Alone

There is no escaping. They are surrounding me like zombies, the people. I am cornered against an invisible wall, or just something I can’t see. All I can see is the people. Thousands of them, all swarming around me. They wear clothes poorly manufactured, and I start to think they didn’t “come” that way. They stare with big, wide, unblinking eyes, reaching out for me, clawing at my skin. “Get off of me!” I yell, “no! Go away!”

         A woman steps out to me, squirming through the crowd to get to me. “Come with me, sweetheart,” she says with a light laugh. She speaks her words, and suddenly I feel sort of hypnotized as a thought crosses my mind: Why not?  But I shake my head and tell myself, No! Don’t do it! I can’t trust them, what am I thinking? But it seems it isn’t my choice to make. Because the zombies are surrounding me, chanting, “Why you. Why you. Why you. Why you,” over and over again, replaying in my mind. Out of lack of space, I have to sit down to avoid their cold, lifeless touches. The people’s arms create a canopy above me, and just as I’m about to think it’s all over, I sense a disturbance within the crowd. The woman, returning once again, shoves her way through the crowds of people. Once she reaches the surface, she doesn’t stop. The next thing I know, she flings herself at me, her hands turning to claws, her teeth to fangs, her eyes blazing white-hot. I hear a scream before I realize it’s my own. I close my eyes and shield my face with my arms when suddenly, I am sitting up, gasping for air, a sheen of sweat on my forehead.

         A dream. It was a dream. The zombies are gone.

         I stand up, wondering where I am before remembering being at the mall. I must have fallen asleep.

         I stretch my arms and legs, yawning, wondering what time it is. Across from where I stand, I see a watch shop. Isn’t it handy to suddenly wake up in a mall sometimes?

         In the watch shop, I walk up to the rows and rows of watches and I begin to think this won’t do me any good, since you’d probably have to set it to the right time once you buy it. But luckily, in the digital clock section, they’ve got the time right up there, in red, blaring numbers:

     11:17.

         Eleven a.m., huh? I think to myself, remembering for the first time that when I got here, it was probably around 3:00 a.m., so waking up now is reasonable.

         Maybe I should have a watch. I mean, I shouldn’t just go around barging into watch shops all the time; that would be stupid.

         I scan the walls, looking for one that would be appropriate for me. Hmm, not too big, not too flashy, not irritating or hard to read. I hate those.

         Finally I find one that’s simply beautiful. It’s silver, the texture’s nice, and I like the way it sounds when it ticks. It’s a beautiful sound. I love it.

         I take the watch out of its box and put it on. It fits nicely, and I stretch my hand out to admire it. I like the way it looks on me.

I leave the shop then, finding it has nothing more to offer.

Just as I pass the door to the shop, I think I hear something.

“Mew.” It’s very faint, but it’s definitely there. “Mew.”

I run down the stationary escalator and fly down to the other side of the first floor, where the door is. I burst outside, the warm spring air caressing my face and blowing through my grey shirt.

“Mew.” The sound comes from my right. Looking down at the ground, I see a familiar face.

“Hey, Mars,” I say to the small kitten that sits on the pavement.

“Mew,” he responds, his big green eyes looking up at me innocently.

I laugh because I know better. Mars may be the cutest kitten the world has ever seen, but I know what a fighter he is. That’s why I named him Mars: after the Roman god of war. Also because there are darker lines of fur on his head, as well as all over him, that form an “M” for Mars.

“Hey, Mars,” I say to him as I scoop him up off the pavement into my arms. His fur is fuzzy and warm against my arms.

“Mew,” he responds. He then struggles to stand on his back legs while still in my arms to attack the sleeve of my shirt, which flaps in the wind.

I put Mars on the ground again and walk through the empty streets. Here, wherever I really am, everything is green. At least in the spring. The leaves on the trees are bright green as they sway in the wind and the houses are small in some areas, but mine is the biggest I’ve found yet.

I walk the roads, pretty glad to have a place to myself. I like it that way – everything is mine.

That’s just how it is, when you’re the only person left on Earth.