Amber ran through the rain soaked streets. The dark streets ahead of her were every so often lit up by a blinding flash of lightning. She was hurring because she was late. Her umbrella was already ripped apart by the wind and she was trying desperately not to slip on the wet cobblestones as she ran in her black heels. The wind and rain were driving into her face now. She decided to slip into a small sheltered alleyway to get out of the rain.
It was eerily quiet here. It felt drier; the tall narrow walls of the alley protected her from the worst of the weather. She walked deeper into the dark alleyway listening to the echo from the click of her heels against the ground. There was a soft yellow warm light up ahead, she continued walking towards it. When she got nearer she was surprised to see that the light was from an old shop. It occurred to Amber that this was a strange place to have a shop as there were no other shops around; also it was unlikely that people would walk down here. Never the less the shop was there.
"Old Tom's Curiosity Shop" the worn sign above the shop window said. She walked closer and pressed her face against the window to look in. There where old nik naks of every sort displayed in the window. There were old books covered in dust, there was an old guitar, an old 1930's radio, but one thing in particular caught her eyes. Near the centre of the display were the most beautiful pair of high heel pumps she ever saw in her life. Their dark blood red colour seemed to stand out and contrast with the dreariness of the other items on display. The long slender sexy heels filled her with a thrilling excitement. These shoes didn't look old at all. They looked like expensive finely made shoes. The dark shine of them filled her with temptation; she imagined what she would look like in them, with her long lushious legs. The shoes seemed to speak to her, they invited her to try them on, she felt intoxicated as she looked at them. She pulled her face away from the window, and opened the door to the shop and went inside.
A bell rang to announce her presence. The shop was bursting to the seams with items, books and antique furniture most of it in disrepair, but some of it was beautiful. The air seemed to be thick with dust. At the back of the shop behind a counter was a man.
He was dressed in a fine suit, the kind that seemed like it came from the same period as all the antique furniture in the shop. The suit was fitted to his slim figure. His piercing eyes fixed on hers as he said, "Good evening madam," in a very charming English accent, "is there anything I can do for you?" "Perhaps madam would like a towel to dry her hair with?" he said as he walked around the counter.
"Why yes please," she replied, "you are ever so gracious." He handed her a white towel.
As she dried off her long red hair she asked could she try on the shoes in the window. "Of course madam," he said.
"I've never heard of this shop before," she said as he went to the display on the window.
"It's been here for hundreds of years," he replied as he lifted the red shoes from the display. "I must warn you madam that these shoes aren't like any other shoes you can buy; they have a mind of their own."
"What do you mean a mind of their own," she laughed as she put the towel she was using to one side.
"They are cursed," he said as he looked at her strangely. "They control the person who wears them; they tap into their deepest darkest desires and make that person act out those desires."
"Really?" she said half laughing, "umm, they sound interesting I want to try them."
"Ok madam, but remember I have warned you," he said, "we can go in the back room where there is a chair you can sit on." "May I take your coat?" he asked.
"Please," she smiled.
He took her coat and hung it on an old coat hanger in the corner of the shop.
"This way madam," he said as he held out his arm to guide her into the next room.
The room he brought her to was dark and full of many fine antiques. It was lit by a small lamp on a desk and partly by a sky light in the ceiling. "Wow so many beautiful things," she said to him.
"Yes I've been a collector and my father was a collector and his father was a collector before him," he said as she walked around the antiques admiring them.
A large mirror at the back of the room made the room look bigger than it actually was. The frame of it was finely made with delicate woven patterns.
"Now madam you can sit here," he said as he pulled a chair out for her. She sat down on the chair. "Please slip off your shoes madam."
She was wearing black high heeled pumps and black nylons, which were now wet. She reached down and slipped off her shoes and placed them to one side. She could hear the storm and howling wind outside.
