The Thrift Shop Find

As you do your normal wandering around town today, enjoying the sunshine, you’re searching for something to either see or do.

You don’t know what, though, allowing your feet to carry you, like every other afternoon after finishing your daily work assignments from home.

You could walk your route with your eyes closed and know where you are by the sounds and scents.

When you lift your gaze from the cracked sidewalk, you see you’re in front of a small thrift/antique store.

You blink. It’s odd that you’ve never noticed its presence before, especially with its big sign above the walkway.

Having nothing better to do, you decided to walk inside.

The smell of the past hits you as you pull the glass door open, making your mouth curve upward slightly.

You like old or used things, always have; their potential stories fascinate you, going so far as to create them in your head.

And if you wind up learning the actual history of an item, whether it’s through research or first-hand accounts, it gives you a thrill, writing it in your notebook.

From the corner of your eye, you see a rose pink leather jacket, eyes widening. Oh my God! You can’t believe you finally found it! The elusive jacket.

It’s something you’ve been dreaming of since you were a kid, saving magazine pages with women wearing similar jackets.

You rush over, inspecting it. The cuffs and pockets are bedazzled with jewels. You like the bling. There’s no hood, which doesn’t surprise or concern you.

Taking it off the rack, you slip it on.

You smile in delight.

It’s a perfect fit, as if it was made for you. Soft like silk on the inside, the pink skin is tough yet flexible, and it’s not too warm, so you can wear it in most weather conditions.

Checking the price tag, your grin grows wider. Yes! You can buy it today, your wallet carrying extra cash from a recent project you finished a couple of days ago.

You meander around the store some more, looking for anything else that may interest you. You spot a couple of cool items here and there, yet they don’t yank you to them.

Finding nothing else, you’re slightly bummed but are more than satisfied with the jacked draping over your left arm, so the blow is lessened.

You walk to the counter, pulling out your wallet as the lady rings up your new jacket, saying, “Did you find everything you were looking for.”

“Oh yes, thank you for asking.”

She smiles at you. “Was wondering when someone would buy this jacket.”

“Why hasn’t anybody?”

“I don’t know,” she sighs, “Many people like their new and shiny things.”

You shrug, “I like both, but used and older items often have a history, which makes them more interesting in the long run.”

“That will be fifty dollars.”

You eagerly hand her the money. “Here you go.”

“Would you like a bag?”

“No, I’ll just wear it.”

Handing the jacket back to you, the lady waves goodbye as you practically fly out of the store as you put it on. Ah, it feels so satisfying to wear it.

You continue walking down the street, enjoying the sunshine and warm breeze. You receive multiple compliments on your new jacket and a few people asking you where you bought it.

The smile on your face grows as you tell them, although mentioning it was the only one. That gets a couple of disappointed expressions, but you reassure them they’ll find a piece of clothing similar.

After all, you did.

When you get home, you begin cleaning it out, finding some candy wrappers and a couple of ticket stubs in the pockets.

The lettering is too faded for you to read clearly, but you figure it’s from a concert the previous owner attended a while ago.

You immediately start writing down the adventures your jacket might’ve experienced, filling the pages of your notebook with ink words.

For that day, life is perfect.

***

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Subscribe for more content!