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 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215453162

Stephen J Bannister

Stephen. L West writes under the pseudonym of Stephen J Bannister. Stephen was born in the UK but moved to South Australia in the mid-sixties growing up in Adelaide. Enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy aged 17. Married in nineteen eighty. Joined the New South Wales Fire Brigades before moving back to South Australia.Started writing in the late nineteen-eighties creating technical manuals which led to dabbling in fiction. As an amateur astronomer with a lot of interest in other sciences, he decided to write his first science fiction novel.Stephen and his wife live on a two acre plot in the rural mid-north of South Australia. Their family has expanded to seven grandchildren.

Book preview

Shoppe of Desires

Stephen J Bannister

Published by Stephen J Bannister at Draft 2 Digital and SmashWords

Copyright 2022 Stephen J Bannister

Cover design by Laura Shinn

All characters appearing in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, most locations or persons living, or dead is coincidental.

Draft 2 Digital and SmashWords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table Of Contents

Chapter 1.

Chapter 2.

Chapter 3.

Chapter 4.

Chapter 5.

Chapter 6.

Chapter 7.

Chapter 8.

Chapter 9.

Chapter 10.

Chapter 11.

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