Angela squinted, trying to see through the heavy rain.
The acid-green neon sign in the window looked blurry, like it was melting into the Seattle night. Angela looked around. She stepped out from the doorway where she was hiding. She’d chosen that doorway because it was across the street from the shop she was watching.
Pike Place Market was known as "the soul of Seattle.” It was open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Most of the vendors, craftspeople, and performers opened their shops from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon. A few restaurants and cafes stayed open later. But now it was nearly three hours past midnight. The Market had been put to bed for the night.
Angela really wanted to know if there was anyone inside the little shop with the green neon eye in the window.
She ran across the wet pavement and pressed herself against the brick wall, next to the shop’s door. She looked up at the sign, blinking the rain out of her eyes. The green neon eye flickered. It lit up the words below it.
Curious And Strange Things
The light flickered again, like it knew Angela was there. Maybe it was warning her that even though the eye was neon, it could still see her.
A beaded curtain in the window partly blocked the view of the interior. Angela didn’t think there was any movement behind it. All she saw was darkness and a dim, lonely light at the back of the shop. It was hard to tell if there was anyone inside or not.
Angela was tired of guessing.