text: I don’t make it to the downtown area very often. Very few people do. Like many small cities, the downtown section has fallen out of favor. The younger crowd gravitate to ‘the mall’, or more ‘cool’ hangouts. That relegates established merchants on the strip to dwindling sales and even fewer repeat customers. On one particular evening however, I found myself among the dusty storefronts of yesteryear. I parked in front of an abandoned parking meter and walked the strip with mild nostalgia. There were still a few of the legacy stores from my youth but most were long gone. In their place were exotic boutiques catering to the yuppie crowd, or abandoned storefronts of a once-thriving business. I still remembered my mother holding my hand while we walked down the sidewalk. We’d go into the dime store or clothing establishments. Those places had a particular smell. It wasn’t unpleasant, just unique to the time period. I smiled faintly as I walked, remembering the memories. Down a side alley, I saw a store called ‘The curiosity shoppe’. It definitely hadn’t been there in my youth, and by the looks of things, it wasn’t a new business either. It must have been established in that foggy, intermediate period between my early childhood, and more recent times of my formative years. As one might expect with a name like that, I was genuinely curious what was inside. Of all downtown businesses I passed that evening, it was the only one I entered. A pleasant, bespectacled man of advanced years greeted me from behind the counter. He didn’t ask if I needed help. He didn’t follow me around inside the store either. He simply remained at his post. I was so used to the high-pressure tactics of modern establishments that it startled me. Either he didn’t care I was there, or wasn’t worried about me stealing anything. I decided he was just very relaxed in his selling approach. It was refreshing. The wares in the store were largely nondescript. That’s not to suggest they were uninteresting or boring, but ‘this and that’ was as apt of a description; as any. Strangely, I found myself becoming increasingly more curious by the very mundane nature of them as time went on. It was the exact opposite reaction of what you’d expect. I asked the old gentleman about a number of the items on display in genuine interest. One-by-one he politely explained each thing and their purpose. Not once did I consider buying any of them. They didn’t even list prices. It was like some sort of oddity museum, and he was the curator. After losing track of the time, I felt a bit light headed. I actually had to squat down on the floor a minute. The old man didn’t seem to notice. Honestly, I couldn’t fathom how he could hope to stay in business. His items were moderately interesting to inquire about, but not nearly compelling enough to buy. Regardless, I didn’t want to leave his store empty handed because I felt bad for him, but there was nothing I really needed or desired. He sensed my ambivalence but eschewed it with a dismissive hand wave. “You just come back some other time and bring your friends and family.”; He offered apologetically. “I’ll have more things to examine soon.” I nodded and thanked him for not expecting a ‘pity purchase’. Oddly enough, the gentleman no longer looked that old. He still had on his glasses, but he barely looked past middle aged! I was stunned by my significant difference in perception. I waved goodbye and staggered out onto the sidewalk. It was all I could do to dizzily trudge back to my car. It was as if my blood sugar had dropped to dangerous levels. When I made it home, I forced myself to eat something. After that I felt a little better. The next morning, I rested up and felt like my old self again. Not drawing any connection with my sudden loss of energy, I mentioned the place to a number of friends. It was more in passing, than an active suggestion to patronize the store but I’d inadvertently piqued their curiosity too. In short order I‘d driven a number of friends, family members, and business associates to visit ‘The curiosity shoppe’. Only later did a few of them relate their startlingly similar experience. Exactly as I had been, they were genuinely interested in the store items in a general way, but hadn’t bought anything. They also felt deeply drained and were surprised to realize the proprietor looked much younger when they left. One even described him as “a ‘thirty something’ merchant with the wire-rimmed glasses of an old man.” They too mentioned the store to their family and friends. By the time I made the connection, I had already spread the epidemic to hundreds of people. The proprietor was getting younger with each visit while the customers were being drained of energy. I‘d increased traffic to ‘The curiosity shoppe’ exponentially! I had to stop this energy vampire from sucking the life out of anyone else. I shuttered to think how the experience would affect an older, or weaker person. It was imperative I shut it down before someone died. I was seriously hesitant to call the cops. What would I say? That a junk shop downtown was draining the life-force from all who entered? No matter how true it was, it sounded preposterous. I just decided to call city hall and lodge a formal complaint. I wasn’t sure what that was going to be, but I figured I could make up something when the time came. When the operator answered, I informed her that I wanted to file an injunction. Without clarification or more details, she switched me to a detective. “Frank. I got another one for ya.”; She bellowed over the intercom system. Before I had a chance to prepare my bogus statement, the detective chimed in. “Don’t tell me. Let me guess. ‘The curiosity shoppe’ downtown, am I right?” He sounded more than a wee bit miffed at what was apparently a reoccurring complaint. I didn’t respond. He continued. “Listen, I don’t know if this is a college prank; or if half the town has gotten into some bad hooch, but there is no business in this town by that name. The address everyone keeps giving is an abandoned storefront! It’s been empty now for 23 years. For the love of god, tell all your buddies to stop calling the station! We’ve got enough real police work to attend to without all the wild goose chases.” I hung up and immediately drove over to the downtown alley. It isn’t possible but I witnessed the empty building with my own eyes. The dust on the floor and windows was a quarter inch thick. I don’t know how it could be, but it was as if it was never there to begin with. Obviously not all of us could’ve experienced a mass hallucination.