i Victor “Weir lesving,” the other man sai suenly, He stepped forward and bowed (labels steppes away for him a ite, thinking Whar if he took my bund? T dent ant to take hit an 1 don't wat to take his and) Thank yu for ll your help. We'llbe on our way now.” “Oh, wee leaving?” sid the man in white. Then he started whispering to the other man his whisper low and urgent. bella only heard the words Jevted and lim and ky ot and lain ow apd you ult. The other man ‘whispered back (bella heard nothing) and walked out the door, pushing ‘the man in white head of him. "What lid you tell the hyper?” fella ai Again, the men fll silent. They glanced at her, the mania weit sling, the other man looking ‘worried. “What cid yous to im?” hut they wouldn't annwer, They walked away from the Front porch aun headed, slow, toward the gate. Labella would have fllowed them, fn asked and asked ad asked, but she remembered thatthe sing dil not ‘ear her name, not anymore, not since the lst storm. The wind destroyed her swing, atl her father replaced i with new wood. How did that man know her mame? Tabla stood for several mints onthe front porch, watching them valley. Ace the men were gone she thought af how she wasn’ able to tell Nick what she wanted tom. Maybe she would text rel. She wou do itwhen she war already nthe univer, faraway and fereig. She wondered iF Nick would cry, and aid sh diet care. After the Christmas break, it would be the new year and jst three more mouths of high choo, just {he more months, ad then grado he would havea white dress sewn by her mater’ frend, and spe of back pumps), then she would fold all Jer clothes, board the bs with her parents ad then she woul meet her roommate. They coud go out fra drink and later on agre ona eolor for the curtains (bea ote or gee and she woud nally be be to pt posters ‘om her wal, because her mother woul allow her to put anything on her tral, she said it made the walls ok mesry and ruined the pnt ‘She thought ofthe landslide inthe town up orth and that man inher ream cain, Nanay, Noy. So maybe he came to them to warn them, Nabels had sad wo her father, aa her fer ad sal, +c ving the storm them “The ighs in er mother’s ower girden twinkled like so many star, ‘ow beaut, how beautiful, abla thought to ers, and elt her heart fill with ee, ANa’s Livre PawNstor on, MakiLine St. Tava cect pa na cag rpc mets, Thy leew ame ig le wth rang 2 rch mauve be atone moment, bright gold green the next. ‘ow a then, stars formed, ning and tng sro the ns a toward the tpl arms. Lis woul love hat" Tl Lin wa my gre, She got he first air of prescription gases two wecks a, tsp pi ramen back, square ad serous. She sid the lines made er lok lik dork. ‘wondered lenses famed by tar frming doude would make er lok es of dork. Probably “I ge this you tn exchange or our most tear memory of the ight sky” Ar sd. re ial - had several. My top choice? There was ameter shower las Ferry with Lisa bee me, sting openmauted and speechless. had a ear ie ofthe nigh sky Bl at ayn the sd omental retin the impening end of sumer acaien, No thanks," Ti smiling a remembered “Good yo.” Ana alEliza Vietoria #8 1 alost asked what Tuas eye grade was, but then realized that for an ety that oversaw al the sar ofthe universe, Tala most probably had perfect vison. Tua oe he omen changer? Thi ce ou rn oA Kn dewaye to ick wp another tom, "The mas Akin? Aa “She alah Mae mone ck taper her way." wasa glen tlm with anil ond erred nur, sapien es Ana lp be ce, a mask tured thet kan ello of dav My jon doped "Wow." ‘Mt nd Ana syringe mann eras. "ohnk Tala ha underpaid me inthis deal She ged “vi dit Abani “Agar igs deeps Anas “She jut wate togtrd ofthe ting Ibo shel Alri getsred ao ve ane she refingld the rai ofthe glen dsl became oral She aid W's ard 0 tecome too amare ofthe page fine The mites now weigh on er, senbefre ah cou! watchs Geni po nthe ink ofan