Tagged

by Rachel J Fenton 

They fit perfectly. You can’t believe it.

‘This never happens to me.’

The assistant asks if you need a bag. Not any more, you think, and say you’ll keep them on. She kneels, and though she’s only removing the tag you still take it as a sign.

‘And your old ones?’

‘I won't be needing them anymore.’

You go back a week later. Your old ones are in the window. You can’t see the price on the tag, only the words: Once Worn; New to You. Someone inside the shop is pointing to them. You knock on the glass, shake your head and call out,

‘You don't want those, they were mine’.

She smiles.

You want to explain but it’s getting cold and you need to find a new coat – new to you – to go with the new you.

About the Author: Rachel J Fenton is a writer based in Auckland. She has poetry, fiction, art, photography, journalism and criticism housed in diverse publications, including: Blackmail Press; Otoliths; Horizon Review; The Literary Burlesque; Ramshackle Review; Ink, Sweat & Tears; Melusine; Eclectic Flash; Camroc Press Review; Tom's Voice; Camel Saloon; South Yorkshire Times; Eye of the Needle; Writer's Eye Magazine; and Airflow Magazine. She was shortlisted for the  2011 University of Maine "Ultra Short Competition"; "Fish 2010 One Page Prize" and longlisted for the 2010 "Sean O'Faolain International Short Story Prize". Links to published works can be found at: snowlikethought.blogspot.com