I quickly sat up in a panic gasping for air, my clothes and hair drenched in sweat. It......was just a dream....one that felt so real. I gazed over at my dresser mirror across the room and I had to stop myself from screaming out. With my hands firmly clamped over my mouth I pulled back the covers and stood up to walk over to the dresser. My hands caressed my smooth almost porcelain skin. My bright and cheery eyes, full chubby cheeks, pouty lips.....I look like i'm a child. I LOOK LIKE IM A FUCKING CHILD. Out of the blue my bedroom door flies open and in walked in my mother with the obvious look of frustration and disappoint on her face. She walked over to my closet and yanked clothes off the hangers throwing them onto my bed. "Get dressed your late for work. I told you to set your alarm." Before I had any time to react she stormed out of the room slamming the door shut behind her. Everything just felt so surreal. I remembered having this job.....how much I hated it but I didn't have any time to complain and simply got dressed no questions asked because the less I question maybe the better things would be. As I dragged myself down the hallway I examined the pictures hung up alonh the walls. They sure were some childhood relics of those ancient times. My mother almost dragged me out of the house by my hair to her car and I swear I could hear the constant ringing of bells......or more like chimes, I would always hear the sound of wind chimes everywhere I go. Although its quiet and not really obnoxious in the slightest I cannot wrap my brain around exactly where it is coming from.
A loud thud sounds behind me and I feel the presence of something behind me pulling me back to reality. A frail bony hand clamps down hard on my shoulder sinking it fingers under my collarbone. The sudden wave of pain aggression makes me jump alert to my feet and turn around. Standing there behind me was my boss, Lydia. She was a short ill-tempered older woman around 56 or so, she was....nice. Well at least to me she was. I try not to start problems or ask for her help, so she picks on me the least out of the rest of the workers. She spoke softly, in a hushed tone but her raspy smoker's breath made me want to curl up and die or throw up in my mouth.
Lydia: "______, you alright? You've been dozing off lately and sales have went down. I really think you need a break."
Her lips smack with such a revolting sound as her saliva moistens the dry cracks in her thin lips. I don't answer back and simply just shake my head as I lean back against the counter next to the register. Her ash colored hair boucing up and down with a sort of vivacity her facial expression lacked. She turned to walk away, with no other words exchanged until abruptly stopping after a few steps just to the side of me. She leaned in and breathed heavily on my neck as if she was having an asthma attack. Oh why couldn't she just leave and let me enjoy some silence in peace? Please just go awaaay.
Lydia:" Well lookie here, you didn't tell me you got a tattoo, hun. Hmmm you never struck me as the type to get a little ink, but looks cute on you."
Her sickly fingers stretched out and brushed my hair to the side, examining a small symbol tattooed on the nape of my neck before walking away back to her office. Tattoo? I don't remember ever getting a tattoo.... I quickly reach for my phone turning on the camera and angling it at the back of my neck to take a quick picture and much to my surprise it wasn't some sort of crazy dementia she was going through. She was actually right. In black ink was the alchemy symbol for Earth, an inverted triangle with a line through it. I could not recall a single moment in my life where I ever wanted something like this but hey she wasn't exactly wrong and it's small enough to hide easily. I threw my phone down into the little cubby hole at my post watching closely as a woman approached my counter and set her things down on the conveyer belt. I always hated working at the supermarket but at this point I really had no other choice. Hidden behind her was a little boy grasping onto her teal blue raincoat. The woman must have seen me looking and muttered softly that he was her son Simon. The boy shyly stepped out to the side and waved at me. Waving back I leaned down over the counter to be eye level with him pointing at the candy display behind him. "Pick anything you want kid, I won't charge mommy for it." The mother turned to me with a smile on her face mouthing the words "thank you" to me.
