He owned a stall in the Palace Square selling souvenirs and snacks to tourists. He’d inherited it from his father, and it was in a prime location, facing the famous Golden Gates.
He’d worked at the stall since he was a child, and spent sixty years looking at the baroque patterns in the gilded iron. But he’d never been inside.
Eventually, he passed the business on to his own sons. The first thing he did in his retirement was buy a ticket for the Palace Garden tour, finally able to see what was on the other side of the gate.

“Shadow Gate” by Bernd Thaller is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

My very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!

Everyday Drabbles © 2024 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0