The Lost Compass

The rain drop hit Dave’s face. He looked up. The sky had grown dark and the clouds loomed gloomily overhead. It would be pouring soon.

Dave stopped walking to look for a place to hide. Everyone around him quickly brought up umbrellas or hoods to shield themselves from the intense drizzle. However, he did not think to bring an umbrella or a coat that had a hood. The one time he did not check the forecast!

Dave lifted his briefcase higher and tried to cover his eyes from the rain. Everyone was calmly walking down the street. Those who were unlucky like himself were running for cover. A yellow shape caught his eye. Maybe he could hail a taxi…

“Hey!” he shouted at one as it drove by. The hand sign wasn’t working. That was the third one that passed him.

Dave looked down at himself. His pants were almost soaked from the rain. He needed to get somewhere dry, and fast. He looked down the street. No more taxis were coming so he wouldn’t be missing any opportunity here.

The man quick walked to each door on the street. They all read: “Sorry. Closed.” 

“This is what I get for working in a small town!” he miserably muttered to himself. 

Small towns were not on his “bucket list.” In fact, he always dreamt of working in a big city; for instance, New York. There, he was independent and free. The possibilities of where life could take him were endless.

Instead, life decided to bring him to the same town he grew up in for the past 29 years. Even college couldn’t save him from the clutches of home. His parents and family insisted on their beloved member to remain in the vicinity, despite his considerably large scholarship from New York University. “We love you too much.” His granddad explained to him. “Going to a big city would bring only worry and fear to your mother’s heart.” 

“Where are you now, Grandpa?” Dave whispered in anger. “You left us for two years now and we are still crying.”

There was a buzz from his pocket. Dave reached in to pull out a cell phone. It was ringing a familiar tone specified to family. He quickly pressed the “END” button. There was no way he was going to talk to them now. He wasn’t in the mood to hear their concerns.

Dave stopped walking. The walking sign was off even though there were no cars around. He cautiously ran on ahead. When he crossed the street, a red sign brought him relief.

“Alice’s Curiosity Shop. Open.” Dave read. “Nice!” He ran to the shop. The handle was extremely cold to the touch. It was also stubborn. The wet man attempted to turn the handle but it simply wouldn’t budge.

“Come on!” he grunted. “Help me out here!”

At that moment, the metal turned hot and the door opened with a loud bell ring. Dave didn’t wait another second standing in the rain.

“Hello, there.” An old lady stood behind a wooden counter. The table was as ancient as the shelves and other tables in the store. On them were various items and gadgets. Some of them were new to even him, a sci-fi geek himself.

“Hi.” Dave responded. “I’m just stopping by for a moment. It’s pouring out there! You don’t mind, do you?”

The lady pressed something on a black antique cash register. “Of course, not.” she said. Her knees and back cracked as she slowly made her way to a door in the back.
“You can have a look around. Maybe you will find some items interesting.”

“Thank you.” Dave told her but she was already gone. The curtain of beads closed after her.

Words could not describe the objects he found lying around. One looked like a feather but left a dark purple residue when touched. Another object was a jar with numerous organs inside.  With closer observation, Dave found that it was a heart. Whether it was human or animal was not a question he wanted answered.

His foot stepped on soft ground. At first, he thought it was carpet but when he actually glanced on it, he saw neon green fur.

“What the-?” Dave took a step back. That was when he saw the bear’s face. He almost crashed into a watch display case as he yelped in surprise. It was dead but the eyes had been replaced with goggle-eyes. Who would kill a bear just to soak it in green paint and then put goggle-eyes on it? Was it some kind of sadistic joke?

He focused his attention onto another spot. His eyes fell on a counter draped in velvet fabric. On top was a silver helmet.

“Is that what I think it is?” he asked himself.

Dave went to it and carefully placed it on his head. What seemed like the visor was really a screen. His eyes acted like a mouse, wherever they moved, the arrow moved as well.

The invention was out of this world. He had only read it in books but had never imagined anything like what was on his head. If this was a prototype, imagine what the next model would look like; or the ones afterwards! Better yet, what the possibilities would be with this invention were to be at people’s disposal?!

Dave fought the urge to continue playing with the gadget but he reminded himself that he was here for only a short amount of time. Still, what was something as revolutionary as this doing in a random shop like this?

He pondered this as he removed the helmet. Maybe it was left here or pawned. A guy in desperate need of cash and only had one thing to sell: this helmet. How desperate they had to be to give up something like this?

Dave’s hand instantly when to his coat pocket.  Another good question was how much did this thing cost? His fingers eagerly went through the bills in his wallet. There was fifty dollars in cash and a couple of checks in case of an emergency. Credit card was out of the question. He glimpsed at the cash register and the cobwebs that protruded out of it. Yep, that was not an option. So it was either going to be cash or check.

A white piece of paper hanging in front of him changed everything. It was fairly long with small writing on it. The biggest words were bolded and capitalized. “NONE OF THE ITEMS ON THE VELVET TABLE ARE FOR SALE. FOR DISPLAYMENT PURPOSES ONLY.”

“Crap!” he said, bringing the helmet down hard on the table. “Just when I thought-“ 
A loud crashing noise rang throughout the shop. Dave looked down. The helmet had caused a metal object to fall on the floor.

“Young man!” The shopkeeper lady had come out of the back room. He didn’t even hear her. If was as if he appeared there out of nowhere. How?

“Yes?”

