Change of Plans

“Ugh” My head slams onto the ‘display’.

It’s been almost a week and I didn’t have any customers yet. Together with the shell labor and going back and fourth, this whole plan is not only failing but also completely taxing. There were some people who took glances at the shells, but it could also have been my pathetic display that made them gaze.

No matter which one it was, I’ve arrived at a dead end. Still, I can’t just wallow in self pity. What’s important now is to find a new idea, something that involves the shells I’ve been collecting. Though, it’s already getting late and I’ve been working non-stop.

Scratching the back of my head, I pick up the shells from the display and head to the back alley I always sleep in. I join the others around the dumpster fire, trying to warm up. However, the cold is not what’s bothering me, it’s the selling. I should already be walking around with at least a single coin in my pocket, but it is still just cramped with shells

“I just have to find a new idea,” I mumble to myself, my mind wandering as I stare into the fire.

Suddenly, a high pitched voice brings me back to consciousness. Looking away from the fire, I see the same blonde boy who gave me the shell idea. He is again presenting something pridefully to his mother, after which he puts something around her neck.

“A necklace?”

As a gift to his mother, he made a sort of slim, green rope with the shells he collected previously hanging around it. For a DIY project, it honestly looks very beautiful, almost stylish. Something like that could very well be worn for traditional occasions in a foreign country, or maybe sold as a souvenir. The rope itself seems to be made of simple fibre.

…

I can’t just take this idea from that child, can I? On the other hand, it’s kind of a ‘survival of the fittest’, at least in this city. Hmm…

After going back and forth with my moral compass, I did eventually decide to actually take his idea. Though, I will pay him an amount of money back too, if this works out. However, deep down I know I only make this compromise to hide my shame.

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The key to this plan is definitely the type of stock. While my shells were just simple objects, necklaces are accessories, fashion. And fashion sells way better than a random object to keep.

I’m currently in the midst of making the necklaces. It is really as simple as they look. You just have to poke a hole through the shells with something at least a bit sharp. Then you craft a rope out of long fibre you find on the ground outside the city, slide the shells through it and tie it together. It’s also important to make it relatively loose, so anyone can put it on. There is no closure like with normal necklaces, and tying the ends together is a bit tedious. So this is the best way. Making them is also a good way to pass time while walking to the beach and back to the city, like I’m doing currently.

Now, besides the product, two other things have to change as well. Firstly, I do need to go around the city to sell them. Walk up to strangers, annoy them, get their attention, whatever. As long as I push it into their face. You could kind of compare it to a pop up ad, but as a person. Believe it or not, but those pop ups actually work. The second measure has to do with the new product itself. See, fashion comes along with trends. You witness someone important wearing something and suddenly more and more people want to wear it. That is not only true with fashion of course, but it works very well since you’re actively displaying it.

So how do you start a ‘fake’ trend? Well…you go around and actually gift them to people who seem a bit more noble. Not aristocrates directly, rather richer people. Of course you’ll need to convince them they want it, just like with the selling. ‘Making people want something they don’t actually want’ is the key here. So once citizens with higher standings wear them, others lower on the social ladder will want them too. And that’s how I will finally (hopefully) get out of that back alley.

While planning this whole thing out I actually arrived back in town. Now, let’s see if this whole thing will work out…

“Hello there, fine man!” I stop a random person in his tracks.

“Would you be intereste-” He shoves me aside without saying a word.

Wow, okay. I guess he wasn’t in the mood.

“Would you like a-” The next person already ignores me.

So that’s how peddlers must feel. After another hour of trying I’ve decided to switch up tactics.

“Shell Necklace!” I push the decorated rope into a man’s hands, which he uncomfortably accepted.

Now, this doesn’t always work. Some still push me away or make haste. But this is perfect. Just like a flyer distributor, I push the necklaces into their hands. Since they need to get a move on, they’ll just accept it and get going. In the end, this worked really well and I only had a few necklaces left at the end of the day.

After a few days of handing them out, I tried to actually sell them. This proved quite a challenge, just like the last time. More people got to see them, and a few people even asked me about them. But not a single person bought them off. And that continued for the next several days too. Damnit.

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The next day, I was already back on the street, still trying to get at least one necklace sold off.

It’s around noon now and I’m fully depleted of energy. I decided to catch a break on the side of the road, leaning against a white wall.

“Spring is coming.” I look up at the sky. It’s much brighter and more blue than the normal white sky. The sun shines down harsher than usual, probably explaining my exhaustion. The air is still unclean, but the change of weather is a nice switch from the usual moody atmosphere of the city.

Suddenly the church's bells start to ring and the combined voices of a crowd echoes in the distance. What could that be? From what I know these bells only ring in regular intervals, presumably telling the time. But this one doesn’t fall in that same regiment.

Once I make my way towards the crowd I see what the commotion is about.

A noble looking carriage, red with golden features and without a ceiling, strolls through the paved roads, accompanied by two other carriages in the front and back. Struggling my way towards the front of the crowd I now see the people in the middle carriage. A woman and a man, both dressed up fancily. The woman wears a white dress with very light blue makeup accenting her face. Beside her is a modestly dressed man, wearing a proud expression.

“A wedding?”

That’s what it seems like to me at least. Once they advance along the road, the woman starts looking around, fixing her gaze slowly in the direction I’m standing. She whispers something into the man’s ear after which she softens her expression. What did they talk about? I look around confused.

Once the carriages directly pass us, I feel one of the necklaces leaving my hand, snapping my gaze back towards the carriages that have now passed me. The woman waves back in my direction with a soft smile, holding something in her other hand. Is that…one of my necklaces? How did she even manage to grab it? Once I processed what just happened, the last thing I see is her putting on the necklace. I mean…if she likes it, who am I to judge? But would you really wear something like this to a wedding? I also wanted to sell it…