Chapter 2: Shop no. 204
17 0 1
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

I step out of the bus. My first step in this city is on a long pathway that runs parallel to the road. The bus drove on, I turned and waved goodbye.

I look at my watch and realize I still have 15 minutes. I don't usually wear watches, but this one was gifted to me by Mom on my 15th birthday. I always wear it on special occasions. And boy am I glad I wore it, with no sun and a perpetual shadow over everything, there was no way my sense of time would be as sharp as it was in my village.

I look around at people hurriedly walking by, rushing to play their part in this city. I pass through three shops and notice the entrance to the mall.

Letters made out of huge neon lights read 'THE WELLNESS MALL'.

The road widens on the side of the mall, for vehicles to stop so that they do not stall the traffic. There's very little rush at this time of the day. As I enter the mall, I hear a car stopping behind me, a lady with thick bordered glasses steps out of it. The watchmen at the entrance seem to know her; they let her pass in front of me.

My bag gets checked, I show them my appointment letter. The watchmen glance at each other. One of them points at a narrow wing on the right. I zip up my bag and walk towards it. There's a small marker on the wall which says, 'Shops no. 201-300', with a right facing arrow. I walk into the right wing; it turns to the left almost immediately. There's a long straight well-lit hallway in front of me, with doors on either side. I walk ahead; the first door is on the left. It says '300'.

Suddenly a sense of urgency washes over me as I realize I have to walk past almost hundred doors. I pick up my pace all the while fighting with the urge to sprint.

Most of the shops are locked, maybe because it's too early for them to open for business. I glance through the ones that are open. I see a fitness equipment shop, with a young boy dressed like a trainer going around dusting some of the products. Another shop that is open is filled with decorative ceramics and pottery. A short lady was sitting on a chair near the door, perhaps waiting for the first customer for the day. She smiles at me as she sees me walk by, I smile back.

After every twenty shops, there is a small water dispenser. I have a quick sip before racing forward. The water tastes different. 'Of course going through all those metal pipes must've changed it', I think to myself.

As I pass shop number 240, I notice the lights on the top of the hallway get dimmer. There are a lot of hustling noises from the shops in this section. I see an open shop where a bandana wearing man was smoothing out some wooden products; the sandpaper machine was a lot noisier than it looked. I realize that maybe the equipment production shops were pushed to the back of the mall to have the front more quiet and customer friendly.

I reach shop number 204 in time. As I raise my hand to knock, I see that the door is locked. I look around helplessly, not knowing what to do. I feel a gaze piercing through me. There is an old frail man on the opposite side, definitely a foreigner, most probably relocated here after the Great War.

He addresses me, "You must be the new manager, here, take these keys, Jacque left them with me".

'Well at least I can get in and start my day' I think, to myself.

"Thank you kind Sir", I say, looking at him. He nods and turns around to go back to his shop.

Then suddenly he turns to me again, as if he forgot to add something, "And yes, Jacque said, you should look around a bit in the shop."

"Will do Sir," I reply.

I open the lock and walk inside. The room is dark but smells fresh. I turn on the light switch.

The shop is huge; I can see that there are multiple sections in it – full of customized equipment. A white walking stick with some light blue patches stands beside the table at the entrance. It looks pristine and sophisticated. It has two wheels at the bottom, which grip to the ground really well.

I notice a note attached to the top of the stick – 'For you'.

'For you? What does that mean?' – Well Jacque did tell me to look around, so maybe it is for me? But why will I, a 20 year young, healthy boy need a walking stick?

'If it isn't for me, I can just place it back.' I say to myself as I make a note to use it with care.

There are rows and rows of racks brimming with products, there are baby-strollers, roller-skates in various colours. As I cross another section I see an installer, 'So this is where the magic happens!' I exclaim. The instruction sheet is pasted on the side of the machine itself. The installer is a small machine which connects together various parts, like in the walking stick's case, a stick and the wheels at the bottom. The installer is a little longer than five feet in length. The length of the stick is custom made as per the requirements. I notice similar machines behind the installer.

There's a lot to look at. Even though I am only supposed to oversee that these machines are used properly, I feel that this is going to be a nice learning experience.

I pass through another section in the shop and come towards the end. I am surprised to see an open gap in the corner of the room. It looks like a backdoor but there is no door, it's just – open..?

I walk outside and come across three people – two girls and a man – dressed like doctors talking among themselves. They are holding cups of what looks like coffee. Still reeling under confusion, I peer at them. One of the girls notices me and smiles. I do not smile back. She goes back to her conversation.

'What does all this mean?' – Jacque locks the front door and keeps the keys at a neighboring shop but there is an opening at the very end of the shop anyway?

There are stairs for going up as well as down behind the three people. A little farther away from them is a glass door that opens up to even more people. All of them dressed as doctors, with face masks and lab coats.

Visibly confused as to what all this could mean, I slide the walking stick on the ground to turn around and am shocked to see that there is no entrance.

There is no shop in front of me.

It's just a plain wall.

1