Polaroid

I - Cypress Emporium

Fuck this rain and fuck my lack of an umbrella,
Aurelia cursed under her breath. She was running down the crosswalk in the pouring rain. The wind filled her ears and the rain soaked her hair to the brim. Why she even stepped foot out into the rain, she didn't know. When she came out of her house, it was a clear, joyous day. Now it was shitty and rainy and she wanted to get under the nearest canopy and sink into the ground.
It's not like she hated the rain, it just happened to be a sickening day. An unknown dread invaded her mind like a leech. She forgot an umbrella, felt absolutely terrible, and it was pouring and drenching her in the process, could it get any worse?
Aimlessly walking through the streets had been a reliable passing time for her mind to clear, ever since she was a young girl. This wasn't the best conditions to take part in her favorite thing, but it would do. As she stormed through the rain-soaked streets with her head down and shoulders up, she eventually ended up at an antique shop she wasn't familiar with.
The name was sprawled across the black and gold flowing canopy. 'Cypress Emporium' was welded in rich, royal shapes of dulled gold. The windows were clean as if they were just placed, minus the rain running down the crevasses. At first glance, it would seem like a dump for rubbish and objects left behind. At a closer look however, trinkets and treasures lined the walls. Clocks, artifacts, boxes and various other gadgets were piled on top of shelves. The art of the shop and the overall mood it seemed to radiate drew Aurelia to the entrance. Before she knew what she was doing, she opened the door in one smooth motion. An immediate calming yet exhilarating air washed over her completely. She stepped inside with the chime of a bell above her head and the greeting of the owner.
The place smelled musty in a nostalgic way, with hints of cedar wood and kerosene. It seemed like an endless maze of glinting light from the gadgets onto the glass. Various objects sat in the cases, locked inside like animals in cages. As she finally found the end of the stacks, on the back shelves, sat a vintage camera. It was jet black, or at least it would be if you wiped off the multitude of layers of dust. Although she rarely ever visited antique shops, let alone this one in particular, it caught her eye in a way nothing had before. It had a certain pull that tugged on her bones. She gingerly picked it up and held the camera in her palms. It was as big as both of her hands, if not a bit bigger. She thumbed the dials and buttons to get a feel for the camera itself. There wasn't any way she wasn't going to buy it, as she felt a need to. She made a decision and brought it to the front counter.
     "Alright, seems you've made your choice?" The man at the counter spoke with a question hint at the end.
     "I guess so, I felt a pull to this."
     "You know fun fact," he spoke in a soft, soothing tone while trailing off, "this used to be mine, I got it from an nice old man a few years back and took care of it ever since. Ever since I gave it to this shop."
     "That's nice but why'd you give it up? It's a beautiful piece I must say."
     As he started speaking again, it filled her with a sort of warmth that made her feel more at home than her house ever did. He made her want to stay and lounge in the soothing feeling of the little shop. She noticed she had missed the first small bit of his words, but picked up just fast enough to hear the main part.
     "—so I guess I just needed to give it up. The past isn't a thing to hold on to. It just weighs you down in the future." Aurelia could almost notice a hint of sadness in her voice as though he were envisioning a memory. An open wound. The silence hung in the air for a while, only the sound of rain hitting the window violently along with the crinkle of a note and a paper bag.
     She finally realized that she never asked about his name nor did she even take a true look at him. While he was scribbling something down on a small note, she looked up and examined him. Short and curly dirty blonde hair framed his face, which was a fair, if not pale shade. A dull blue sweater draped over his shoulders and hardly defined his body. Needless to say, he was practically drowning in it, so the addition of the cloth being tucked into his sleek black pants was a good choice. Apart from the addition of one ring, a sapphire band that curved in lines around his finger, his clothing was rather bare. From looking at her reflection on the clean countertop, her brown hair went down to her shoulders with her bangs tucked back. With her black turtleneck and long cape-like cardigan along with black and silver jewelry, the outfit stood out from his and practically most of the town around her. After a few minutes, he slipped whatever he was writing into the paper bag along with the camera, in which he wrapped up carefully in a soft cloth wrap. He shot her a soft smile with a goodbye, and she headed out of the door.
Her mood immediately dropped as she realized it was still raining.
Of course, why wouldn't it still be fucking down pouring, she thought, cursing the weather and herself. Maybe she should relish the fact it was rainy and the town wasn't dried up like a desert again. She brushed the thoughts away and focused on making her way home rather than the weather, keeping her head down and arms wrapped gently around the sack, closing the top.

-1033 words