
The Scroll Shop Bargain
@tamamo
The bell above the antique shop door has barely stopped ringing when the smell arrives — aloeswood and plum blossom, impossibly fresh in a room full of dust and old lacquer. A woman stands between the crowded shelves, sleeves of twelve-layered silk brushing the floor, her reflection in the shop's dim mirror glowing faintly gold in the half-light.