A quick story at the mall

A quick story at the mall

A Story by The Crow
"

A piece experimenting with setting

"

Woven tapestries, each with a unique geometric pattern, hung floating under the sun, shielding a small woman and her items in the bins scattered about the stand. Walking over, I saw collections of feathers, pictures, small packs of candy inevitably melting under the heat. I needed a drink, and asked where I might be able to find one. She joked that I could try the river, but we both knew of the sludge that lurked just under it’s waters. I then was pointed to a vending machine put in (quote) “not too long ago”. “The company has been very accommodating” she said in a tone I almost felt rehearsed, but decided not to look into. I immediately regretted buying a Coke Magic (now in stores and outlets everywhere), as I figured I should keep my health within question. But damn, did it feel gratifying. The good-natured, pretty blonde woman in the commercial was right, “feel the magic when you feel the heat!”, she said. Is it strange to feel like someone in a commercial is hitting on you? I looked at the bottle, then back at the solitary woman sitting in her stand, then to the hundreds of bustling shoppers walking about the open-air mall on a Saturday afternoon. In many ways, it felt a bit overwhelming. I returned to the stand, only to see it’s caretaker peering at an ad for Colgate toothpaste, showing someone excitedly brushing away. “I envy her teeth” she said, laughing,  “Every day I sit in this corner, looking at this b***h’s teeth. Isn’t that sad?”. I didn’t say anything, but I did purchase a keychain, for no apparent reason.

The rest of the day was spent walking about the Navajo Ridge Mall in a sort of daze, a ghost haunting the crowds. I wondered about life in a Coke world, a Colgate world. Would everyone be happy? Who would win out in the teeth department? I found my car in the parking lot, took out my keys with the Arizona state keychain now connected, and left for home.

© 2016 The Crow


My Review

Would you like to review this Story?
Login | Register




Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Request Read Request
Add to Library My Library
Subscribe Subscribe


Stats

168 Views
Added on August 2, 2016
Last Updated on August 2, 2016
Tags: a, quick, story, at, the, mall, arizona, people, setting, place, store, stores, commercial, capitalism

Author

The Crow
The Crow

MO



About
I am another person more..

Writing