Speed Breaker

Speed Breaker ≈ 6

Collecting chapsticks and stamps of different countries on my passport used to be my life. They say seeing the world makes you wiser but it really doesn't unless you are ready to see. If it would have then I wouldn't have fallen for Uncle Charlie's tricks. You'll only become wiser if you are ready to see, observe and let those wheels in your mind turn around, let that light bulb shine. Its like a switch. On or off, you choose. And I guess I didn't see. I just looked. Read all those Science books but didn't quite understand how vile humans can be. He played with us all like puppets. And we fell for all his lies and sugary words coated with a heavy layer of fake ness that we missed. We miss out too many things. But I've learnt not to. "Her." I pointed out an old lady grumbling to the store clerk. She was dressed in a black woollen coat and gloves protecting her from the cold, contrasting heavily with the music store painted in all the bright and loud colours literally. One wall even had messy bright paint splattered texture on it. She was not that unnoticeable but anybody even I would have just taken a glance at her and moved on with my work not giving a damn. She was just another customer or so I though. But boy was I wrong.

"Allison Astrid, 55 year old who keeps coming to this store every Thursday for her 'broken' earphones. Every Thursday dressed in same coat she throws her purple earphones at Carl, the store clerk, and complains that 'Those bloody thing never work. The right side only produces sound at times.' Its quite ironical how its her right ear's fault. The headphones were just victims," Elliot replied like reading a case file but not monotonously. Elliot just was one of those people who couldn't do anything monotonously. After school Elliot had given me choice where I would like to 'hunt' a person for their story. And I chose the lively music store which sold anything related to music. Cd's, records, record players, instruments, music related electronics [which they ordered after requested] and much more. You name it, they get it. It was a wonderland for a music lover. This street had all kinds of stores. It covered up for the lack of shopping center for sure. The market was always buzzing.

"Anybody can know that. And why doesn't somebody just tell her?"

"Well she knows. The information is there somewhere in some dark corner of her mind but she cannot recollect it. Basically she has Alzheimer. Her son comes here every Thursday to drop fabrics, groceries, and some other items to these shopkeepers from the city which is nearby to the town he resides in and she comes with him and ends up in this shop always. She argues with Carl or some other store clerk, if Carl is on leave and then after a few patient sighs and words from him and agitated from hers, she forgets or remembers something random and leaves. But she always can be found in this store or the bookstore at the end of street. Her brain is programmed to go to and forth these both stores sort of, so its not really a problem for her son to find her on most of the Thursdays. And every shopkeeper on this street knows her condition so even if she wanders off, they keep her safe."

"Woah."

"Yeah. Diagnosed at 50 so its been almost five years. She used to be one of those ladies who bake for their neighbours every Sunday and gossip with their friends like there is no tomorrow and very much motherly. But Alzheimer happened and everything fell apart. Her husband who loved her deeply died a few years after she was diagnosed and sometimes she forgets this and sometimes she feels like he just died and grieves."

"So she lives with her son now?"

"Yep. Jerry, her son and Quinn, her best friend live with her and look after her. And nurse Bertie of course."

"Wow that's..."

"It is."

"But wait how do I know that you didn't just make it all up? Or if its true then maybe you found it from people."

"Well first of all I did not just feed you some bullshit. You can ask around if you want. And second, I do find story's parts from people and other things when I am the one collecting their stories. I never said I am a mind reader."