Draiks and Angels: Deity

17 - Shopping

It seemed obvious to Satiya that the third vision should be somewhere where there was shopping, but deciding where was a challenge. In the vision, she was an adult, so she assumed it should be somewhere she shopped regularly now. She shopped in lots of places. Before leaving her apartment, she ran through all the ones she could think of, trying to rank them in order of frequency. She finally settled on a popular shopping district a short flight away.

The district, named Mid Towne Center, consisted of single-story shops lined up on both sides along a pedestrian-only street. There were maybe 30 shops total. The street had benches and streetlights, flower boxes, trash cans and recycling. There was even a fountain in the very center. It was well-maintained and well-visited.

Satiya landed at the end of the row, having learned long ago that people didn't react well if she landed in the middle of the street. She looked at the shops as she walked by and had to restrain herself from going in to a couple. She walked to the fountain and sat on an empty bench. It was made of metal painted black, and surprisingly comfortable. She settled herself by sliding her wings through the slats and put her hands on her knees. She started breathing, closing her eyes. Immediately her vision turned black.

Satiya was walking through the dark, smiling. She turned to her right, and a rack of cute shirts appeared. They were designed for Angels, and in colors Satiya liked. They had her size, too. She grabbed a shirt and draped it over her arm. She didn't need to try it on. She could always return it later. She kept walking, and more racks appeared. Satiya perused the clothes, choosing a pair of dark-blue jeans next, holding them up to see if they would fit. Then a thigh-length skirt with red and black swirls. Then a shirt with tiny rhinestones in a geometric pattern was followed by a midi-length purple dress. Satiya's arm was getting tired from the clothes she was carrying, but still she looked.

The clothes were all so cute! Satiya looked at the pile on her arm, but her gaze was brought back to the rack in front of her. Her arm ached. The pile got higher. Something was wrong. She couldn't look away from the garments. They called to her. She wanted them, but she found she couldn't remember the first ones she took. Did they matter if she couldn't remember them? Sure, she wanted cute clothes, but did she need all these?

She was at the checkout, pile of clothes in front of her, being scanned one by one by the teller. She could see the total grow with each item.

She tried to speak, but her voice was hoarse and didn't come out. She tried again. Finally, focusing hard, she stopped the teller and said, "I've decided to wait," and walked away, into the light.

Satiya opened her eyes to see the fountain shooting little jets of water in time with the faint music in the background. She was glad this vision wasn't as emotionally draining, and that she didn't cry in front of all these strangers. She stretched her arms and stood up, then stretched her wings, ignoring the looks that earned her.

Out of the noon-time shadows around her feet, she felt something solid begin to rise. She jumped back just as four shoulder-height Shadow minions grew from the ground. They shot tendrils in all directions, snagging anything nearby: lampposts, trashcans, and people! One Shadow had grabbed two lampposts and stood stuck in between, trying to reel in two immovable objects. Two Shadows had grabbed screaming human shoppers and released whatever else they touched to start reeling them in towards their main masses. One had snagged Satiya around the middle and began to pull her in as well.

Satiya called her magic and conjured a magical sword, which she used to cut the tendril holding her. She flew into the air and took in the scene. The two humans had been pulled to the shadow bodies, and had black masses over their noses and mouths. They were unconscious now. One was a teenage female, maybe 16 years old, and the other was middle-aged woman, maybe 50. Their bags of shopping lay strewn across the street near where they were taken.