The Eyes Of 'Rah

The Pawnshop

If there's one person the town's people are weary of aside from tainted witches, it is Mr. Pawn. If sharing a last name with his occupation and boldly pasted the name of his shop as 'The Pawn' wasn't enough to conclude he was strange, his eccentric behaviour would make one conclude that in no time.

Whenever he is asked why he named his shop 'the pawn' or the similarities between his last name and his occupation, he always engaged in a feat of laughter and reply with his usual statement, "well, we're only pawn in the hands of the gods."

Nobody understands his fondness for strolling during the evening to the 'bush of the dead'. A place where people would rather stay away from, Mr. Pawn never misses his usual stroll. It baffles the town greatly that never had he gone for his strolls without 'stumbling upon',  as he always call it, an object which he always claims might be useful for later.

No one gets curious anymore whenever he comes back from his strolls until he brought back something else he stumbled upon in the form of a young girl.

Curious eyes followed the man with the wierd behaviour and the girl with the strange eyes. Mrs Mosey however who was always bold enough to approach him and was known as the town's nosiest person which earned her the name 'Mrs Nosy' instead block the strange duo's path, "and what have we here Mr. Pawn? Did one of your objects turned human or this has always been why you frequent that horrible bush?"

"Evening to you too Mrs Nosy, if you'll excuse us, I have a lot to catch up with my granddaughter"

Mrs Mosey's nose flared, "it is Mrs Mosey and I was just looking out for you, old man." and she stormed off.

Mr. Pawn sucked in his teeth in irritation, "nosy old woman" as he headed to his shop.

Seraphine studied her new environment, the woods which carved out the name of the shop had seen better days, seeing how the first two letters were dangling freely around the nail and the other letters were no better.

Since Seraphine didn't know what a pawnshop is, she had no idea how one would look like, however, she wondered if it should look as old as the one she was standing in front of. The aged building which The Pawn was situated is shared by other shops, the faded paint could use a replacement.

Inside the shop, the shelves sagged under the weight of eclectic items, from antique trinkets to forgotten treasures. The creaking floorboards bore witness to countless feet which must had passed over them and the musty scent of history lingered in the air.

Seraphine's interest was caught by the enormous items she saw in the shop. The shelves were completely packed with various things, some which she was familiar with. She wondered why there were plenty different unlikely items packed together.

"Do you sell all these?" Quizzing the old man

"No, a pawnshop is where you bring your most prized possession in exchange for money and you can come back anytime to retrieve your item when you're able to pay back"

Letting the piece of information sink in, she nodded while listening attentively as he explained. Her eyes roamed around the room, looking at the items one after the other, ranging from piece of clothing, vase to Jewelry and all sorts of things she couldn't place a name on.

Mr. Pawn watched the young girl whose body would shut down anytime soon, he secretly admired how strong she had been even after the ordeal she had gone through the past few days. He had noticed her at first early in the morning when he heard a little commotion not far away from his shop, only to see people being pushed off the road and a young girl with an unusual eye had emerged, running towards the town's square.

Her situation had struck a chord in him when he witnessed her in the bush of the dead, trying to bury her father. A girl her age shouldn't have gone through what she had, liking her courage and determination, he decided to intervene in her matter, something he hardly ever do.

"My tired bones are shouting for foods" declaring the end of the discussion and at that moment, he heard a body fell.

He knew soon enough, the little strength she had will burn out, carrying her gently, "you're lighter than a feather, lass" he commented as he placed her on the makeshift bed where he usually takes his afternoon naps.

*********

The full glare of the sun as it washed the room made Seraphine quickly cover her eyes, shielding her eyes from the sun, she looked through the little space she created between her fingers to check her surroundings.

The tantalising aroma of food made her stomach rumbled, "finally, she resurrects!" recognising the loud husky voice of Mr. Pawn's which was followed by a clap, she tried to stand but toppled over the small stool beside her.

"You need to eat for your weak knees to function. You've been unconscious for three days"

"What? How?" Her voice came out like a whisper, the old man offered her water which she downed in seconds.

"It happens that your body needs food for strength, ever heard of that before?" Lacing his voice with sarcasm, without waiting for her to answer, "the last time you ate would be three days ago I think, if my calculation is right" furrowing his brow in concentration, "how you're still alive is baffling"

Before she could ask anything further, he pushed a large tray towards her, "finish it!" Pointing at the large bowl of soup and the heap of rice.

Taking her eyes off the retreating behind of the old man, she delved into the meal which kept yanking at her nostrils and her stomach that hadn't stop crying of hunger.

After clearing the tray off of the littlest grain of rice and the tiniest drop of soup, amazed at how she lodged everything in her stomach at once, she turned round the back where she met Mr. Pawn sorting some items.

"Thank you for everything Mr. Pawn"

The old man met her gaze which held sincerity, glad her anguished face had disappeared. Her shivering body as she lay unconscious for the past days was still fresh in his memory, how she kept mumbling her father's name in between sobs almost broke his heart. He doubted if the young girl had mourned her father the way she wanted, saving the discussion for later.

"Nonsense, don't thank me, it is not a favour, it will cost you" gauging her reaction he asked, "do you have money or anything of value to pay for the services I rendered?"

Thinking long and hard, she shook her head, "no"

"What about your extended family, got any?"

"Not that I know of, it has always been I and my father"

"Then you have two options, either I allow you go back home and you bring the money anytime you have or you stay here and work at the shop. What do you say?"

Seraphine didn't hesitate to choose the second option, since there was nothing and no one to go back home to anyway and she wasn't willing to put up with Mrs Ramsey's bad attitude anymore. She already felt she would get along with the old man better than Mrs. Ramsey.

"I'll stay"