Escaping the renovations business was a nightmare. Every time Maphira managed to get away from one salesperson, another would appear around the next corner, trying to convince her to get a bathroom or laundry renovation. Sometimes they were even bold enough to suggest she renovate her kitchen.

But finally, she managed to make her way to the exit, where she found Vai and Rylee waiting for her.

“About time you got here,” Vai said. “We’ve been standing here for ages.”

Rylee scoffed. “Actually, it’s only been about ten minutes.”

“Seriously? Felt like hours to me.”

Maphira rolled her eyes. “You’ve always been terrible at tracking time in your head. Anyway, shall we move onto this property conveyancing firm?”

“Well,” said Rylee, “we’ve actually discovered that it’s not a proper firm for conveyancing. No, this is actually a historical conveyancing museum. Haven’t got a clue why that’s even a thing, or who would care enough to visit it, but that’s what it is.”

“Huh, weird.” Maphira took point again, genuinely curious about what this museum had in store for them. 

They entered through the glass sliding doors, coming to a reception desk which a man sat behind. He looked up at them and narrowed his eyes.

“Uh, hi,” Maphira said. “We’d like to go into the museum.”

“Really?” said the man. “We haven’t had visitors in years. Well, tickets are $20 each.”

Vai stepped forward, pulling out her credit card. “I’ll cover it. Any part of the museum you particularly recommend, my good man?”

“The history of conveyancing firms near Elwood exhibit was quite the attraction, back in the day, but it got burned down recently. So no, there’s nothing, in particular, I’d recommend.”

“Oh, okay,” Vai said. “Seems like a delightful way to spend an afternoon.”

“I can think of about a hundred better ways to spend an afternoon than being here,” the man responded. “Unfortunately, I can’t leave. Go on, then. Enjoy yourselves. Or don’t. Doesn’t matter to me either way.”

The three of them moved into the museum, leaving the odd man behind. When Maphira turned around to give a friendly wave goodbye, the man was nowhere to be seen, as if he’d never existed at all.