gone. Shandara turned around to look.
Where the shop had been, only the rain fell down on a vacant lot.