Window Shopping
Written December 15th, 2011 - Revised September 3rd, 2014
It is a plain shop window on a street, freshly arranged for the clearance sale.
You remember walking in front of it as a child, eyes staring and staring at the rush of womanly voices, high heels and colourful displays. Today, all of its success is gone – the shop is closing down in a few days. Apparently, tailored clothes are not deemed as fashionable as they used to; or, probably, less and less people can afford them.
Behind the glass surface, a bright blue suit lies on a brownish mannequin, elegant and surely expensive as hell. On the other side, on the street, there you are – a young university student in a baggy T-shirt, rightful owner of a pile of books and confused ideas.
You do not even know why you stopped there, especially since you have afternoon classes to attend in an hour. You never cared about clothing that much, even less on an empty stomach. However, this is a completely different matter.
As you study the red tag – it does not cost that much, actually, you could say it is a real bargain if you only knew what to wear it for – your fingers clutch on the hard covers. Art and law. You feel so strange.
It must be one of those moments in life when you look for something, never knowing exactly what you want, and the answer turns up in unexpected forms, without any explainable reason. It might depend on the fact that your whole future lies in your hands now, on the different paths within your two books, and all you want is to find an answer. Some strong, solid perspectives to rely on.
You study the suit carefully. It seems to mock you from there; you do not look very professional right now.
Do looks count on your future working place, anyway? In the end, a suit would look weird on an artist. Much less on a lawyer.
Come on, you tell yourself. Dollie will not be upset if you don't wear her pink sweater on your graduation day. She surely won't, she is perfect. Yet, a sweet voice rings in your ears – why should you buy it, Feenie?
Your possible answers are not coherent at all. Nonetheless, they sound funny. She does not surrender, her delicate smile blinding your mind.Why then?
Because – no matter what your job is going to be – this suit looks like the first and the last formal piece of clothing you would want to wear in your life; and in spite of the bright colour, and the fact you will never be able to paint without turning the jacket into a chessboard of stains, you already picture a man in it, with the awkward smile of his first working day.
Because it is different from what you wear now, and for reasons unknown to you it looks exactly like something you would like to put on in your future.
Because it is blue, and blue is your favourite colour. You hate pink, you never told her.
On a not less important note, it is also for sale.
Suddenly, you feel the watchstrap around your wrist. It must be a miracle – you have been standing there for more than twenty minutes, and you are not shrieking in terror yet.
In the frantic process of choosing whether to start running, to call her or to skip lunch directly, you do not move a step.
The shop window is still there. So are you.
Smiling, you take a deep breath and enter the shop, one hand reaching for the wallet.
You have made up your mind. After all, every choice is a step ahead in life.
One year ago, I finished playing Trials and Tribulations. Since this fandom means so much to me, I wanted to celebrate in the most significant way I could think of.
I chose to write on the first Ace Attorney piece of fanart I saw on dA: Window Shopping by milkaru. Isn't it the loveliest thing ever?
This is a very important moment in my life. I am not a university student yet, but I will soon be one, and I feel so worried and uncertain about my future. That's what I tried to express, also because Ace Attorney helped me very much to find my way when I had no energy anymore. That is why I'm celebrating today, and why I love this piece of art so much. I hope I made it clear through my words.
