'Strange Tales'

Jack Shippton owns a bric a brac stall- fate is about to make a costly visit'

Strange Tales

A short story by Will Neill

'China tea cups old and New, buy a painting and I'll give you two'

Not many people turned their heads at the offer bellowed out above the buzz of the busy bazaar by Jack, his bric a brac stall had been quiet all day. 'Come on Darlin' he motioned to a passing woman laden down by an array of carrier bags 'Comic Books and old masters' Jack fired off again as loud as he could. But the lady paid him no heed. 'B***h' he whispered taking care not to be over heard.

Bardwell market occupied the normally quiet cobbled stoned courtyard inside the grounds of the towns main municipal building, in summer it was a natural sun trap. In winter it aided as a wind break. The prominent adjacent structures boasted Victorian sculptures of gargoyles and carved limestone busts that protruded acrimoniously from the white pebble dashed façade. Permanent fixtures to observe over the ever changing township.

Jack Shippton was by all accounts a stereo typical market trader, loud and confident, his pinstriped suit was more fashioned to a 1940's gangster than that of a modern day trader; he liked its smart cut, it made him feel contemporary. The reality being it had hung in the local charity shop window until Jack saw it while rummaging around looking for a cache to sell on his own stall.

He always hoped that maybe he would find a gem, a priceless item thrown out by some unwitting person, unaware of its value. To date his dream eluded him, his affluent look a sham,a masquerade, borne out of a yearning for wealth and an easy ticket to success.

Jack lived in a pretence world, it made him bitter and jealous; envious of all others that had prospered. In his wallet he carried a lottery ticket faded and worn, he had found it in the gutter and always meant to check it. A two for one admission pass at the local Movie theatre, two years out of date, and half of black a and white photograph he had of his dead Mother. All remnants of a past life. An existence overshadowed by foster homes and orphanages, he wasn't even sure if Jack Shippton was his real name. It was he knew, all he'd been called and these small artefacts were his treasures, his memory keys to happier times. Even his B.M.W key ring that he spun around his finger was a counterfeit, for he neither owned nor had driven one, he always kept his beaten up van well out of sight.

The smell of fried chicken and hot dog stands hung in the cool afternoon air, mixed with the pungent aromas of fresh cut flowers and newly baked pastry, each stall a variant. Small crowds gathered in islands around the clamorous stalls that offered knock down prices-the owners whipping up a buying frenzy with their well honed patter. Towels and bed linen, socks and shoes.

Jack listened as he rearranged his meagre stock, and scoffed at the baying thong eager to secure a bargain.

'Its all crap' he muttered to himself ' S****y fakes and seconds, and them the bigger mugs for buying it' -this thought brought on a fugitive smile and a nervous hand rub.

' China cups, old and new, buy a painting and I'll give you two'

Caught up in his momentary outburst Jack had failed to notice a short over weight man standing looking a comic book that he had spotted sitting between a box of old post cards and a bundle of men's out of date magazines.

'Hey Buddy!' Jack shouted. 'No touching, you want to try you gotta buy-understand!'

Henry Roe jerked back his hand instantly at the firm request.

'I'm sorry, but don't you know this--'

Jack cut him a short glare.

Henry was anxious by nature, always the odd kid at school, forever bullied. Even now at 31 he still lived with is mother, preferring to spend his evenings alone in his room being entertained by old Si-Fi movies played out on a second hand V.C.R and a small portable television. Surrounded by his hoard of medicines, medical dictionaries and his favorite American comic books.

Henry flicked back his long greasy hair and adjusted his black rimmed bifocal glasses onto his pimple red nose bridge before attempting another feel of the comic book. Its cover depicting a head line in billon white letters 'Strange Tales' a hand drawn macabre picture of a skeleton grabbing a screaming man emblazoned the pages wrap.

Henry looked side ward and pointed at the book 'Did you know Harry Anderson lost this comic book a long time ago?'

Jack leaned forward and stared straight into Henry's eyes.

'Pay attention buddy, I don't care if the president himself lost this book' Jack paused, only to look in either direction 'I found it so its mine now, O.K!'

Henry nervously shifted his glasses again before wiping his constantly running nose on the sleeve of his coat.

' You don't understand!' Henry began to explain ' Harry Anderson was the artist who drew the-----'

'I don't care if Harry Anderson painted the Mona Lisa' Jack hissed ' Either buy it or move off you creep!'

Henry looked at the price tag, the sticker read $3.00,  in his pocket between his tub of lip balm, his small bottle of headache tablets and some blue pills wrapped up in foil Henry found crumpled up $10.00 bill.

'This is all I have' Henry said holding up the battered note.

Jack snapped it instantly from his fingers and stuffed it in his pocket ' You just bought yourself a comic book creep' Jack smiled.

