The prompt was, A person of a different size than most people, is in a conflict with a runaway over a camera that takes pictures of ghosts.
So, without further ado, here is, “The Pawn Shop”
Melvin, a 52 year old little person, runs the local pawn shop down the street. A family who had an estate sale in the next neighborhood sold a few items to Melvin for his shop. One slow day, Melvin played around with the camera that he purchased and was stunned by what he thought he saw through the view finder. He moved the camera away from his eye and looked around the room. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. But when Melvin looked through the view finder again, he saw a whitish figure that looked like it move toward the back room.
Melvin quickly moved the camera away from his eye again and saw nothing. Strange, he thought. He decided to load the camera with a roll of film that he had in the store and take a few pictures with it. When he looked through the view finder a third time, he snapped a couple of pictures. The first picture he snapped was of the back room door. As he pushed the door open, he snapped another picture. Melvin took three more shots of various areas but didn’t see the white figure at all.
Was I imagining the figure, he thought. When Melvin turned around and left the back room. He glanced around his shop and then looked through the view finder again. Over near an antique floor mirror he pointed the camera and saw the white hazy figure. He quickly snapped a couple of pictures. This time he was sure that he captured it on film. When he moved the camera away from his eye again, the figure was gone.
Just then, a customer walked into Melvin’s shop and asked him about something. Melvin placed the camera on the far end of the counter and assisted the customer. While he was helping the gentleman, a young runaway peeked in through the window. He noticed the camera sitting on the counter and wanted it. When Melvin walked toward the back of the shop with the customer, the runaway quietly crept inside and grabbed the camera. Even though he exited quickly, Melvin still saw the kid and yelled.
The kid ran down the street and around the corner. Melvin ran out the shop door and the kid was no where in sight. Melvin knew that he couldn’t leave his place unattended, so he walked back inside and finished with the gentleman before he called the police. Melvin explained to the officer the situation and what the kid looked like. He knew the chances were slim that he’d get the camera back but he knew what was on the film.
Two days had passed without any word from the police. Melvin closed the shop early one day and walked down the street to his favorite Italian restaurant for an early dinner. His friend Tony was the owner and he often talked with him in the kitchen before he ordered his food. While they were chatting, Melvin saw the runaway kid walk in the back door of the restaurant. Not wanting to scare the kid off, he didn’t say anything yet.
The runaway kid walked over to Tony and asked if he needed anything delivered. Tony introduced the kid to him as a kid who’s down on his luck. Melvin looked the kid directly in the eyes and asked him for his camera back. The kid turned to run but Tony grabbed him by the arm. What is this all about, Tony had asked him. The kid denied knowing anything at first. He knew that if Tony found out that he was still stealing, that he might lose his job there.
Melvin explained to Tony that he saw the kid two days ago running away from his shop with a camera. Tony asked the kid if it was true and told him that he wouldn’t get mad. Reluctantly, the kid told Tony the truth and said that he needed more money. He said that if he could sell the camera for a hundred bucks, that he could get new clothes for his job there. Tony asked the kid if he still had the camera, and he nodded yes. Tony asked Melvin if the kid returned the camera, if he would be okay with that. Having a soft spot for struggling kids too, Melvin agreed that he wouldn’t press charges.
The next day, Melvin took the film from the camera to the local photo lab and had it developed. He was shocked but happy with the results of the pictures. He rushed over to Tony’s restaurant and showed him what was so important about the camera. Tony flipped through the three pictures and saw the distinct figure of a female spirit. She was dressed in a white gown but he couldn’t make out her face. He felt a strong connection with the woman in the photo but couldn’t believe it to be true. Melvin asked him if he recognized her and he replied that he thinks so.
Staring at the most clear picture, Tony told Melvin that he thinks the woman in the photos is his dead wife, Andrea. Tony told him that she had passed away two years after they had married and she was only twenty-five. Tony asked Melvin where he got the camera. Melvin told him that he bought it from the Ricci estate, over on Concord Street.
Tony nodded his head as he looked at the picture, “Ricci was her maiden name.”
The End