Holiday Shopping

"Wake up, we're here!" You open your eyes to see the view of your mom parking in front of a column in the parking ramp at the mall, a view you're very familiar with. You blink a few times to adjust your eyes and stretch out your arms. She unbuckles her seatbelt and grabs her purse. She grabs your hand but you reluctantly hold her hand back, knowing that you're nearly 8 years old, it's... embarrassing. You're focusing on the faceless mannequins while she goes through the stranger danger rules like she does every time you go out in public.

"Alright, first we have to get grandma a gift." She grabs your hand and you two start walking around. The scent of old ladies grab your attention. The smell is more noticeable as you walk into the first store. Your mom starts walking around the shop, looking at clothes. Right across from this store is your favorite one, the video game kingdom. While sitting on a bench in front of the old lady store, you peer into the front of the video game kingdom. It would be a lot easier if there weren't hundreds of people walking through. You stand on top of the bench to get a better look but all you can see are signs.

"SALE! SALE! SALE!" That's enough to get you to walk over there. You try hard not to bump into other people but it was inevitable. You get shoved around until you finally reach the video game store. Immediately you run over to the Nintendo Switch games. There's already a line of people playing the newest games. You have some time, your mom will be in that store forever. You decide to step in line to play. You focus on the other kids playing in front of you. It doesn't seem like too long before it's your turn to play. You step up and have this excitement like you've been waiting to play this game for your whole life. This is the moment you've been waiting for since your birth. You get pretty far in the game, almost as far as the kid before you. You look around the store some more before you look outside the store. You look to see way less people, it's not as crowded. You try to find the nearest clock. You frantically look around the room. No clocks on the wall. You look to see there are clocks on the game consoles. You look on a demo station and see at the corner the time.

"4:47 P.M."

Why can't you remember the time you got here? Is it already dark outside? How long have I been in this store? Where is my mom? How will I get home?

Am I lost? You run outside the store to the hallway of the almost empty mall. No security guards around, all you can see are people walking back to the parking garage. As you rush around the hallway to find your mom, people stare at you and whisper quite loudly. Every second, a storefront is closing, people disappearing. The eyes on you create more panic throughout your body, sending larger waves of shock with time. 

“The mall is closing in 15 minutes” The announcement was loud and clear. The remainder of people pick up their pace. There’s nowhere to go. No one to help. You stand hopeless in the hallway of the store your mom was in and the store that cost you your security. As time passes, all options feel hopeless, all options feel like no options. You take a seat on the bench, the panic feeling is gone but something about it makes you feel like you should be panicking. As the lights go out, your sitting becomes laying.