Zeugma prompt.   31/3/22 Quickwrite - 8 mins. Mary Finnegan.

The shop had been in the family since 1912 with the name, Finnegan,  going above the door in 1922. It  was a feature of the neighbourhood. Generations of customers, who were known and valued, had come for newspapers, comics, magazines, cigarettes, stationery and religious goods. In later years other items became part of the stock - chocolate, sweets, milk, cream, minerals, crisps, silver chains, toilet paper, tissues - a cornucopia of necessities in the small corner shop.

Then it came to 2007 and the last man standing behind the counter decided to call it a day at the age of 75 and retire. There was so much to sort, to clear, to pack. Delicately taking down the old gas lamp that was no longer in use. The things found - boxes of pen nibs from the 1920s. A few boxes of drawing pins from the 1930s. Hairpins. Shoelaces. Lost envelopes. It was a time consuming and emotional ordeal dismantling nearly a century of trade. At last, with many hands having helped, with many memories swirling in the dusty air, it was done. 

He took a last look round. 

Then, he closed the door and that chapter of his life.