(READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.)
“The Shopper”
by
Paul McCarthy & Scott C. Forrest-Allen
It’s that time of
the year again, I thought to myself.
Christmas time…and
I’m sick of hearing the same music over and over again
and again. My mom starts playing Christmas music in
October! It’s driving me nuts: listening
to the same songs, by the same people, in the morning on the way to school;
back home after school. All because I don’t have a license. And the worst song of all –
“It’s The Most Wonderful Time of
the Year.” No, it isn’t! YUCK!
Well, it’s the night before Christmas Eve, and today
my mom told me she would drive me to
the mall tonight so I can go Christmas
shopping with her. My CD player broke
yesterday (I think it
was that brat that my sister hangs around with; it
wouldn’t be the first thing of mine that that little
demon broke).
I really hope I can get my hands on something
to drown out that God-awful Christmas music
that I’m tormented with every
year. I hope the mall won’t be too
crazy, I heard that an elderly woman
was taken to the hospital last year as a
result of the Christmas Eve chaos.
“Peace on Earth, and good will toward men”
my ass. It’s the price to pay to spread
the
“Christmas cheer” I suppose. I hope getting myself my new CD player will
make me feel better.
“Stop it!” I
yelled at Patty in the back seat.
“If you two don’t
stop it…” my mother began. ” May, set a good example for your younger sister.”
Patty couldn’t get
the stupid grin off her face. If she only knew what I was thinking…
The mall was so
much more crowded than I had expected; as if everyone had just looked at their
calendars that morning and realized what day it was.
“Now girls,” started my mother. Oh, how I hated it
when she called me a “girl.”
“Yes, mother dear,” I replied.
“You watch your tone, young lady.” Out of the corner
of my eye, I could see Patty smirking.
“I need to do some errands. I’ll meet
you both back here in one hour.”
“But, mom…” I pleaded.
“And make sure your cell phone is on – just in case,”
continued my mother, ignoring me.
“Now, you girls have fun! One hour!”
I checked my digital watch. It was 6:42PM. Okay. 8PM
was close enough to one hour from then.
And off she went into the sea of faceless strangers.
It was as if a wave had just carried her in
its crest.
“I have to go the baffroom,” announced Patty. Great.
Her nagging was starting already.
“Fine.” The sooner we go “the baffroom,” the sooner we can go shopping for my new CD
player.
That’s when we
started our quest. Fighting our way upstream against the stream of rude and
oblivious shoppers, we managed to make our way to the ladies’ room located in
the center of the mall not too far from the food court.
All I wanted to do
was to splash my face and wipe it with a paper towel. Damn those stupid paper
towels! Might as well dry your face with sandpaper.
After drying my
face, I went outside the bathroom door to wait for Patty. The sea of shoppers
continued to swell, and I could feel myself gasping for air. I checked my
watch. 7:14PM. Damn! Almost half an hour had already gone by, and we hadn’t
even gone anywhere near the CD store! “Patty” I called out. Then I entered the
ladies room.
“Patty! Hurry up!
We have to get going!”
Silence.
Oh, where is she?
I thought. Come on! Hurry up!
This is no time
for her stupid pranks.
Taking a quick
survey of the stalls, I found no feet anywhere.
My stomach
dropped.
My insides turned
ice-cold.
Something was
wrong. I felt it right away.
“Patricia!” I
demanded. “If this is your idea of a joke, I’m not laughing!”
Where is she?
“Come on! Come
out! Patricia?”
Silence.
”Patricia!”
Silence.
“Patty? Come on,
Patty! It’s me, May!”
One by one, I
opened each of the stall doors.
One by one, each
one was empty.
“Patty!”
“PATTY!!”
She must have slipped by when I wasn’t paying
attention. I should’ve stayed in the ladies’
room with her the whole time.
Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Breathe. You’ll find her, I told myself.
This is just
one of her tricks again. Her stupid friend taught her too well. She’ll be just
outside
the door. Yes. That’s it. Just outside the door.
I ran to the door. “Patty! Patty!” I yelled.
Patty was nowhere
to be found. The sea of people turned into an ocean. My mouth went dry.
I could
feel my heartbeat. The sound of my heart beating drowned out whatever sounds
the ocean of
strangers were creating.
Look around.
Slowly.
Make your way around. She’s here. She’s got to be here. Somewhere!
