"So you can sell me anything I want?"

"No, no, you misunderstand me." He smiled a bit too broadly, his teeth white and sharp, his voice bearing an unplaceable foreign accent, slight but there just at the edges of his words. "I am a salesman of want." And with this, he hefted his large case onto the counter.

It was not without effort that he strained it up. Not that his face would betray this, but Jane could see the muscles straining under his beautiful black suit, perfectly tailored, at least to her untrained eye. The case seemed heavy, but when he opened it, it was nearly empty, full of only a few slips of paper.

"My dear, I can sell you a want. Perhaps even a need if you can pay. Certainly a desire, if that is what you wish. I have all these things to sell, but I primarily deal with wants. They are so simpler."

"I'm not sure I understand. Why would I buy something that I don't want already?" Humor him, there was something strange about him, but he was pretty and the days were long and empty.

"Many people find that these days, there are few things that they cannot find, few wants that they cannot fulfill. That life has become a bit easier. What better to make things more interesting than something you can never have? I am offering you a drive, or maybe a reason. Perhaps I can interest you in a want for fame? No? No.

"I can see you are a more discerning customer. Perhaps a dream of flying through the air unaided? A hunger for gems, that your teeth will crack?

"Just wait, I have something for anyone. It's only a matter of time.