Henry lifted the book and examined it more carefully, ' Don't I get my change?' Henry asked after a few uneasy moments. Jack shifted on his toes, 'Take the stupid book and move off buddy!, call it tax'

Henry carefully placed the comic book into his duffle coat pocket ,left a nervous smile and then faded into the passing crowd.

In the days that followed Jack filled his hours trawling through the classifieds and second hand shops looking for bargains to sell on his stall, whilst unwrapping a piece of cheap porcelain he'd bought from an old garage sale the newspaper headline caught his eye.

Harry Anderson-Lost Comic Book Found.

Intrigued he read on, smoothing out the wrinkles and creases franticly as he struggled to hold back the rage that was welling inside him as the words unfolded the ominous truth-

The Column Continued----

In a strange turn of events a rare copy of Strange Tales was found on a market stall by a local man named Henry Roe. It is believed that Henry paid a mere ten dollars for the comic that experts have now estimated its value to be more than $ 4 million. Harry Anderson was the artist who drew exclusively for Marvel Comics in the 50''s and this copy of 'Strange Tales-Come to my Coffin' is one of only three left in the world.

When asked what he wanted to say now that he was rich Henry replied to a bewildered crowd.

'I've just one thing to say"Thanks Jack! Just who's the creep now'

Will Neill 2013

www.marvel.wikia.com/Category:Harry_Anderson/Cover_Artist

Author's Note

I hope you enjoy this strange little tale.

Reviews

[Diane Lockard]

The story is captivating, the descriptions of the surroundings, Jack and Henry are excellent. I love the idea of searching for that elusive treasure, and there it was right in front of Jack, and lose it because of greed...
Thank you for sharing it; I enjoyed reading the story...

[Will Neill]

Diane, thank you (my wife is Dianne-2n's) I'm glad you enjoyed this tale.
Will

[Rogue]

Haha! Will this was great! Made me think of the old "Tales from the Crypt" series.
Now the American version of a part two to this story would be: Jack files a lawsuit claiming he was swindled and entitled to half, if not all, of the money.

Enjoyed this very much. :)

[Will Neill]

Thanks Rogue,It was just a bit of fun-glad you enjoyed it.
Will

[Ashleigh Nicole Evans]

Hi Will. I really enjoyed the short story. It was indeed a strange tale, but what made it work for me was the time that you took to develop Jack's character in the first couple paragraphs - his financial insecurities, the emphasis that he placed on wealth, the depth of his need to be seen as contemporary and rich versus his actual station in life. The time and effort that you invested in developing Jack in this way is what, for me, made the irony of him losing his ticket to wealth because of his arrogance and sense of entitlement all the more pertinent.

I also loved your writing style, the smooth flow of the sentences, the wonderful descriptive scenes. Just a word of advice though. Please be aware of your punctuation. Your grammar and writing style are captivating but I found myself being distracted by the worth of the story because of your punctuation, or in most cases, your lack thereof.

For example, in dialogue, you need to insert a comma either before or after the last inverted comma although I have been advised that it may be easier for the reader for the comma to go inside the inverted commas. Eg. 'Come on Darlin,' he motioned to a passing woman laden down by an array of carrier bags.

Also, there should have been a full stop after the word carrier bags before you launch into Jack's next shout. Furthermore, please add in a comma after you describe the dialogue. Eg. 'Comic Books and old masters,' Jack fired off again, as loud as he could. But the lady paid him no heed. 'B***h,' he whispered, taking care not to be over heard. Also, please be consistent with paragraph breaks. Either use indentation at the beginning of a new chapter or, alternatively, leave a line.

All in all, though, it was a very enjoyable piece of writing and I look forward to reading more of your work.

[Will Neill]

Thank you so much for reading my story--I'm afraid I am always lazy with my puctuation-your quite right-I must pay more attention for the sake of the reader.
Regards Lubiana.
Will

[Kyle J. Lawson]

Wow, really good! I loved it! Don't have a whole lot to say about it though. :)

[Angi]

Ha! I love how Henry socked it to Jack! He was a greedy little worm of a man. He should have listened to Henry... Loved it, Will! Angi~

[Vikrantsingh]

This one was brighter and really involved me deeper and deeper - Will, this one is really a wonderful share and really enjoyed it :)

Cheers!
- Singh :)

[Will Neill]

Thanks Singh.

[Samuel Dickens]

Ha! Good for Henry! And Jack? He got his just reward for being a greedy jerk. An very well-written, engrossing tale. Well done, Will.

[Will Neill]

Thanks Sam, did you enjoy your scotch? have another soon.
Good Luck.
Will

[Will Neill]

cut and paste the address at the foot of the story.
Will

[Marie]

enjoyed it very much Will, How many opportunities do people miss by refusing to listen.?

I lways loved Marvel comics...

[Will Neill]

Thanks Marie, thats the moral of the tale.
Will