eye” Se dnl have lnc conection term" ‘so ha rious" that when de drop. Ca ou aod ca bn ple 1 came upon Ana’ litle pawnshop by aedemt a month go, when {ound myself eycling through this street looking fora pen L dropped twas hours alter schoo. I cane from the bookstore with this expensive fountain pen that my ater wanted or his irhay had trapped and all, but Twas so busy speeding through the roa to reach home in time for dinner chat Aidit realize 1 had lst my git wn I touched my breast pocket had to fet off my bike and wall back to retrace my path. Thank goodness it was 2 resent street quit and zy, the houses all eegant and expensive find borered by Flower gardens, not a dark alley where ¥ coud lose things ther than that blasted pen. {past by a group of boys playing basketball, tht {had sy eye tained om the ground, so [only heard their voices and the thump and clink ofthe balla hit the pavement and, occasionally, the * At of «sudden all sound disappeared {looked up in surprise and Found mel ona stretch of rsd lined with quaint lite shops. One sl ‘Ana's Little Pawnshop on Maki 2 St.¢19 secondhand books, another dress and jewelry, and sil another, lamps and chandeliers. All of them were closed, however, except for thi one tore lity yellow light fom aide, “Lost something? a woman sid, That was the Bist time Fw Ans, She wat in her thirties and looked breathtakingly beautiful, her lines 8 defined asthe stars in those fortis fms that Lis liked so mach; dark Ii, re lips, wavy hae: And yet there was something very warm about her presence, Ithis were film 'd ast her asthe ht aunt who dda’ have hilren of her own, but could have been am exellent ner, aun pel saying, “owt a pen.” AK" Ana said. She was in the process of moving large flowerpot loser tothe door. The flowerpot contalned the bigest sunflowers I had ever sen, She straightened up and wiped her palmson the se of er ans before going nse: Her shop hada display window; behind which a hand- painted sign rested on a stand and red, na’ Pownp. Taped right othe fase war an announcement writen with a black Sharpie: (1) ASSISTANT NEEDED, PART-TIME OR FULL-TIME, | moved closer and settled my bike right beside the Rlowerpot, The pownshop was cluttered but looked anog and warm, sith i gleaming hardwood flors and certain syrupy sellin the at. Ana was Behind the lass counter, At her elbow was a wicker baket filed with letters All of the letters were unopened, which [ter learned were sealed with moss green war bearing two intertwined M's, On the other side ofthe counter ‘wana bare table with two cals, sts 2 In her hand was rectangular box with ser bow “Yea [sid in wonder. “How di ha get here" “Lot things arive hee tobe found,” she sd Oh," Tsald. "Do Thave wo pay fortis” “Noy she sid with laugh. “only sel the unclaimed items.” Hooked atthe shclves, “That's lot of unclaimed ters” Ana looked wistful. "People lose things every day. Most ast give up ooking ae forget.” 1 was curious abou the shop and the sudden sadness Ana's vice, but was presed for time, s0 Thanked her and sid goodbye, (le mit be mentioned, though, tat despite the tne spent looking fr the pen on that street, and the time I spent inside Aras shop, Lareived hme in tine for dinner.)liza Vitoria #20 1 vated gan the net dy, saying a st am bo, having te, eating bread, td looking over her incotry. She sd her tea was mae from the beled peta of ror, gumomls and samp, and was incredibly set and refreshing wane ak a ingrediont bese the Mower i were {oa the ence ame petal wo jut end up with someting fol and hey. "ana athe lst jets appeared in the treroom behind the shop, Joctd bese Ana's Kitchen ander bathroom ‘fe slept in a bedroom ‘pais, and would remain there antl claimed. 