#lost princess

“Do you need any help Miss Marlin?” Mr Barrett shouted from behind the counter. Alvara (Miss Marlin)  was currently scavenging for any scrap of metal she could find: bolts, little wheels, copper wiring, anything she could lay her hands on. The orange dim light pleasantly exposed all the little nicks and crooks that the dusty shelves tried to hide, dust seeping through the sunlight as the shop only sold broken antiques. A singular window was left half-closed enough to let through a light breeze, a method for the shop to change the confined air since Mr Barrett was too old to clean everything by himself

Alvara smiled contently, scanning every inch of each shelf that held bowls of tiny pieces of metal.

“No thank you Mr Barrett, i got this covered” replying as she stretched up to grab a particular broken clock which was now rusting. Walking over to the counter she gently yet confidently slammed the clock onto the table “This please!” She smiled triumphantly at the shop keeper who stared at her amusingly.

“Ah yes, a 19th century walnut pocket-watch from Germany! A very good choice” Mr Barrett picked up the item and scanned it, Alvara looked around, she admired the little shop Mr Barrett made. Not only did it store old forgotten items, but it kept alive the life that each item had before it was tossed away. The time it spent, the marks and bruises all hold a particular memory that made each item special. It was a nice thought to have and Alvara enjoyed every single part of them, especially when Mr Barrett is able to provide a story that was almost barely true.

“Am i going to hear another war related story with this broken clock?” Alvara chuckled, she always enjoyed the stories that the old shopkeeper invented, often wondering if he was the people he dreamily talked about in his past lives, although Mr Barrett was alive during the war he often loved to joke around the idea of the ‘Good Glory days’, so it was not uncommon that to make stories more interesting he would incline them towards warfare.

“Ah..of course” The shopkeeper exchanged money with his customer and began fantasizing whilst setting up to bag the interested item.

“Winter of 1862, a young German soldier was caught up through the harsh blizzards of Norway in the search of his troops, lost and confused; he thought that his men abandoned him to die alone in the harsh snow…

The only things he had with him were a pocket knife, a fur jacket which he tightly hugged around his body and his trusty wooden pocket watch.” Mr Barrett lifted up the watch against the sunlight, analyzing each scratch and broken piece to carry on his story.

“ The sun went out, and the moon was nowhere to be seen. But he could always tell the time as his watch never stopped working.”

At this point Alvara sat down on a small wooden stool that settled beside the tall counter. Intensely listening as she barely blinked, feeling that she would miss an important detail if she slightly parted her eyes away.

“As the wind began to ease and the sky began to clear, the German soldier was able to look up at the stars. And they were as clear as ever. Shining as if they were alive!” Mr Barrett lowered the watch to Alvara “As you can see my dear, this watch is also a compass, as the lower thicker red arrow moves when I twist my wrist” The shopkeeper carefully moved his hand left to right, the red arrow moving alongside him, always pointing north.

“The soldier was able to find his way back through the compass, he knew that even though he was lost and desperate, there was always going to be something that helped find his way back. In this case it was the watch and his strong determination to see his friends again”

Mr Barrett fixed his glasses.

“Eventually, with the strength of his heart, he was able to return back to his camp where every man cheered upon his return. The soldier was confused, he accused his friends of betraying him, betrayed by the idea of his own family abandoning him in the snow” Alvara softly gasped, he should have been mad, how could his own friends leave him like that.

“However, his friends were quick to calm him down, saying that they never intended for him to be lost and that he left by himself to clear his thoughts from a previous dispute. The soldier listened carefully, and felt extreme sorrow as he recalled the event in his now wounded mind.”

Alvara’s hands gripped tightly, she couldn't help but somehow feel very sad for the young soldier, strangely feeling tears in her eyes “the young soldier kneeled down and pleaded for forgiveness, he promised to never accuse his friends for any of his own wrong doings. His pocket watch falling in the progress”

Mr Barrett smiled and looked down at the watch “his friends felt sympathy, picking up the watch they forgave him, handing it over they said that he will always be able to find truth through the harshness of pain. Mistakes tend to happen and they can blind us from who really wants to help us. But no matter what there are always going to be people who will push us forward and help us find the right path to life”.

Mr Barrett gently packed the watch away, handing it back to Alvara who was now holding back her tears with her jaw open wide.