The Carpet Salesman
He had three fingers on one hand, and a thumb on the other. He stood on one of his two legs. He leaned against a rolled up carpet in a line of rolled up carpets next to a stack of rolled up carpets. There was much horizontality and verticality around him. A golden beam shot out of the middle of his head, making him appear two feet taller than his full height.
Shoppers in the area couldn’t just walk past the carpet shop, because as they tried to walk past the entrance, they saw him. Standing there, on one leg, against a rolled up carpet, enveloped by horizontality and verticality. His presence, and the golden beam shooting out of his head, drew them in.
They did not really want to buy a carpet. But as they locked eyes with him, they could not resist asking, “how much for a carpet?” “Special price just for you, my dear,” he would answer them all. And one by one, he sold them all carpets. Beautiful carpets, rolled and unrolled, horizontal and vertical, all at a special price, just for them all.
This went on for a few days. The carpet shop sold many carpets, more than half of their total stock. Happy customers told their friends to go there and look for the carpet salesman, because maybe he could do a special price for them too. But when some of these friends went to the shop, they found no man of this description, and all the carpets were full price. That was okay, though, because when they entered the shop and looked around at the full price carpets, they realized they didn’t really want to buy a carpet anyway.
Meanwhile, in another part of town, there was another carpet shop which was selling more carpets than usual. If you walked up to the entrance, you would find yourself drawn to the presence of a man who stood inside, leaning against a rolled up carpet in a line of rolled up carpets, next to a stack of rolled up carpets. He had three fingers on one hand, and a thumb on the other. He was surrounded by horizontality and verticality. A golden beam shot out of the middle of his head, making him appear two feet taller than his full height. He stood on one leg. And if — no, when — you asked him “how much for a carpet?” — because even if you didn’t really want to buy a carpet, there was something about locking eyes with him that made you want to ask — he would say, “Special price just for you, my dear”.
And you would look at the carpets he showed you, rolled and unrolled, horizontal and vertical, and you would choose and buy a carpet. And you would be so happy with your purchase that you would tell your friends to go back to this carpet shop and find this carpet salesman, because maybe he would do a special price for them too.
Many days later, in yet another part of town, there was a carpet shop where my friend (who originally did not want to buy a carpet) was captivated by the carpet salesman as they tried to walk past the entrance. Delighted with the carpet they bought, they told me to go visit the shop because he might do me a special price, too. So I went to the carpet shop, and looked for the carpet salesman, but he was not there. I looked at the carpets on display, and they were all full price. At the front desk, there was also a hand-written sign. “Please do not ask for discounts, and please do not ask for the carpet salesman. We do not know who he is, he does not work here.”
I realized that was okay, because I didn’t really want to buy a carpet anyway.
Thanks to Smillew Rahcuef, pictured in the photograph above, for his kind permission to play with this concept and for being my muse for this piece.
