The mother’s eyes lay heavy like lead. It had been a tiresome week while she waited for her husband to return from his trip to Canada. Their first child, an easy infant, had the most crystal-blue eyes she had inherited from her husband. However, as the child transitioned into her toddler years, she delved into a relentless phase of wanting to understand everything. “What is this? Why is that? How come I can’t?” These questions rattled in her mother’s head like ricocheting shrapnel as she walked into the dimly lit general store.
The store had seen better days, its history intertwined with that of her friend Denease, who had worked here during their teenage years. The manager had always refused to invest in a security camera system and instead relied on the metallic detector gates to catch any potential shoplifters. A sense of unease settled over the mother as she remembered the stories of shoplifters apprehended by the eerie metallic chime.
Thankful for the store’s nostalgic 1990s shopping carts, she slid her inquisitive baby into one, unleashing a hail of questions and protests. The toddler’s ceaseless curiosity already wove cotton into her mother’s ears, anticipating the onslaught of questions that lay ahead during this seemingly ordinary trip.
Navigating the aisles, the mother’s gaze perused up and down the shelves, her thoughts constantly disrupted by her child’s incessant asks. The rest of the world faded into insignificance as her focus centered on what was, rather than what wasn’t.
Her momentary respite came in the candy aisle as she selected treats for the approaching Halloween trick-or-treaters. However, just as she turned her attention back to her shopping list, a sinking feeling overcame her. She had forgotten to grab the 2% skim milk that her husband so ardently favored, a beverage she could hardly muster any enthusiasm for.
To escape the relentless barrage of her child’s questions and the allure of sweets, she decided to make a quick dash to the dairy section for the milk and then return to the ceaseless inquiries later. Little did she know that this decision would thrust her into a nightmarish reality.
As she retraced her steps and rounded the aisle’s corner, the cacophony of sound that met her was deafening. But it wasn’t the customers or the overhead music; it was the horrific sight of the eternal grinning red shopping cart. It stood there, defying logic, empty except for the echo of her own footsteps.