The Lady Who Went Shopping

The Lady Who Went Shopping

By Paul McCann  

Miss Victoria Bower was alone in the world after both her parents were killed in a car accident . She learnt to become independent and strong .

She had also become a hoarder of things . She never threw anything away and she had a unstoppable habit of collecting things . Her house was crammed with all kinds of trash and treasure she had bought from markets all over the world  . There were so many items stored within every room, that were never used and some of the rooms were difficult to get in and out of . The entrance and exit to the front and back door was difficult to get past with all the boxes of collectable goods stashed inside . There was so much antique furniture around the house that took up every available space there was . Strange works of art and intriguing lights were suspended from the rafters and there were exotic garments from ancient cultures in cupboards and drawers that she had stored away for years . Most everywhere you went in the house there were statues of animals from every corners of the earth .Some were carved from timber and others were sculped from  marble and stone . There were some welded together by metal and some from paper mâché .

Victoria loved to go shopping and went as often as she could to outdoor markets around the world . She never had a plan in place she just acted on impulse whenever the moment would come . It was a passion that drove her to buy something and then she just went looking . It was an addiction as well as an adventure for her . She loved the outdoors and she loved to travel and see different countries and cultures in search for that something special , that one of a kind article to add to her collection . For years she had scavenged and scoured the local markets around the villages around where she lived . She frequented auction houses and second-hand stores .She went to jumble sales and deceased estate sales and wherever anything was advertised for sale . For many years she had been gathering items for sale in newspapers and magazines .

Her desire to wear different clothes was also a passion in her life . She had so much leather gear to wear and  rings for her fingers and nose and her ears .

She has so much bling on her body she jingled when she walked  . She had high heels and sandals , and boots for her feet . She had new and old fashions that dressed her like a Queen or a punk and she had something to wear for every occasion . She had fascinators and tiaras to wear on her  head and all kinds of colourful make up for her face . She had watches and bangles for her wrists , velvet gloves for her hands  , necklaces and scarfs for around her neck . She had fur coats for her body and all kinds of  belts for around her waist  but she had only one handbag .It was the first handbag she had ever bought when she was a young lady  .

Victoria bought the handbag at a stall in an outdoor market from an old gypsy woman who sold all kinds of things from a little tent . She had provisions and perfumes , toiletries and greeting cards , pots and pans , flowers in baskets and a lucky dip box filled with all kinds of gifts wrapped up in pretty paper .

Victoria paid the fee to the gypsy woman and plucked out a parcel from the  lucky sip , when she got home, she unwrapped the parcel to find the  handbag and was even more excited to discover there was lots of money inside the handbag . Victoria immediately went back to the markets to return the bag and money but when she got there the old gypsy woman had already gone. and no one there could tell her where the gypsy woman lived so Victoria didn’t know what else to do . Suddenly an urge to start spending the money  came over her . The compulsion was so strong she couldn’t resist it and Victoria  spent all the money until it was gone . She returned home with jewellery and  lots of clothes  .  The next day when she awoke, she opened the handbag and saw the bag was full of money . After she had breakfast, she had another urge to go shopping and once again she went and spent all the money that was inside the handbag . Next day the bag was full of money again .

Since that day Victoria went shopping whenever and wherever the urge would come . It became a passionate lifestyle . Now that she was getting old it was hard for her to get around the place like she did when she was young and fit . The urge wasn’t as strong as it used to be and one morning someone knocked on her front door .

“Hang on I’m coming ‘  she said .

It was taking her a while to move things out of the way to get to the door .

The knocking persisted .

“Is anybody home ?” The visitor she said.“ .

She replied .

“I’m coming “

As she to unbolt all the door latches . Then she finally opened the front door ,

Standing there was the gypsy woman who many years ago had sold a lucky dip parcel to Victoria . The gypsy woman had not grown any older . She still looked the same as she did many years ago .She looked into Victoria’s eyes and smiled then she said .,

“Hello again , I was just wondering if you’re finished all your shopping because there is someone else who might enjoy using your lucky handbag “

Victoria left the gypsy woman at the door and returned inside . After rummaging around for a while, she returned with the handbag and gave it back to the gypsy woman and spoke .

“I did try to return it to you but when I went to the markets you were gone and I didn’t know what else to do “

The gypsy woman smiled and then said .

“The handbag was for you to use for a little while . Did you enjoy the things you did with it ?”

Victoria took a long deep breath and replied .

“Oh yes it was the adventure of a lifetime , I hope the new owner will also have the same experience as I have done . Thank you so much for the loan .”

The End

.