Hidden Treasures

Pushing against the wood as that's where I assume it is the strongest, I can't seem to quite push it open. I lean with all my weight and it suddenly gives way, sending me tumbling into the room. A loud creak escaped from the door as it became un-wedged from its frame. I land slightly unsteadily in a room that my eyes have trouble adjusting to. It looks like one of those Eye-Spy puzzles where there is something new and strange every which way you look. A family of mis-matched china dogs sit upright on an ethnic coffee table atop a family room rug. A collection of devilish clowns are perched on the top shelf behind a sheath of protective glass in a cabinet on which the paint is stripping. Over 20 lamps from every era light the cluttered living room, illuminating the creatures lurking in the shadows. A mannequin is looming behind me dressed in animal fur and a red feather hat; her eyes have a demonic quality that makes me uneasy.

And it's all for sale.

An Egyptian looking necklace catches my eye and I immediately fall in love; it's nice to have something to focus on due to the overwhelming amount of "stuff" in this place. Old children's toys dented and marked lay strewn across the floor among price tags for beautiful treasures hidden amongst the terror. Eyes from figurines are watching me take in all the beauty and horror of this cluttered cave masked as an opshop.

There is definitely opportunity here. From a blouse that looks like it was salvaged from a pirate ship, to a cracked tea pot that I'm sure means something to someone. Overalls from an old laborer hanging near a broom stick that looks like it would assist more with flying than cleaning. Nic-nac's on every flat counter top, a box of fake fruit hidden beneath an old writing desk. I can see tiny carvings possibly from the owner or perhaps their kids, little drawings unreadable to those not in the know.

My writers mind is exploding with the possibilities of this "store." If I am ever at a loss of what to write I plan to drive all the way to this far away land and emerse myself in its treasures. So rich in ideas and stories, you could never be bored here. I couldn't live if my house were this cluttered but this space feels to magical and homely when I expected to feel overwhelmed and anxious. It was like visiting a picture book, my hands running over all the different materials not wanting to alter or remove a single thing.

I want to go back. I want to relive it. But I'm in love with this memory.

I feel like it never existed or more that something that insane could never have been, but it's there, in the heart of the tiny township of Foxton, New Zealand. There lies a place of wonder, of beauty, of treasure.

-ShaniJoy