I began to make my
through the unforgiving crowd. All of those people were in their own
little
worlds, and no one else mattered to them but themselves. I searched in every
direction - the best
I could - mouth drying and heart beating.
A wave of panic
moved through me.
The Security Desk.
I need to go to the Security Desk. I need to report her missing. No. She’s
not
missing. She’s just not here. May, you dumb ass, that’s what “missing” means!!
Don’t panic.
Please. Don’t panic. She’s here. She’s here somewhere.
“It’s the
most wonderful time of the year…” sang the
overhead speaker system.
The hell it is! Of
all songs…
“With the
kids jingle belling…” I heard as I managed my
way through the endless waves of
people.
“Well, I never!”
some woman spat in my direction.
Well, maybe you
should, Sweetheart! I thought.
“What a rude little
girl!” added another.
“It’s the
most wonderful time…” repeated the singer.
“Oh, shut up!” I
yelled to the singer, as if he could hear me.
“What did you say?”
demanded a man facing me. “Don’t you dare talk to me like that, little
girl!”
I had no time for
this!
“And don’t you dare
run away from me!”
“There’ll be
parties for hosting…”
Arriving at the
Security Desk, I felt dizzy.
“Please, sir! You
have to help me!” I gasped to the security guard who took notes as I
explained
my situation. He assured me that they would do everything they could to find my
sister.
The overhead singer
chimed with glee: “There’ll be scary ghost stories…” One of
those
ghost stores will be about Patty! May, stop thinking like that. May, get
a hold of yourself. I turned
and faced
the tides of faces heading in every direction.
No one knew what I
was going through.
And no one cared.
Mom! I knew I had
to call mom and warn her. I reached for my cell phone but couldn’t find
it
anywhere. I must have dropped it in my search for Patty.
Or someone stole
it.
“It’s the most wonderful time…of…the…year!” I could picture the singer’s smiling face
surrounding by other smiling faces. Mine was not one of those smiling faces.
I decided to go
back to the bathroom to look. Maybe
she’s been there this whole time.
Please, oh, please, oh, please, oh please, oh
please!
I eventually made
it back. “Patty! Are you here? It’s May! If you’ve been hiding, it’s all…”
“May! Is that you?”
It was Patty’s voice!
“YES!” I exhaled.
That was when the
lights went out.
“Patty! Patty!
Where are you?”
Silence.
The darkness.
It was so dark.
And cold. I could
feel the temperature drop. Had there been any light in the bathroom, I
probably
could’ve seen my breath.
All I could hear
was my heartbeat again. It pounded and echoed between my ears. I wanted
to tell
it to shut up so I could listen for my sister. Of all times for there to be a
power outage. And
where the hell were the emergency lights? And where was
Security?
I felt hands rest
on either of my shoulders.
I gasped in
response. I wanted to ask if that were Patty, but my mouth was too dry to form
any words. I felt my breath quicken. This was too tall for Patty. I wanted to
ask who the hell they
were and what did they do with my sister?
I felt chills take
over my body as I started to make out The Figure in front of me. Close. So
close to me. With both of their hands on both of my shoulders. The gentleness
of the hands frightened
me.
The Figure slowly
guided me along the bathroom. That’s it, I told myself. It’s some nice
person
who found Patty. They are going to bring me to her. But where is she? I tried to gasp,
but no
air came out.
The hands reached
up and started to caress my hair. They were gentle hands, but shivers
went down
my spine. I felt the rest of my body turn ice cold.
Oh, why the hell can’t I say anything? Why is it so
damn cold?
“May! Is that you?”
I heard Patty cry out to me. “Come and get me! I’m right here!”
As I started to
move, the hands returned to my shoulders and shoved me into the wall. I felt
the cold, hard concrete slam against my back, and I screamed. One of the hands
covered my mouth,
squeezing my cheeks until they hurt. I winced and wanted to
cry. Don’t cry. This is no time to cry. It’s
time to be strong. It’s time to be
strong for Patty. It’s time to strong for you.
Did anyone hear me
scream??
That was when I
heard it.
I heard the sound
of a click.
Is it the sound of
the heat and the lights coming back on?
No.
Nothing came back
on.
But, I did hear the
sound of something. It sounded like the sound of a machine. Something
whirring.
What the hell was that?
I winced again in
pain from the hand on my cheeks as I heard…
A chainsaw?
