382. The shop round the corner

About 300 yards from our house there is a shop. I have walked past it hundreds of times on my way to the station or on my way to the canal walk. I have glanced at the window. Just glanced. 

A tiny dog lives in there and he hates Ralph and every time we walk Ralph past this shop on our way to the canal, the tiny dog rushes to the door and barks at Ralph and Ralph barks at him. They have a barking match, each of them safe on their side of the glass pane. Dogs are sometimes just as pathetic as humans.

I have always wanted to go and check this shop out but I never have. Because when I pass it I am with Raplh and I cannot possibly risk him meeting his arch-enemy. 

Or I am on my way the station with no time to spare. Or back from the station tired or with too much luggage or with one of my kids and helping with their luggage.

The other day when I saw one of my colleagues come out of that shop I thought I wondered if I should go in. Though I do not think I would like to meet anyone I know in that shop. 

Yet if one of my colleagues went in there so could I. So I pulled my coat off the hook and off I went into the rain (yes, it is still raining). I pushed the door and as the jingly bell rang I was surprised that no dog came to the door barking at me. 

After the strident jingle of the door bell I was met by soft faint music and a smell of incense burning. How come the tiny dog is so agressive living in such an environment I wondered. This shop is definitely weird. There is the usual display of stone bracelets and assortment of trinkets. Then I get brave and move into the shop where a strange unfriendly (like the dog) lady comes in from somewhere out the back. She stares at me as I walk around. I am the only person in the shop. I walk up to a shelf and see a few tarot card sets on a shelf. The price tag makes me move away quickly and I hit the incense stick shelf. Not shelf. Wall. Floor to ceiling shelves of incense sticks, row after row after row. Calming, soothing, Japanese zen, Indian cool and latin America relaxing, every type is here but also - and I did not even know that existed - incense sticks to bring love, sex, money, a new job and even great artistic talent. I am not sure I should be looking, it is going to give inspiration I could not really handle right now. So I move away to the other side of the shop. To the candle shelf, that should be more normal. I can just buy a candle, after it is Christmas, and walk out of this shop before my colleague comes in. Anyway the shop keeper is giving me the creeps. 

I grab a green candle (the Christmas thing again) and am thinking I need a red one too. And as I am about to grab the red one I notice the small cards below the candle rack. This is when I learn that the green candle will bring me financial success or something like that and the red one will give me passion (does it say sex next to it?). I drop the red one and stick to the green one. Go to the check-out where the weird lady is staring at me with eery, probing eyes. I pay and exit the shop trying not to run.