She was furious. “Treat all items with care! You will never know what kind of value they have!” 

The raise of her voice made Dave’s blood run cold. This lady was certainly not someone to mess with. “I’m terribly sorry!” he said, picking up the fallen object.

“Children these days.” She mumbled as she walked back to her spot behind the counter.

The metal object was golden and round. Dave’s figures gripped it comfortably. Turning it over, he saw a familiar insignia. His heart almost skipped a beat just looking at it.

“No way.” He breathed. On the surface, the letters D.S were engraved. The same letters of his initials to his full name: Dave Slater.

Memories came flooding back to him. The memory of the first time his grandfather had given this to him on his eighteenth birthday. The day before his parents and family told him that he couldn’t go to New York University. He was so conflicted that he never thought to open it, and so aggravated at his family that he threw the gift into a creek.
With the long lost object in his hand, Dave regretted throwing it. It was the last gift from his beloved grandfather. He should at least open it.

Dave felt for the button. It was at the bottom. He pressed it and the top slowly opened.

“A compass?” he said at loud. His birthday present was an antique compass. The golden needles shined as they spun, trying to find North. Why would his grandfather give a compass for a financial majoring student?

The question was answered at the inside of the lid. His grandfather had this inscribed in it:
To My Dearest Dave,
Use this for when you are lost on the road of life. No matter what you do, continue heading straight, you will eventually find your way. Never live with regrets because you can’t turn back.
From you loving grandfather who will always love you.

Dave’s sight became blurry. He found that he was crying. His grandfather had supported him this whole time. If he would have just opened it, then he would have known. But no, he had let his emotions get the better of him and he had tossed away the last thing his grandpa had given to him. No matter, at least he had found it.

“I see that you found two items that interest you.”

Dave looked up at the lady behind the counter. She was petting a cat that appeared to be older than her. It stared at him with sincere green eyes.

“I beg your pardon?”

She lifted a pointy finger at the helmet and then to the compass in his hand. “Those. You like them?”

“Yes, madam. I do.”

She lady shook her head, still petting the cat. “Both items of the display area. What are we going to do about that?”

She looked at him. Dave was stunned. She had grown a few years younger. Before, she was eighty but now was fifty. What did she do back there?  Nevertheless, Dave put the thought at the back of his mind.

“Listen. I know that you don’t sell the items on this table but-“

“You want to buy them?”

“Both? Well, if I could.”

“Impossible.” She said simply.

“What?”

“The rules state that I can’t sell two items at the same time to the same person,”
The white rule sheet magically levitated in front of his face as she spoke. The rule glowed on the page.
“but they also state” she continued.” that if someone is connected to an item, I must sell it to them.”

“Which means I can only buy only one?”

“Yes.”

Dave looked at the helmet and then the compass. The helmet can bring so much good. He could sell it or work to advance it. With the money, he could leave this place and explore the world! He could finally be free. On the other hand, the compass can give him freedom too. Freedom from the guilty he knew was always in his heart. He should have treated his grandfather differently before he died. Which one would he choose?

“I’ll take this one.” He walked to the counter and placed the compass on the table.

The lady gave him a questioning expression. “This one? It’s dirty and nothing compared to the Computulmet.”

Dave glanced at what he thought she was referring to. “No. I think one is more valuable, despite its functions. How much?”

The shopkeeper smiled brightly. “Don’t worry about it.” She told him.
That was when Dave noticed her eyes. They were grayish-blue. He got a sense of not just age but wisdom. She has lived for so long and seen so much. Wisdom is not by age but what you learned from your hardships. What she yelled at him suddenly made sense. She somehow knew that this belonged to him and wanted him to buy the compass all along.

“Thank you.” Dave said with his whole heart.

“You're very welcome.” She glanced out the shop window. “The rain has stopped.”
Dave looked with her. It was sunny. He swore it was pouring a second ago. “That’s weird. Was it even supposed to rain today?” he asked her.

She shrugged. “I guess everything happens for a reason.”

Dave took the compass. “I guess so.” He picked up his briefcase and headed for the door. “Have a nice day, madam.”

“You too, young man. But please. Call me Alice.”

So she was the owner of the store. “Goodbye, Alice! Thanks for everything.” The door closed with a ring of a bell. The sign in shop window now said: “Closed.”

The street glittered in the evening sunlight. A few people were walking around, taking advantage of the warm air. Dave didn’t take notice though. He was focused on his new purchase in his hand. His eyes wouldn’t move from the words his beloved grandfather had left him.

A buzz came from his pocket. It was his phone. His family was calling again. Dave stopped and picked up the phone.

“Hey, Mom.”

“David! Where have you been? We have been worried sick!”

“I am on my way. I just had to pick something up that I had lost. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Well. Okay. Just hurry up. You know how I don’t like it when you walk alone in the dark. You can get lost that way.”

“Yes, Mom. Don’t worry. I won’t get lost, trust me. I’m on my way. Oh, and my mom?”

“Yes, honey?”

“I love you. I always have.”

There was a long moment of silence. He hadn’t said those words in a long time.

“Thank you, dear. I love you too. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah. I just thought you should know that I love you and always will.”

“Oh…. Okay, then. See you when you get home.”

“Okay.” He put down the phone.

Dave continued his journey. This time, he knew he wouldn’t take any turns or detours. He would only walk straight and where his heart would take him. Either way, he knew would eventually get to where he needed to be and the compass will lead him there.