The Unwanted Ring: A Romance that Stood the Test of Time

Chapter 1: Le Petit Bibelot Part 1

Madeleine grew up seeing spirits. She used to see them as shadows running through the halls of her childhood home. Blurs of color against the solid-colored walls. Glimpses of people and animals coloring her vision. Often, they would come to her in dreams and tell her their stories. When her grandmother had passed, she had come to her in a dream to tell her good-bye. Her parents had woken her up to tell her the bad news, but she had already known. This didn't surprise her parents because they were already aware of her gift. Her mother had it too and it ran through her side of the family. Victoria would often tell her the story of her grandmother going to a tarot card reader for a look into her future.

Madeleine loved old relics and objects from the past. Sometimes the past seemed so much simpler to her than the present and she loved to hear the history behind each trinket. That was how she often found herself inside of antique shops. Much like the one she was currently in. She walked past the little booths that were set up by different sellers.

Le Petit Bibelot was her favorite antique shop to go to. She had been going there for several years. It was massive and had an open concept layout. The outside was older, and it had two stories with winding stairs inside. When you walked through the door, you were met with bigger items, like dining room sets and antique bicycles, and in the middle sat a row of tall glass cases that held the more expensive items. Surrounding those tall shelving units were boxed in areas that created booths for different sellers. Walls led to doorways, and it snaked around until you reached the front again, where a clerk stood near a register.

She had one booth that she adored to visit on the top floor, and she would always walk into the little area to take in the new items that that seller had. She picked up random items and put them back down. Madeleine fawned over an old hand mirror made of pewter and took in its ornate design. She fell in love with it, and it gave off a lovely aura of a young woman who appeared to be from the 1800's. She saw the woman fixing her hair and make-up within the mirror and it made her smile. She decided to carry it with her to take to the clerk once she was done.

Madeleine continued to walk along the booths until she stepped into one that felt familiar. Her peridot hued eyes immediately caught sight of the silver band that was on a black ring display. She walked further in, intrigued by the fact that it was still there after all of these years. It was, as if, it was calling out for her to reach out and touch it. It wasn't the first time it had done that to her. She had been drawn to it for three years now, but she had never bought it. She didn't really know what she would do with it. It was a men's ring and somewhat plain in its design. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it or really anything interesting about it. That is, other than the weird feeling that it gave off.

She licked her lips and finally decided to touch the band. It felt cool to the touch and when she lifted it from its base... it was heavier than she had expected. Her mind began to fill with memories that weren't her own. Memories of a blonde haired fair skinned man standing in a field of grass beneath a tree in autumn. He slowly turned at the waist and gave her a crooked smile. His hair moved in the breeze along with his long plum coat. The man's emerald hued eyes caught hers in the sunlight as he reached his hand out to her.

She shook her head and was brought back to reality. Something about this ring needed her and she needed it. The ring wasn't cheap, and she only had enough money for one item today. So, Madeleine took the ring and walked back to set the mirror back down into the other booth. The ring easily replaced the mirror in its importance. She sighed and found that her thoughts began to wander. Who was this man? Why was his ring there? Why was he so important to her? She wanted to know more about this ring, and she wanted to hear the story behind it.

The mysterious male spirit followed her around the vintage shop as she continued to wander around. She felt him close on her heels and watched him peer at the objects that she would pick up and take in. He would watch her eyes light up with each passing thought and he admired it. She jumped and gasped when she rounded a corner, and he was suddenly standing in her way.

"Goodness. Stop scaring me." She whispered and glared at him for a moment.

He sheepishly smiled and put his hands behind his back, rocking on his heels. She watched him scratch the back of his neck and chuckle in apology. He didn't want to scare her off, but he was curious about her. She could see him when no one else could.

She slid past him, and he continued to follow her like a lost puppy. She sighed and tried to ignore him, even though he was suffocating her. She abruptly stopped and turned on her heel, shaking her index finger in his direction.

"You need to back up a little, you know that? Too close." She whispered and hoped that no one around her had heard her speaking to thin air.

She watched the man nod in response, and she turned back around to continue her search. She had been hoping to find some new vintage clothing. She loved to look at it and loved to feel the texture of the different materials that were used so long ago.

He walked around her with grace and phased away before popping back up again on the other side of the white lace dress that she was currently looking at. Her fingers doing as much as her eyes were, taking it in like a fine wine. The lace was delicate along her fingertips, and she touched the collar to peer at the label. Something about her gentle touch intrigued him and her warm smile caught his heart on fire. This woman was special and all he wanted to do was go home with her. He felt safe in her hands. She was different than the others that had tried to take him home before. She cleared her throat and headed up to the front, leaving the dress behind. She would buy it another time if it was still available.

Madeleine walked up to the clerk that was busy putting stickers on merchandise for the booths. She worried her bottom lip and fiddled with the silver band between her fingers and thumbs. Her heart beat faster, the more she held the trinket. She just wanted to know the story behind it. Although Madeleine knew that the clerks didn't always know the stories behind the items in the shop. It was a combination of booths rented out to sellers. They just had to keep logs of what sold from where, so that the sellers could keep track of their sales.

"Excuse me." Madeleine's voice came out small and she felt the ring grow hot, as if, it was reassuring her to gather courage.