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Category: Short Stories | Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 10:22 am

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Jenny saw the YARD SALE sign and took a quick glimpse at her watch to make sure she had time to stop. She pulled into the yard and saw one table with a few items on it. "Is that it?" she thought to herself. She had the urge to back out and head on home, but decided to go ahead and get out.

As she walked up to the table the old woman sitting behind it looked up, nodded and then went back to her magazine.

There wasn't much on the table worth looking at. The sad display of items included an old popcorn maker, a boxed set of silverware, two small, porcelain birds, a pack of stationary paper that had been opened up and some odd and end kitchen utensils. Jenny browsed quickly and then turned to walk away.

Just then the woman spoke up, "I'll take thirty dollars."

Jenny turned back around, "Excuse me?"

"Thirty dollars. I said you can have everything for thirty dollars."

Jenny looked back at table, "No… I don't think I'm interested. "

The woman persisted, "I've got another box of old things that I'll throw in with it."

Jenny answered again, "I'm really not interested."

Still pleading her case, the woman went on, "All this stuff belonged to my sister. She died a couple of months ago."

There was a sincerity in the woman's voice that caused Jenny to soften a little, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"No need to be. Nobody really liked her anyway."

The woman paused for a few seconds as if she were going to say something else. There was an awkward period of silence until she finally spoke again, this time with harshness in her voice, "Listen young lady, I'm tired of sitting here and I'm ready to go inside. I'll give you everything on the table plus the other box for thirty dollars."

Jenny was taken back by the sudden mood change. She looked at the old woman who was staring at her intently, waiting for an answer. "I'm very sorry about your sister, but I really don't need any of these things."

She turned once again to walk away, but before she could take a step, the woman spoke again, this time much softer, "Wait! Wait! I'm sorry; it's been a stressful time for me lately. I didn't mean to raise my voice at you. I'll tell you what, I was just getting ready to pack it up and I was gonna throw all this stuff away. If you want it you can have it."

Without waiting for an answer, the woman picked up a well used moving box from behind the table, "Here's the other things, I'll just put it all in the same box for you. Do you think you can carry it?"

Jenny was surprised to somehow find herself saying, "Yes."

She said good-bye to the woman, picked up the box and carried it to the trunk of her car. As she pulled out of the driveway she looked back and saw the old woman walking slowly toward the house, head hung low. She drove away thinking about how strange it all seemed.



Last edited: Wed Jun 04, 2014 2:53 pm

This blog entry has been viewed 466 times

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eileen wrote on Wed Jun 04, 2014 10:45 am:

You can't leave it there!!!! I NEED to know what happened next. What were the other items Jenny was given? Why was the old woman's sister so disliked by others? Why did the old lady just give away everything when she had wanted to sell them?
So many questions without answers and I hope you'll put me out of my misery soon and tell me the rest of the tale.

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eclecticgarden wrote on Wed Jun 04, 2014 11:31 am:

Don't hate me Eileen, but this is a seven part story. I promise to post every day.

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AvaRose82 wrote on Wed Jun 04, 2014 2:46 pm:

I have to know as well!! I will be watching for the next post because I am now intrigued by this story you have begun.

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Tina wrote on Wed Jun 04, 2014 5:05 pm:

Ok...now the wait for the next part begins! Very intriguing!

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