1 the tems remained ‘nce for 30 days they wo! be mone to the shop tobe appraised ed sold “The shop baal rts of things Wineglassand mops, maging Haasan apectacls and glans ofalahapsand eran color, ables fre chats fom vrous crn cts and thes and bag nd pares camera shoes and basa pumps, chest ely, isl bones, dlls and oer toy, lac an ilk, bronze eandelbeas, comb lad vvith pears, nts adornd with hand en designs al rhinestones, large Snag tos, books and ots and ers. ay human lene look through the sees for items they cou se don” Ants "Some of thee things wer tooo and broken to te worn ore, They pay me with human currency, and that's what Ie {0 py the humans who come nt pawn th procs. My noe-human lente, on the ther hand, cally jst end up bartering each other’ teas, Thy have noon for human objets, and humans more often than ‘ot refine op the pier the Rem of magic” isthe an rkentation” Lake, and Ana looked me surpric, nd wrt ut Ife ioe tet ec tent wi lap pet mth ila window, hat se woul (perhaps joking) ask met app {woul pretend to coir and uy yes Lonny ys she war ance, Sincere Indy nd ike eran Io tnt er eins nthe very bred tear ‘Ad hisses exactly what happened | did't nced part-time job, bt working with Ana wa plea ny worked after shoal best spent the weekend with List (and Ana sndertod ta). Ane's Little Pawnshop on Makiling St. 21 ‘Ana dd really need aelper- Clients dat come in doves: But she ‘only ad her books and she couldnt understand the appeal of TV rao. ‘She was hungry fr constant company: My schedule was like thi: school, have lunch with Lisa, extra ‘curricular shit rough Lis clever mancuverings Found mysel signing ‘up for the school paper, and now I ould find a way ut ene) ay goodbye to Lisa, change out of my ullorm, goto Anas shop hat woul be around four, s0'd arrive in ime fr tea and bread then | woul lean ‘up, check the storeroom for new items, and help Ana move the heavier ‘objects aroun the shop. ‘Ana opened he shop late, because clit ually cane nat night ke ‘octurmal customers prowling a convenience store for their chocolate x ‘There was always the usual paenahop busines of thi-wristate for cas, but I had also seen my share of incrstng trade. blind gil exchanging ber singing voice for sight (Ana stored the gil oice i a jar and place ‘it on the topmost shelf, a basketball player exchanging » week's worth ‘of laughter for the quick mending ofa broken hone. There was ne night when aman came in. and bough a ostleo'storm cls, He claimed to be spo needed the rai,” he sai “Lcouldn't writin tis gcklamn heat.” “What di be pay for tht?" Task ce the man had ef "That's jus a weeks supply of storm loud,” Ana sd, "so only asked for six months of his if. 'm going to we that fr my sunflowers. Tht ‘way, they woulda’ wil fora lang time ist that fanantic” hoped the man wrote go poems. ‘Anaalo had lot of visitors, morals and immortals alike, Lwas there ‘ben Alunsina banged in, wearing a short Blac dress and dark sunglasses, and smelling of acrylic. “A human!” she sid when she saw me. *How ‘wondered about the sunglass. It was six in the evening. ‘Ana embraced her and arranged their teacups on the small table, ‘Alunsina was asking about the mask, “So who finaly bought the damon thing?” “Tala di” “Tal” Alunsina burst out ughing. “Where will she ws i” "h'sa good accessory for an evening gown,” Ana iian Vitoria #22 ‘What, sh dow a party? Good get” She turned to me, and 1 realized that wasn't acrylic wafting of of her—it was cheap gi, "He, if “Tals evr invites you to her party, don't go She's as dll asa dying galaxy” 1 didn't have firsthand experince, abil, but Iwas prety sare ‘ying galaxy would be anything but dul. believe it would be fantastic, lrcathtaking, heartbreaking. Not dull. But eximmortal or wo, Alunsing was drunk and seemed unstable, our nodded my head “Alnsina's pie strayed toward Ana's wicker basket of unopened eters. “Ohh,” she said. “Is the queen giving youa hard ime?” ‘Ana sighed. “I bet theyre strongly worded mlaives regarding 1 refusal to become astockhole,” Ana ssid. *Y'm