[i]Nich's Niche Needs[/i] stood on a fairly busy road. Any passersby would see the owner's latest creations on display in the window, along with a little placard naming the device, but offering no description as to it's purpose. Nich didn't feel such detail was necessary, though, as he thought the names spoke for themselves. After all, there were only so many things that "spring boots" could do. Nich sat in the back room with his toolbox open, tinkering on his latest contraption. He wasn't sure what it did yet, but it wound up and had some moving bits, so there was that. Most people walking by would think the shop was empty; Nich liked to keep the backroom door closed so nobody could steal his ideas, but once a customer came in...

The door opened. The top of the door pulled on a wire running along the wall of the shop and into the back room. The force of the wire sent some tiny gears in motion, and they caused an iron strip to rattle around inside a brass dome, making a loud ringing sound. In a matter of seconds, the jovial rat scurried out from the back with a bright grin on his face. "Welcome! Welcome! What brings you here on this beautiful summer day?"

The customer reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pocket watch. "It seems to have stopped working," he said. "I wind it, but I don't hear anything. Perhaps you could take a look at it?" 

Nich's entire body seemed to droop a bit upon seeing the watch. "Yes. I can look at it. I can fix it too. But, please, while I'm working, do take a look around. There are so many more interesting things than watches!"

The customer gave a cordial smile. "It certainly looks like it, but I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a hurry. May I drop the watch off and pick it up later."

Nich tried to hide his dejected sigh. "Yes. It'll be done tomorrow. Let me just take your information..." And so he filled out a ticket, and put the watch under the counter on a shelf labeled "later." The customer tipped his hat and went about his business, and then Nich shook his head, looking at the stack of five watch pickups he was expecting today. It was a strange turn of events, that watchmaker's disappearance. Nich had never considered himself a competitor with the old man. He didn't sell watches; he sold everything [i]else[/i]. Unfortunately, with the watchmaker's shop closed, people came to him as their next resort. New customers were always good, and he couldn't complain about the boost in profits. But fixing watches every day? Bah! Where was the fun in that?