The Shop With The Bell

In yesterday's post, I wrote about my aunt who passed away on Monday.

I wanted to share a story from my time visiting her in Germany, but thought it didn't completely involve her.

It does make me laugh whenever I am reminded of it, though.

On my first morning in Germany, my aunt asked my cousin - Sean - and I to go to the village to buy something from a shop.

In hindsight, I think it was an attempt to get my cousin and I to bond. Anyway, we both made the short trip into the village on our task.

After purchasing whatever it was we had to get (I cannot remember what!), my nephew whispered to me 'watch this'. I left the shop, he followed slowly behind, but left the door of the shop ajar and this triggered off the bell on the door to ring. The shopkeeper ran from her counter and tried chasing us away.

He ran. I followed.

I'd call getting in a little bit of mischief like that a perfect bonding session.

It didn't end there, though.

For the entire three weeks of that holiday, I was too scared to go back to the shop. I even had to make an excuse when my mother and I entered the village. I avoided 'the shop with the bell'.

A year later, we visited Germany again and - similar to before - my aunt asked my cousin and I go to into the village to buy something.

I'll always remember the walk to the shop. I reminded my cousin about what had happened the year earlier. 

'She would have forgotten all about us by now,' he assured me. I believed him.

We waltzed back into the premises - together - almost one year to the day of my last visit. Yes, the lady did not remember us. But, as we walked out, my cousin left the door in the position where the bell ringing as he yelled out 'we're baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!'

And then he ran. 

And I followed with yet another three week stint of shop avoidance ahead of me.