Lost Memories Antique

Hello, my name is Clara. I’m the third child out of five of Scarlett and Jeffery Caputo. When I became 21, they gave me their shop. I’m now the proud owner of Lost Memories Antique and I’m very happy with what I do. My older siblings were offered this chance, but business wasn’t their passion. Truth be told, it’s not mine either. However, that’s not why I took this place. I understood why it’s so special. There’s more to Lost Memories than just the little knick knacks.

    Before my parents gave me this little shop, they had me join them for Halloween. It’s the only day in the year we run for 24 hours. It’s also our busiest night of the year. It was the most mystifying moment in my life. It made such a huge impact, I knew this is where I belong.

    Tonight is the night. It’s October 31st, landing on a Friday this year. At 25 years old, this will be my first Halloween alone. This will ultimately decide whether or not I can handle Lost Memories, but I’m confident. The day isn’t very unusual. A couple people in and out, either browsing at our wares with interest or on the hunt for hidden treasures. It goes by quickly.

    With the sun finally down, I take a deep breath. Time to run through my checklist. Open the blinds; check. Turn on all the lights, including the antique lights; check. Sweep up all traces of dirt on the doors and windows; check. Leave traces of salt by the freshly swept doors and windows; check. Make sure I have easy access to the Holy Water and silver crucifix; check. As I finish the last item on my list, I hear the door creak open. Time to smile, it’s showtime.

    “Hello.”I say in my friendly customer service voice. I hear the shuffling around some of the aisle ways, but I don’t see the person responsible. “Finding everything ok?” Two stomps on the floor as a response. “Hmmm, what are you looking for? I’m sure I can help.”

    A book flies towards my face. Luckily, I have fast reflexes. I catch the book and lay it open in front of me. A gust of wind blows and the pages flip to the middle of the book. On one of the pages was a picture of a 19th century man dressed in a dark suit and holding a silver walking stick. The other page was a chapter about top hats. 

    “Looking for a walking stick?”

    One stomp shakes the walls of the shop.

    “Great! I know we have a couple over here.” I walk over to a stand where we keep some older walking sticks and umbrellas. “This is our selection. Do any of them strike your fancy?”

    One of the walking sticks starts to shake violently. It was the one with a bronze anchor for a handle and worn carvings of oceanic travel. The lights flicker on and off as a figure begins to emerge. With a flick of their hand, the stick flies into their grasp. A mighty chuckle resonated through my store as the figure showed their true form. 

Standing with the help of the walking stick is a glowing gentleman. He seems to be an older fellow wearing a navy uniform. A wide smile brings out some wrinkles and battle scars that cover his face. He taps the floor a couple of times with the stick and chuckles some more. Soon enough, he starts admiring it and whispers to it.

“Is that all you’re looking for today sir?” I keep my smile and cheery attitude as his focus shifts to me.

“Aye, got anythin to drink? I’m parched.” I nod as I lead him to the water fountain. He squints at it and looks back at me, bewildered. I’m guessing he’s been lost for quite a while.

“Just push the button here and it’ll dispense some clean water for you. Is the walking stick all you need then?” He pushes the button and takes a long drink. I never really understood why these guys always want water. It just passes through their mouths.

“It’s been so long since I last saw my walking stick. Made it myself, even the handle.” He caresses it gently. “Aye, this is all I needed. I remember….”

The lights come back on at full strength. Both the walking stick and man are gone. That wasn’t so bad. I go back to the front desk and grab the inventory list. I look through and see the item marked “Anchor Wlk.Stk.” and cross it off. I put the note “Halloween” and put the list back. The first one always makes a big show out of appearing. 

I hear the doorbell ring and see a young girl standing at the door. I smile at her. “May I help you?” She continues to stand there and look into the store. “Miss?” Her eyes darted to meet my gaze. 

“Can I come in?” She doesn’t move a muscle.

“Well, what’s stopping you? We are open for business tonight.” One of the first rules I learned, never outright invite someone into the store. 

“Let…..me…..in……” Her body starts to float into the air and the lights go completely out. Unlike the man from early, only her eyes glow. The rest of her body is as dark as the night’s sky, silhouetted by the moon. 

I sigh as she starts shifting her form into multiple terrors. From demonic to animalistic, the silhouette continues to shift. I go and grab the water from the front desk. “Begone, foul thing!” I yell with conviction. “You’re scaring away all my customers.” I coat my hand in the water and throw the droplets as the creature. It howls in pain and growling curses at me. “Holy water?!?!?! Damn you! Damnnnn youuuuu….” It’s voice grows softer as it’s body fades away into the void. As soon as the beast is gone completely, the lights all return. I look at the water in my hand. I still have a little over half the bottle. That’s good.

    I decide to reapply the salt on the front door as the lights flicker again. In front of me I see three bright orbs of light. One gives off a light blue aura as the other two give off a purplish red color. Whispers come from the lights, so softly I couldn’t understand any of it. The blue one floats very close to my face and whispers. I still couldn’t understand what it said, but I had an idea.

    “Hello, welcome to Lost Memories Antique! We’re open all night tonight, so please let me know if you need any help finding anything.” The blue orb floated back to it’s companions, as if to usher them inside. The three eventually found their way in and the store was full of chaotic noises. I shake my head as soon as I’m finished with the salt and head behind the counter. I duck as needed while the little orbs have fun moving so many objects. “Please don’t make that much of a mess you three.” The noises soften, but not quite cease.

    After a little while, a transparent woman appears in the corner of the store. She was wearing all white and her hair was in a lovely tight bun. She didn’t bother speaking to me, just pointed at the hat stand. I nodded in understanding. I walked over to it, almost running into one of the purple orbs that was dashing through the aisle. I took off the long, jewelled, wedding veil and walked it over to her. When I tried to give it to her, she bowed her head. I hope I don't misunderstand what this means. As carefully as possible, I put the veil into her glassy hair. The veil matched beautifully with her pale, translucent skin. With a smile, she shook my hand and vanished.

             Without a moment's rest, more items in the store began to shake violently. "Hello everyone!" I say to my new customers. "Welcome to Lost Memories Antique. Can I help you find anything?"