happy with ny small shop. "don't need dividends” "You shouldn't have trusted her." Alunsina sad, “She's corporate now. She'L screw you over ane ofthese dy.” "Sorry about that,” Ana sai, after having seen Alsi ot the door. Who's the queen?” tasked. Amalooked at mea moment, then smiled and shook her head ‘Sorry Lid ey face reddening, couldn't help oveshering —" “Alunsina and her big mouth,” Ana aid laughing, I's ll ight, Eric ‘Who ithe qucen? own this shop, but the rest of the Block is owed by Mariang Maliling "Tse" aid, But doesnt she lve in a forest” “Thi isthe forest!” Anaad, gle, ax chough she had caught me In a trp, “Was, We're sting right in it A corporation bought the lind From the government tre down the tres, burned the gras, and filled st veth concrete and buildings. Instead of hurling curse all around, however Mariang Making simply dusted herself off and struck a deal with the torts So now she's stockholder and a businesswoman, I believe she now responds to "Marie" Ana shrugged. “I don't Blame the poor gl She snllered thigh sting of heartbeska Alithe believes ae ould aby jumping into finance, then good for her. tart ate how the busines as alfected her, how she now treasures the impersonal. Shs been sending toe letters intend of conning betes have tn with me.” She shrogged unt waved hand toward the wicker basket, though she waned to banish ‘ay from her sight. “Did you thnk what Tal gave me in exchange for her tank wat wel” "Alunsina had been berting her shout i, "No Usd. I think Ws realy cool pir of gases.” Ana's Little Pawnshop on Making St © 5 Jin ed ln? Ack oe ed rier cer. The mtr her ped nel sabe Deis tocpLoat ter ut torte aun perenne nl aed ny po ace frac oap aa ae eles pest sce tery tin pnd a Ana ol ce Baranencaateonye tit he eae Sinatra mis ike atl Ansa nna Tansee ce proay Inrotd nthe nengapere thea allen thomas ae It fond mpl ng wor bout Th alent eee Species vot Wide wath yes wane peas ; pected fran og Wwe te rics lan vem wh epee ‘ied eg rath ppgoae Ute pe on titra bude The get ad ert cnn tow. They ea the ooo all nos dos those pink shoes. i id "Sheed nea Smnt ng he at a Ss og ws fad rm res a bin ‘Mhsie) fal rikpelbe ming oul an eg ae soe sie “Ve Joh enemy in he tree Apart ‘tut lst 1 tag he pel andy sppeaing in the torercom, bewiklere bet fe of iy “ial th tng i An" ye. * ‘beh tht vas thee wo ft md ad ed ea ‘with the inventory li i elo ie go Anal lla ae nase saprolite agar " ‘e ed noe Sc aly ho he fal ah ja, wahing her hard cs le" nen et cen Lo tran hel" nine ‘aswel Angst, he wl She vied we fl in lowe wih: mariah gr Bho git and hed ue sured oaEliza Vietoria © mother for years, But the man fll out of love, and Anagoay fond here ‘sbandoned ‘We metin this town, the hs moved awa.” Ana sad "I decided to stay here because hae allen in Jove with ee place, and there itil that fait hope that he'l comeback. Maybe then he'll explain why he id what ed Angee rp ile "Heke or dhe wth ‘That's afl I sad. Halmost asked forthe man's mame. I thought maybe could Google him. “As though rein my snnd, Ana idl tied looking fr ther. But then I thought, fn them, we then? What uses it to find poople that don't want to be found? They're not lost: one decided to remove himself from my work, one was taken away. Better if walt for them to come to “So when 1 eand about Malang Makiing’s business endeavors, 1 visited her and ake fed be give a pece of and in this ea. paid {portion of my influence fr small shop and her protection. With her glmourproectng ths property, this definitely the safes spot in town, Inher, you ned not worry about fre, or ood, ofthe sort of evil that ences men t throw a dead cil int a river. ean sleep soundly with the front door unlocked, Isa good deal. run my shop, and sit here and vit? If the missing gil's mother knew this, she would have bought protection forher cil ina heartbeat, I would. | woul buy protection