The Lonely Emporium 

Tom was always half asleep, he was never fully awake. His mum always had to drag him out of bed in the morning. His teacher was always giving him detentions for falling asleep in class. One day after school, he was strolling in town when he found a shop with a warm, comfy bed in it. He’d never been in there but had to go in and lie on the bed.

After Tom’s 4 hour nap, he felt revitalised: for the first time in a while. Maybe this odd, lonely shop was magical. The sun was setting and the whole Emporium lit up. He was surrounded by a whole lot of things. Across the room from him stood a tall cabinet of books stacked right to the top of the room. The title of one of the books was “how to turn your teacher into a spider!” Tom gulped when he read that.  The books were magical, ancient and witch-like.

He glanced over to another corner. A small glass table sat in the corner. The table was layered with padded fluff and had something bright on the top. He slowly started to walk over: still confused why it was just him in the shop. Tom got closer but got blinded by the beaming, transparent jewels. He was in shock. No one knew how much they cost: they were priceless. Tom didn’t know all the names for the jewels but the ones he knew were rubies and emeralds. They came in all different shapes and sizes.

The last thing he saw ( or so he thought) was a door. It looked regular but Tom knew it wasn’t. It was tall, black, oak and worn down. Tom thought it was a portal but it looked unreliable. He touched the stone-cold golden handle with fear filling up his body. It had a mysterious and magical look to it. He was sweating.

On the other side was a crown. Tom walked forward making sure the door didn’t lock behind him as he didn’t trust this place. The room was lit up by the richness from the crown. Tom ran his finger along the intricate designs, wiping the dust away to reveal an even brighter layer of gold. It was encrusted with crystals- even more blinding than the ones before. All Tom could think about were the Crown Jewels. The crown was velvet trimmed.

Tom jumped at the noise of the door. In walked an old man with a white, fluffy Barn Owl perched on his shoulder.

” Hello sir, do I know you?” questioned the man.