• I wouldn’t have noticed the shop if the dog hadn’t barked at the exact moment he did. I looked up from my groceries just in time to see an elderly couple walk into a building I could have sworn wasn’t there a moment ago. A small bell dinged as the gentleman held the door for his wife. Inside, I could see an assortment of knick-knacks from old coke bottles to Elvis memorabilia.
    My apple juice and milk forgotten, I slowly made my way across the street as if enchanted. Some dog started voicing his opinion but my ears were stuffed with cotton and his high-pitched attack was blocked and shot down. Surprisingly, my attention on this strange shop was broken for a moment by a broken mirror placed on the curb. It was not my own reflection in it.
    An older man stared back at me with both sad and malevolent eyes. The small shop started to fade but I glared up and it jumped back to life.
    “You’re not getting away from me.” I gasped, shocked by the strange, raspy voice until I realized that frail sentence came from me. My eyes never left the window-less store for fear that it would disappear forever if I did.
    Finally, in what felt like forever, I managed to cross the street and stood in front of the store, staring at the smooth and blank wall. ‘How do I get in?’ I thought to myself. ‘There was a door when those old people went in.’
    ‘You are neither dying nor wish to be dead! Leave this place!’ A strange, quiet voice exploded in my head. My eyes opened wide as I took a tentative step back from the origin of the tough voice, the store. My right hand flew up to take its place in a defensive stance when the fingers rubbed against the wall.
    Cracking filled the air as the wall screamed its agony. A single door formed from the very spot where my fingertips touched it.
    Not missing what could be my only chance; I grabbed the slick door knob, twisted and pulled. The shop gasped as if appalled but opened itself. Cold air rushed toward me and seemed to suck me in. The door did not shut but the wall molded over the large hole. Everything settled with a sigh and I was trapped inside. I looked around amongst the scattered clutter.
    A rather large sign with dark blue writing stood out. ‘No shopping for anybody beside yourself. Do not touch any item you do not wish to buy.’ Those are odd rules for a tiny shop. Beads covering a dark doorway twinkled against each other. I look up and see the same old man from the mirror.
    “Why have you entered ‘A Piece of Peace’?” He said, his mouth not even twitching.
    “I saw an old couple came in and I became curious.” I whisper, taking a step back.
    “Well, I hope you said your goodbyes.” The man then faded away. I looked around for him, thinking it was a magic trick. This was no magic trick. I was about to learn just how serious this situation was. The store looked much larger inside than it did from the outside. There were several rooms. Some dark, some light. Some long, some short. Some crowded, and some free of any life. I searched for the elderly couple from before and finally spotted them.
    The woman had a small ceramic feline in her left hand. The man had an old-looking photo in an equally old frame clutched in his right hand. They were holding hands while crying. Even though tears were cascading down their faces, they were smiling at each other.
    Knowing this was a tender moment, I moved on to a room filled with plants and sunlight. Just as I was thinking that my Nanny would enjoy this room, I saw her.
    I smiled and started to head toward her but stopped short. Blood was staining the right shoulder of her white blouse. Then I remembered that she was supposed to have surgery on that shoulder today. My gaze dropped to her hands. She was carrying a pot of her favorite flowers, Mountain Laurels. I couldn’t tell if the spots on the flowers were a part of the flowers or droplets of her blood.
    “You buy something here, something dear to you, and you get to leave this pain-filled world. What a deal, huh?” She whispered in a dry voice. That voice wasn’t hers. She used to be cheerful and… opaque. I could see right through her! I tried to stop her when she tried to walk to the front but she passed through my arm. The phone in my pocket started buzzing but I took no mind. I would never hear that voicemail saying my Nanny died on the operating table.
    All that had happened left my mind when I entered the next room. This one was filled with JFK items. Tears swelled in my eyes as I remembered my Granddad’s fascination with JFK and his assassination.
    I pass through aisle after aisle viewing the different objects seemingly thrown onto the shelves. I think of my dear Granddad and wonder if I’ll ever see him again when I spy something.
    “Oh he’s going to love it!” I exclaimed, picking it up carefully with both hands.