for sy fim For Lis ‘But Marlang Making asked big price fn eturn, and I did have powers to barter. ‘Meanwhile, the leters bearing Mariang Mabiling’s seal kept nding ‘up nse the wicker basket. More than once I was tempted t0 open one of them, but U kept my hands 1 myself and did my: work without saying anything ‘One diy san i sui dropped bythe pawnshop. I had jus arrived a wasn't even done puting butter on my brea when the ite bell ontop ‘ofthe dor inked [thought we had an early customer Gretings, Anaoly,the man sid ‘Ana's Little Pawnshop on Makiling St 25 *Grecting, Miche” Anal ing “But pec ale Ana. ic? shes ring tome wold ou mi ito mich you moe othe We were sting tthe tbe, "No poe and ok my tes with Tra Michael lance the wicker ket ad elgh "ce ye’ read any of Marie's letters” meal at vanadate nes tee 2 at grumpy. And came to Marng Making hen bough nliatinaheekiranademopetemceee ns "De take twp? Michal She's wa rly eal by A ‘the letters aren't about the stock contro! issue.” ieabotian “Then et dee sh wan” “Theyre tearing down the Bling, Ana Mla ai Mari’ aman pre natal al Talon ed ony fen “And sb alin hi? Ana ei This was thei ne a Jook so distraught. “But I own this shop.” 7G Yes wl poe you with moh vee, Bato a eto ho and kav by enero. We hl en you several mont, a yo nee pene the eters nd you never reed ‘na chewed on th: The "ete peak wih Marian Msking” Michal peed hit rfc ni apo i ely tame hee toproen yo wih he decane alr tcome” stl yw bel ae sie ni al Tid ba Michel lt anyone nthe then, ate ey ‘oh "he ee" a the las doe aged pean ode somes ina wht aes st nd rel pups fled by two ale sat td another mann ut. The woman, hang ceny ha aight brown skin ole stern ad trace, ar red ooh she would ahr be cere Her nants oka bored, a thoagh tninpresic whe pow dn Totes man reply Seti as wigan oe ie he ce Marian Making Fpped bea Malin ped er blr ner shou, and he shpat suddenly filled with the heady scent of sampapute, PaEliza Victoria #36 reetings, Masi” Ana sid, spd Mariang Matalin slumped her shoulders, smiled and drew Ana dose for an embrace. I thought even this furken friendliness was artifical, “Greetings Anagoly” she si *T assume Michael had tld you the “te there no way could keep my sop” "You wil keep your shop, Anagoly. Well jut relocate you" “Where? Somewhere near?” Marlang Making di’ ep “Tam sure,” Ana sai, “that you could et your mortals bull this mall ‘or whateverit-s around me pai fr this spice deary, Mariang Making, I paid for protection.” "That got to her. Mariang Maing placed her hands on her hips and took a deep breath, He female assistants typed on their Blcterry’s, ‘Michael sighed ap ite, ad the boiyguard stood a stil aa ventne “All the memories of your Mi’ greatest love," Marang Makiling sk after that long pause, and you can keep your shop.” ‘Ai received the Blow as graceflly ashe could. "That would include memories of my daughter, Mari.” So he it” Maring Making said. “Consider my terms, Anagoly. 1 ave a bsines ofan.” ‘And so they let. Only Michael looked apologetic: Ana only sak, “Welland nothing cls, an fe her with er sence ‘Then t was time to leave, Ast was picking up my backpack Ana tapped sme onthe shoulder. Ituened, andl jar shoved ito my hands “sagt she si" beleve Lia wil ike i." was the nebulae from Tala spectacles, the star-forming clouds that aire but for whic refed to give my night sky memories. Ana had tied aed bow aroun the lid, and attached a card that sald, To Ei ond Lisa, fom a dear fend. "Don't do it" aid. ‘Ana looked surprised. "Don't do what, Eric?” ‘Don't give her what she aks for. Js relocate. If t's protection that worries yo, bay lacks, buy ast gun or aba, buy a proper cash rege, thelp you! Done gve her what she wants.” But that wos all in ny head. AIX ely said was: “Are you going to mone?" ‘Ana's Little Pawnshop on Mailing St. Oo ea Mee ee ar ae ee Bio os to ae es Saye a ame as =e ee eee