The after-school sky was eerily quiet. I left the school gates and walked my usual path. A familiar landscape. A familiar flow of people.

"Hey, did you hear? The story about the Wish-Granting Shop!"

Suddenly, a conversation from the classroom comes back to me.

"Apparently, you buy a doll at that shop." "If you take care of it properly, your wish comes true." "But the place and time are always different, so only the people who find it can go."

I almost laugh at the silly story, but then someone says softly: "But you know, I heard there's someone whose wish actually came true." Then the bell rang, and the conversation was cut short.

There was something strange at the edge of my vision. There, a shop I didn't recognize stood. A weathered exterior. Dull glass. Something was written on the sign in faded letters, but I couldn't quite read it.

On this path I take to school every day, if my memory served me right, there shouldn't have been a shop like this. I thought I should just leave it alone. But at the same time, I couldn't look away, and before I knew it, my hand was on the door. A small creak. The inside of the shop was darker than I expected. Antique furniture. Old clocks. Trinkets I'd never seen. Mirrors and paintings... It was silent, as if time had stopped.