Rummage Sale.

It was strange to move to a place that felt so much like home. He'd never been here before, but had randomly found this tiny city on a map that a friend had given him the day he'd woken up. Just chance, maybe, that he had noticed the tiny little name; the strangely attractively shaped municipality, among a series of bigger cities that undoubtedly had much more to offer to anyone else that was looking for a place to reside. He unpacked slowly. Boxes, stacked to the ceiling. All over the room. He didn't want to take everything out at once, but to ease into habitation. Let the place get to know him.
He hadn't planned on leaving. The last city was fine. Fine, just fine; until the Rummage Sale. He was a little down on his luck, sure; but the Rummage Sale was to change all that. He woke up early in the morning and collected all of the things that he owned and brought them down to the street below. He set up tables and slowly layed out his wares: all of the most precious things that he had collected over each one of his years. He smiled to himself at his collection. Surely, surely, yes; Yes, surely the things that he had found so valuable would indeed be valuable to others. He checked over each of the items, remembering when and where he picked each one up. Some of the memories made him smile, some of them chilled him with melancholy, but seeing them all layed out there on the tables gave him a sense of pride. He'd collected these things, these were HIS things.
He fastidiously penned a large cardboard sign with the letters FOR SALE and hung it neatly above his tables, from a pole that was thick with old staples and nails. He had done this before, laid everything out. It had helped him out of some bad situations. He was indeed in a bad situation that day; he had begun to feel wretched and despicable, but something about looking over the stock he set up made him feel more confident. It would be a good day. He sat in his tiny green and white folding chair and waited for her to come by.
And he sat. The sun rose higher in the sky, and he looked up and down the street for signs of her presence. It was taking longer than usual, her arrival. He remembered the first few Rummage Sales he had: she had been there so early, excited to look over the things he had set out. She always wanted to be the first to see his treasures. He had been captivated by this; flattered that she took such a shine to a bunch of old junk that he'd collected. At least, back then it seemed like a bunch of old junk. Now he knew better.
At about quarter after eleven a shadow fell over the display. He looked up and saw her face. He smiled widely, and she nodded at him. "I'm glad you're here," he said, "I've been waiting for you.""I can't stay long," she said, in a low drone. "I've so many things to do and see today. But I will be back a little later to look over your things." He looked at her blithely, feeling quite fortunate that even with the many things that she had to do and see she was planning to stop back to see him.
"I'll be here, all day." She nodded at him and continued down the street.
He took the time after she left to go through his collection, dusting and shining each article intricately. He made sure that the best side of each piece was facing forward. He took pride in the fact that he had so much more to display this time around, and placed some of the bigger, newer items towards the front of the display. He walked out into the street and looked at the arrangement, and smiled to himself. He knew that when she got a good look at what he had to offer she would undoubtedly be just as excited as that first day.
After an hour of tidying up, he sat down next to his array and waited. Everything was arranged just so, it would be perfect for when she came back. Then it happened. The sky grew dark. Clouds began to roll in from the distance and the air was heavy with water. He saw a couple streaks of lightning scatter across the sky. In an instant he was reminded of the time that he was punched square-in-the-nose in the fifth grade by Eugene Monroe because he had said some things out loud that he should have kept to himself. The lightning cracked again; this time trailed by a large roar of thunder. He looked up at the sky, feeling hapless. Another flash,closer, and he counted... One-onethousand-two-onethousand-thr... BOOM! Within a few seconds the sky opened up and rain came down. Under any other circumstances, he'd be thankful for the rain. It was a warm day, and in the distance, in a break in the clouds, the sun shone through and created a prism that seemed to shine right down on most of the city. He noticed the beauty, but not for long. He rushed to try to cover his display, taking great care to protect the things that he felt were the most valuable. He took several things and put them under the tables, and when he was relatively sure that most of his possessions were safe he took cover himself. The rain didn't last long, thankfully, and he was able to walk back out and begin anew setting everything just right. He looked at the sign that he had meticulously lettered; each letter seemed to be melting from the sign right down the pole. He cursed loudly as he walked over to take the sign down.
Just as he got the sign into his hands, she walked up again. He turned to face her. The black paint from the soggy sign was dripping down and staining his clothing. He set the sign down and reached out to take her hand, to bring her to the tables. She took one look at his inky hand and then glanced at the tables, noting that most of his display was now underneath them in haphazard piles. "Maybe you're not ready for me yet," she laughed, "I could come back later when you have things cleaned up a little better." He smiled gratefully at her.
"Yes, please," he said, "Come back in just a bit. I'll be all ready. Just give me a little bit of time to get this stuff together. You won't be disappointed." She nodded and grinned and continued on her way.
He spent the next few hours cleaning up the mess the damned storm had caused. He took each item and dried it completely, arranged each piece just-so, and then found a new, clean piece of cardboard and made a new sign. This sign was even nicer than the last.
When he was done cleaning up the mess, he again walked out to the street to take a glimpse of his collection. He smiled to himself, and sighed, at the expert way he was able to arrange each piece to create a display of everything that he had collected, such a telling display. He could look at the whole thing and see himself so clearly, and then focus in on each of the small particles and see how it was built. He was proud, and he was sure that he had done well.
Just afore sundown, when the clouds hung low in checkered patterns in the sky, and the sunlight was a golden-orange that shone richly down on his tables, she arrived again. He couldn't believe his luck. The way the sun glowed caused glints of light to refract from his possesions, calling attention to some of the gems that he displayed. She stood back to behold the scene before her, and then slowly walked up to the table to take stock of it's individual facets. As she fingered each of the treasures, he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, head held high, beaming from ear to ear, waiting for her reaction. He noticed the way she touched each thing; he noticed the way that the sun shone on her hair, showing glints of red through the rich brown. It seemed to him to resemble a halo, completely surrounding her angelic face. The way his treasures reflected in her eyes made them seem all the more beautiful to him. She moved slowly down the line, inspecting each small piece.
When at the end of his display she turned to face him. He straightened up and looked into her eyes. "Well?"
She smiled and turned her eyes to the ground. He waited. When she looked back up, he noticed that there were tears brimming in her eyes. One of them spilled over the edge and rolled down her cheek. She was still trying to smile.
"I don't think there's anything I want here."
His eyes widened. He had been sure. "Really?"
"I don't see anything."
A long pause. He sucked as much breath in as he could, until his lungs felt as if they would explode. He held it until he thought he might pass out, and then let the breath out sharply. "Okay."
She turned her back to him and started to walk away. He watched as her soft footfalls carried her further and further down the road until he couldn't make out her shape. He then turned to the tables and stared for a long time. The sun had gone down and it was hard to make out the exact shape of his posessions. He hurriedly grabbed items from the tables and put them into the large containers he had been saving them in. Soon his display was broken down and packed up and labeled in shorthand that only he could make out.
He went inside and slept. And slept...
And when he awoke, a friend was there. With a map; a map of all of the different cities. And instantly, his eyes found this city. He packed everything up that day and drove until he found his new home. It was strange to move to a place that felt so much like home. But now he was here and the place was learning him and he was keeping his boxes packed but he was thinking that soon, maybe real soon, he might want to have another Rummage Sale...