The afternoon sun poured through the windows of Sunday’s car as she drove down a quiet street with her little brother, Jake, riding shotgun. It was one of those rare days where it was just the two of them—no Demitra blasting music from the backseat, no Eliana endlessly snapping selfies or debating what coffee shop to stop at. Just Jake and Sunday. Peaceful.
Sunday glanced over with a soft smile. “You know, I don’t get enough days like this with just you.”
Jake smirked. “Yeah, I know. Demitra and Eliana kinda take over everything.”
She laughed. “Exactly.”
They were supposed to be heading to a small café they’d heard about, but something caught Sunday’s eye—a little antique store tucked between two larger buildings, the kind with dusty windows and crooked signage that practically whispered, you’ll find something strange in here. She pulled over without warning.
Jake raised an eyebrow. “Uh, what are you doing?”
“Spontaneous adventure,” she said, unbuckling. “Come on. Let’s check it out.”
They stepped inside and were immediately hit with the smell of old wood, faded pages, and mystery. The place was packed—shelves of old clocks, faded Polaroids in bins, porcelain dolls with creepy eyes, and typewriters that looked like they hadn’t been touched in decades.
“This place is… kinda cool,” Jake said, scanning the cluttered shelves.
Sunday ran her fingers across an old vinyl record player. “Told you. You always find the weirdest, most magical stuff in antique stores.”
Jake wandered to a dusty shelf filled with old comic books. “Whoa. Some of these are from the ’70s.”
“Maybe you’ll find one older than Eliana,” Sunday teased, nudging him with her elbow.
He laughed. “Nah, nothing in here’s that ancient.”
They spent nearly an hour exploring—Sunday found a tiny glass perfume bottle that looked like it belonged in a 1920s film, and Jake came across a brass compass that somehow still worked.
As they walked back to the car, bags in hand, Jake looked over at his big sister. “That was actually pretty fun. Just us.”
Sunday smiled. “We’ll do it more often. You’re stuck with me, little brother.”