Yoshino returned home from the mysterious store. That night, she was watching TV during dinner. It was a show doing a feature on popular upscale bakeries. But like always, they were all a long, long way away from her hometown.
“Oooh, just look at that stone-baked baguette! It’s the perfect combination of crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. And that golden cream bun—they said it’s made with an extra-large helping of the best quality eggs. I so wish I could try those…!”
She leaned forward, still gazing at the TV screen, and gulped. Normally, this would be all she could do—sit there and envy the people who got to live somewhere with such a wonderful bakery right on their doorstep.
But not anymore. Now she had a Store-Calling Sign.
As soon as she finished eating, Yoshino dashed out of the dining room and went up to her bedroom. There, she took the sign and the paint out of the paper bag the man in the store had packed them in. The lid of the little paint can opened with a click, revealing some red paint and a brush.
“All right, let’s do this. What should I write? I have to say the kind of store I want and what I want it to sell. But I can’t use real brands or store names…”
She thought this over as she dipped the brush in the paint and stirred it. After considering several ideas, she lifted the brush and began to write.
Skrsh, skrsh, skrsh… Writing with the miniature paintbrush was hard at first, but gradually, the words started to take shape.
“Yeah, this should do it!”
Yoshino finished writing the last word and let out a long sigh like she’d just finished a really physically demanding task.
✦ ✦ ✦
That was how she’d chosen to fill in the blanks on the sign. The red paint really stood out against the white background. She felt confident she’d expressed what she wanted in a nice, clear way, without naming any specific brands.
Taking a step back and looking at her handiwork, she nodded in satisfaction.
✦ ✦ ✦
The next day, Yoshino headed out to find a place to put her sign.
“Somewhere I want the store to open… I’ll just use one of the empty lots around town. There are hardly any stores here as it is, but there are plenty of old buildings and land that’s not being used. Ooh, there’s one!”
It hadn’t even been a full minute since she’d left the house when she came upon an empty patch of ground.
Yoshino stopped and looked around. A little sign like this wouldn’t do any harm, but if any of the grown-ups saw her, she’d probably get into trouble for messing around on private property. Fortunately, there wasn’t a single person in sight. Living in a sleepy town like this had its advantages sometimes.
Let’s get this done before anyone has a chance to see what I’m doing!
Yoshino took the sign out of the bag and scrambled over to a far corner of the empty lot. She gave a little cry of effort as she plunged the pole into the ground. It offered hardly any resistance, and the sign easily sank in until it could stand up on its own.
“That should do it! But still…is putting this sign here really going to make a new store appear?”
The idea gave her a fluttery, hopeful feeling in her chest. She went home, pausing countless times along the way to turn and look back at the empty lot.
✦ ✦ ✦
The next day, she returned to check on the place where she’d put the sign.
“Whoa… No way!!”
Yoshino’s eyes practically popped out of her head. It wasn’t an empty lot anymore. In the space of one evening, a new building had been built from scratch, and a new store had opened up there. And not just any store—it was a trendy bakery just like the one Yoshino had longed to visit. It had brick walls the color of gingerbread, roof tiles resembling rows of cookies, and a door with a fancy latticed window that looked like hard candy with a chocolate-syrup pattern painted on it.
“Wowww! What a wonderful place!”
Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Then she sniffed the air. The fragrant aroma of fresh-baked bread was drifting out from inside the store. It made Yoshino’s stomach grumble.
She couldn’t wait any longer; she walked up to the door and pushed it open. A bell tinkled, and she was greeted with a blast of warm air, along with the smell of fresh bread and pastries.
✦ ✦ ✦
Inside, lots of different baked goods were lined up. They had sweet buns and savory buns; crunchy, chewy loaves; and light, fluffy loaves. Everywhere she looked, there was something new. Glancing toward the back of the store, Yoshino caught a glimpse of the kitchen behind the counter, with a magnificent stone oven. There were probably even more tasty treats baking inside that oven, all made with the very best ingredients.
Yoshino let out a sigh of delight. This place was perfect; it was exactly like she’d imagined. Well…apart from one unexpected detail.
“Welcome! We’ve got plenty of fresh-baked bread here for you!”
“What? Huh…? Huuuh?!”
A store employee greeted her as she entered, and she jerked back in shock. For some reason, this person was dressed in a large animal suit, like the ones you saw at amusement parks.
She’d noticed the giant teddy bear standing behind the counter when she’d come in, but she’d assumed it was just a decoration. Had there been someone inside it this whole time?
I don’t see anyone else around, so…I guess they just do all their business in costume.
This store was more unusual than Yoshino had given it credit for. But she soon regained her composure and picked up one of the stylish little trays that had been set out. She also picked up a pair of tongs and started looking around at all the treats.
“Wowww…!”
Here, glistening Danish pastries with tempting cream and fruit on top. There, colorful slices of French sourdough filled with fruit. Familiar dishes like croissants, sweet red-bean rolls, and curry buns looked tastier than the ones she’d seen in other places, too. Even stuff she wasn’t too fond of, like raisin bread, caught her eye. The raisins looked so plump and juicy, she found herself wanting to take a bite of it right then and there.
Yoshino got so caught up in trying to choose, she did several rounds of the store before finally deciding. She left with five different kinds of pastries—although if she was being honest, there were lots more she’d wanted to try.
But now that I have a bakery like this in my neighborhood, I can always try those some other day. I can come here whenever I want, after all!
Who would have thought shifting her focus from going to somewhere with nice stores to making nice stores come to her would get such great results?
As she was leaving, she turned and looked at the corner of the lot, where the sign she’d written out the day before was still standing.
“It’s just like I wanted… No, it’s even better! Thank you for bringing such a wonderful store to me, Store-Calling Sign!”