Maple

7

When I left the park, I ended up in a grocery store. I didn't have any money, so I'm not sure what I was thinking. I was just kidding myself, staring through the fridges at bottles of kombucha and fresh dolmas from the deli. I wandered the isles, doing nothing much but daydreaming about food like this. I daydreamed about having a wallet and some money inside. I daydreamed about all of it.

I think it's sort of funny, that a grocery store can be the point of such longing. Such imagination and wishful thinking. It's just a commercial building full of commercial things and busy hands. People were rushing back and forth, trying to get their week's shopping done. It was strange chaos. I guess nobody else notices it when they're on the inside.

I'd become bored with the tried-and-true lifestyle of a shopper and a worker–those exhausted bodies and heavy heads–and wondered what kept me in the store. Was there some unforeseen force holding me against the ice cream fridge?

And then there she was. The unforeseen force. The most beautiful person in the world was at the register. Long dark hair and almond eyes. She was wearing a pink dress that fit her like a second pair of skin and went down to her ankles, and around her shoulders was a jean jacket adorned with pins. Green and pink clips lined the sides of her head, holding back loose strands of hair, and she had so much jewelry, I wondered how there weren't crows at her feet. She looked like a Shirley Temple and a cherry tree, and everything else sweet. Draped across her arm was a wicker basket that she'd used to shop with.

Everything in me, every single cell in my body and piece of stardust that makes up my anatomy froze and shook and bled. She was so beautiful it hurt. Her expression was kind and heartfelt, even though the man behind the counter looked so sick and sad. She had to be brightening his day, even by a little. Maybe he wouldn't notice it now, but when she leaves, I think he'd feel that sweetness linger and dissipate. I know I will.

I realized I was in the same spot for a while. Just watching her buy a loaf of sourdough bread, a six-pack of ginger ale, and some vegetables. I think there was an apple in her hand as well. I guess I was in the same spot for too long because one of the employees practically swept me out of the store.

I left feeling as if my little bout of joy from earlier had been doused out very suddenly. And what do you know, it was raining again.

I doubt grocery store girl ever felt lonely.

And so I think I've fallen in love today. I'm not sure how it happened or how to make it go away, but as I felt the brisk air carry me in search of new places to rest, I feared I'd never see her again. What was her name? How does she eat her sourdough bread? Is she the type of person to feel annoyed or amused when you leave the bread in the toaster for too long and it becomes blackened and rock-solid?

I daydreamed about her almond eyes. How many things has she said, how many words has she sung? I was conflicted; because of her beauty and charm, she must be the type to break hearts, but at the same time....I couldn't see her being the cause of any turmoil. I could envision a perfect heart beating underneath her skin and behind her cherry-red lips. Her aura was bright yellow and so warm.

I flew down the sidewalk, trying to escape the sky's insistent shower. The rain was pummelling me and almost blinding, I could barely see a few feet ahead. Where did the sun go? Wasn't I laying in the park underneath a perfect blue sky a few hours ago? I felt a car skid past me on the road and a spray of drain water erupted in my face. This was terrible. I slowed down slightly. The wind was letting up but the rain was relentless, and it pushed me along. I wasn't even quite sure where I was going.

Occasionally someone would pass me, just as side struck by the unexpected weather as me. An older man wearing a yellow poncho and a white fishing hat passed me at a full-speed walking pace, his leathery hands pulling the hat down further over the bridge of his nose. I could hear a salty grumble escape his thin, pursed lips as we walked by each other; it was a brisk walk, our bodies passing in mere seconds. He seemed to have a destination in mind though whereas I didn't.