Shoppe of Desires

By Stephen J Bannister

The small South Australian mid-north town of Yongara is getting a new shop. A shop the locals hope will be a little different, something out of the ordinary, they should be careful what they wish for.

The old barber's shop has been restored, but when and by whom? Nobody can recall seeing anybody working on the dilapidated old building, but it looks a treat.

There is no fanfare or grand opening, one day the store is being renovated, the next it's a bric-a-brac shop that is open for business and run by two very unusual owners—brother and sister. There's something alluring on the other side of the large glass windows for some of the locals, things that mean a lot to a few of them, but they come at a price.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen J Bannister
• Release date: Jan 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201076764

Stephen J Bannister

Stephen. L. West (writing as Stephen J Bannister) was born in the UK but moved to South Australia in the mid-sixties growing up mainly in the north-eastern suburbs of Adelaide. At seventeen he enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy where he learnt his trade. Whilst still serving, he married Trudi in nineteen eighty. After a ten-year career he joined the New South Wales Fire Brigades before the family, now four with two children, decided to move back to South Australia. His writing career stared in the late nineteen-eighties creating technical manuals which soon led to looking further afield and dabbling in fiction. As an amateur astronomer with a lot of interest in other sciences, he decided to write his first science fiction novel. ‘I had this thing going around and around inside my head so I decided one day to get it out of there and onto paper.’ Stephen and Trudi still live in South Australia, in the mid-north and are both involved with the Country Fire Service, Stephen as a firefighter and Trudi as a financial coordinator. Their family has expanded to six grandchildren (with more to come).

Book preview

Chapter 1

Bert Arnold shuffled into Yongara’s one and only store, he could remember a time when there’d been three to choose from. Approaching the long counter, his feet barely clearing the old worn timber floorboards, he picked up the latest edition of the newspaper and rummaged about in a deep pocket for some change. To one side was a small plastic basket full of apples, he selected four.

‘I’m hearing the old barber shop has been re-let, a couple opening up a new business of some sort,’ he mumbled to the store’s proprietor Nichollette Julienne. It was more of a statement of fact than a question.

‘That’s the goss. You seen the windows, they’re covered over with old newspaper? A bit mysterious for a town like ours.’

Newspaper! What’s she on about? I didn’t notice any paper on the windows, Bert wondered.

He disregarded the comment thinking Nichollette had made a mistake. ‘Could be good for the place, haven’t seen anything new open here since . . .well, a long time. I haven’t seen anybody in there or new about town, have you?’

Nichollette considered the question. ‘Can’t say I have Bert but they’re obviously around, just keeping themselves to themselves I expect. Probably living upstairs, like old Roger did.’

‘Suppose so,’ he muttered putting some coins on the counter. ‘See ya.’

Bert ambled out into the warm summer day his paper tucked under one arm, the apples hanging from a gnarly hand in a small bag. Tethered to the post was his small dog Aggie who wagged her tail as he approached.

‘No treats today I’m afraid, Aggie.’

The dog didn’t appear to care, she just wanted her human to untie her so they could get on with the hunt.

They walked along the main street under the shade of the shops and homes awnings where it was cooler, it would allow Bert a second look at the old barber shop.

Faded red and white spiral stripes painted on the posts supporting the sunshade now the only sign it was ever a shop for cutting gentlemen’s hair.

He stopped and looked at the window, there wasn’t a piece of newspaper to be seen but the glass was covered with old bed sheets.

She needs to get her eyes checked out, Bert thought as he tried to peer into the building but there wasn’t a single gap in the material that was taped to the grimy glass. A small handwritten sign hanging on the door told passersby that the shop would be opening soon but it gave no indication as to what it would be or what it would be selling.

Bert noted the handwriting which was cursive and elegant. It brought back memories of how Mrs Payne had taught him to write in primary school. It seemed so long ago now, probably because it was.