The boy went to the corner store and deli up the street. The old man wanted a banana, an orange, a croissant, and coffee. The boy got a bacon egg and cheese sandwich with a soda. He didn’t understand how anyone could eat breakfast while drinking coffee.

When he got back, the old man was smoking a long pipe this time, filled with what smelled like a mixture between weed and a very strong tobacco, as he read the newspaper. They ate quietly at the counter. After they finished their meals, the old man stood up and beckoned him beyond the counter into the back area of the shop.

Stepping beyond the doorway, he observed three small rooms. The first room to the left seemed to be a storage room, filled with boxes and tubs on metal racks. The second room next to the storage room was a full bathroom complete with a shower, sink, and toilet. The last room on the right had the door closed. 

The old man stepped into the bathroom and began to wash his hands.

“This bathroom is my personal bathroom.” He said as he turned the water on and rinsed his hands. 

“You may use it at any time. Just be neat and clean about what you do in here.” He told the boy as he applied a generous helping of soap to his hands. 

“The room adjacent is the storage room. If any stock should get low, the restock items are in the boxes. If a customer should come in and ask for something specific that we do not have in the front, they will be in the storage room in the tubs. Each tub has a label as on it, as well as the contents inside of each tub. Should be easy enough.”

The old man finished washing his hands, drying them off with a nearby hand towel. 

“The last room in the back is my personal living quarters. If I am not in the front, that is where I will be. Just knock and I will be out as soon as I can, but never enter the room under any circumstances without my permission. Do you understand?” Asked the old man.

The boy nodded. “Yea.” He said.

“Good. Your task for the morning,” said the old man stepping back through the doorway, “is to dust and clean the entire shop.” 

The boy looked around at all of the things in the shop. From the rows of books on the shelves to the tiniest crystals that sat upon the center displays.

“Everything?” Asked the boy.

.

“Yes.” Nodded the old man. “Everything.”

The old man stepped forward.

“This does three things: firstly, it familiarizes yourself to where everything is in the shop, what it is, and what it does. If you have any questions about something, ask me. Secondly, it makes the shop look more presentable, by cleaning or transforming our environment, so can we also clean and transform our minds. Third and lastly, it teaches patience, thoroughness, hard work, discipline, and...” 

The old man paused to light a stick of incense laying in the hands of a dragon statue at the end of the counter. 

“...the value of earning your keep.”

He smiled slightly as he blew away the flame at the tip of the incense, leaving a rhythmless trail of brownish gray smoke spiraling from the end. He put his hands together in a prayer position, closed his eyes, then bowed his head.

“You’ll find cleaning supplies and rags in the storage room, although they’re probably in need of a good cleaning as well.”

The old man wasn’t kidding, small herds of dust bunnies clung together in a corner around a box labeled ‘cleaning supplies’. The boy took out a couple of rags, stuffing them into his back pockets, then grabbed a bottle of glass cleaner, a can of furniture cleaner, a broom and a dustpan.

He spent most of the next couple hours cleaning windows, dusting off shelves, and reading the titles of books: Alchemy of Herbs, The Holy Geeta, The Tao Te Ching, The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible, The Crystal Bible: A Definitive Guide to Crystals, Astrology for your soul, The Kāma Sutra.

“Did you read all of these?” The boy asked the old man as he tilted his head to the side as he read the title of another book, The Alchemist.

“Of course.” Said the old man. “They are from my personal collection.”

That’s when the boy noticed that all of the books were indeed used.

“But why would you sell them then?” He asked, “Don’t you still need them?”

“Why would I?” Chuckled the old man softly. “I’ve already read them.”

He stopped at noon for a quick break. The old man gave him a bottle of water that he gulped down rapidly, prompting him to use the bathroom. The old man handed him another water as decided to step outside and call his grandmother to let her know where he was.

“Hello?” He heard her raspy voice say from the other side of the phone.

“Hi grandma.” He said, “Just wanted to let you know I’ll be downtown until about 6ish. I talked to this guy down here who owns this store and he ended up giving me a job! So he’s giving me a trial run for the day and then we will see how it goes. The store closes at 6 o’clock, I’ll be home after I get off work.”

“Oh my God! Baby, that’s so good!” She exclaimed. “I’m so proud of you Junior! What kind of store is it?” She asked.

“It’s uhh...it’s a bookstore.” He said.

“Oh! Well that’s nice!” She said sweetly. “Your grandfather loved books.” He heard her voice crack a little bit. He was about to tell her don’t start crying again, but decided against it.

“Well, okay dear I’ll see you when you get home. I’ll make spaghetti!”

“Ok grandma.” He laughed, “I’ll see you later.”

“I love you.” She said.

“I love you too, grandma.” The boy replied.

Next Chapter: Shaman