Ashford's Antiques

This article is narrated from the point of view of Hailey Augustin.

My sister works at Ashford's Antiques, in Rayl, and she doesn't like it that much. It's not hard to see why. Ashford's is, in a word, boring. There's almost never anybody in there--so few that it only takes three people to keep the store open all week! I don't think that many people in Rayl have that much interest in antiques, although he does sometimes get in really valuable items. Last year, he auctioned off an old musket. It was the busiest I've ever seen the place.

Ashford's is also at the end of Fuller Street, which is out of the way to begin with. Basically, it's impossible to get there by accident. And unless he's auctioning off some old musket, I don't know why you'd want to go on purpose. My mom says it's a 'riot of color.' I think it's an eyesore.

Most of the things Mr. Ashford sells are very colorful. I think he might even have a rule that if it has less than three colors, he's not interested (it's kind of a wonder he auctioned off the musket). And they don't seem to be arranged on the shelves in any particular order. My mom says it's like a treasure hunt, but if I wanted to hunt for treasure, I would at least go somewhere more interesting than Rayl.

The weirdest part about Ashford's is that he has this special case up front, that only he's allowed to sell things out of. They don't seem to be worth any more money than the other things in the shop. In fact, the only thing that makes them different, I would say, is that they are somehow even gaudier than the rest of the place. Maybe that's the reason only he's allowed to sell them. He simply can't bear to lose his most brightly colored objects. If a customer asks to buy something from the case while Tollak's there, she has to tell them everything has been sold already, even though it hasn't.

The Frog Incident

Most days after school, I walk back to the dock with my dad after school, and we take our kayaks home together. Sometimes, when he's busy, I get to visit my friend, Arin. I used to be able to go to Ashford's once a week. Even though the place was ugly, it was nice to see my sister. But after the frog incident, my mom won't let me go.

by Alexas_Fotos

It wasn't my fault, really. I was bored. Tollak actually had a customer for once, some lady named Samantha. And the key to Mr. Ashford's case was just lying there. And there was this frog figurine I thought would be perfect for trying out my rune magic.

So I unlocked the case and took the frog out. I wrote the runes on the bottom of the firgurine. It was only supposed to croak, but instead it sprang to life and started hopping around the shop. Just then, Lila came in, and it hopped right out the front door. I chased it down the street, and I thought I had it cornered, but just as I was about to leap on it, it jumped away, and I fell face first into a muddy puddle. When I looked up the frog was gone.

It was hard to let the frog get away, but it was even harder to realize that Tollak chased after me when I left. She was not happy. Neither were my parents when they found out. So now I have to be bored at home, instead of bored at the antiques store.

This article was written for The Traveler's Challenge, Chapter 2

Type

Store

Parent Location

Fuller Street

Owner

Charles Ashford

People at Ashford's Antiques

There are only two people who work at Ashford's Antiques other than my sister.

by Artbreeder

Charles Ashford

I'm not actually sure how old Mr. Ashford is because he looks younger than he is. I think. I mean, he's got a baby daughter, he's got to be kind of old. He owns and runs the store, and he's really weird. He's always dressed in gaudy clothes to match his gaudy store. And sometimes he's really picky about what he sells to who. You'd think that if that few people came into your store, you'd be happy for anyone.

by Artbreeder

Lila

Lila is barely a year older than me. We used to be in the same class together at school, but now that she's fifteen, she's in the upper level. She's just as weird as Mr. Ashford. She doesn't usually dress in bright colors like him. In fact, she usually wears black. But she always has a really colorful necklace or something. For some reason, he trusts her more than Tollak, and even allows her to sell stuff out of his special case sometimes.