No, not a chainsaw,
but some sort of machine. Something with a high-pitched buzzing or
whirring
sound.
OH, MY GOD! PATTY!
I heard the sound
of the machine. It sounded like it was cutting through something. I heard
cracking. I heard something splitting. Were they cutting through the stalls?
What were they cutting through?
I smelled
something. Some foul, horrid smell.
And cracking. I heard
the sound of something cracking as it was being cut, no, severed, no,
MAY,
SHUT UP!!
OH, MY GOD! PATTY!
PATTY! WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO
YOU? SOMEONE PLEASE HELP US!!
That’s when I heard
the sound of a small child screaming.
The sound of the
screaming was high-pitched.
The sound of the
screaming blended with the sound of the machine.
The sound of the
screaming and the sound of the machine became one.
The sound of the
screaming and the sound of the machine echoed and pierced my ears like
nothing
I had ever heard before.
I finally found the
strength in me to yell.
I finally found the
strength in me to yell as long and as loud as I could, forcing the hand to
move
away from my face.
The sounds of the buzzing
machine and the screaming child and my own screaming became one.
I found myself
lying on the floor. I opened my eyes. The lights -- although I welcomed them --
were
blinding.
I must have passed
out.
For how long?
My heart was still
racing, and my breathing was still crazy as I found myself lying on the bathroom
floor staring at the cracks in the ceiling.
I was alone.
What the hell just
happened? Who was here? Where’s Patty?
And where the hell
IS everyone? No one heard me scream? No one heard that…that sound?
Afraid of what I
might find, I still managed to quickly turn over onto my stomach to see what
and
who was there.
I took in a deep
breath.
Nothing.
No one.
Not a trace of
anything.
Not a trace of
anyone.
What’s worse than
someone attacking you in the darkness?
Not knowing where
they are later when the lights come on.
I looked at my
watch. It was almost midnight.
Where the hell IS my mother? Where IS everyone?
I slowly got up and
left the restroom.
I looked out into
the mall…
…only to find no
one and nothing there.
I was sick to my
stomach.
This will be over
soon, and I’ll forget all about it.
What had been
endless waves of nameless strangers was now a vast wasteland.
It was so dark.
And so cold.
With only the
emergency lights on, I could see my breath in the darkness.
Remembering where I
was, I decided to go to the food court, find a pay phone to call my mother. Or
the police. Or anyone. Anyone who cared. Do they still have pay phones?
I felt and heard
breathing and footsteps along my way to the food court. I decided to step as
lightly as
I could so “they” could not find me.
But, where did they
go?
And what did they
do with Patty?
Don’t cry, May. Don’t cry. There is a simple and
logical explanation to all of this.
But what?
What?
And what did I do to deserve this? All I wanted to
do was to treat myself to a new CD player!
And what did Patty do to deserve this? Where IS
she?
I made my way to
the food court and found the two pay phones near the taco stand.
Tacos sounded
so good right about then. Until I thought of the ground meat. The meat made me think
of the sound I heard earlier, and… the sound of someone grounding Patty’s flesh
and bones…
STOP IT, MAY!!
STOP DOING THIS TO YOURSELF!!
I picked up one of
the phones, seeing my breath as I did. I dialed.
Nothing.
No dial tone.
No ringing.
No nothing.
Of course.
I tried the other
phone.
Same thing.
I wanted to cry. Don’t cry, May. That won’t make
things better. It’ll make things worse.
Go to the front of
the mall, I told myself. Someone is bound to see me.
And someone is
bound to see me along the way, I told myself.
I looked around…
…no one and nothing
was there.
I decided to make a
break for it. I thought if they catch me, then so be it. I’ll put up a fight
and go
down in history as one strong bitch.
Tiptoeing through
the mall, I heard and felt my heartbeat throb between my ears again. Although I
stepped as quietly as I could, I could hear every step echo and bounce off
every wall around me.
In every shadow I saw
someone, or something. Nope just another shadow. Damn! It’s dark in here.
And cold. So cold.
I could see my breath every inch of the way, though I was careful not to
breathe
too much so as not to let them
find me.
I eventually made
it to the front door. Which was locked. Of course. How stupid. What if
someone
were caught in here? How are they supposed to get out?
Oh, wait.
I’M
STUCK HERE, AND I’M TRYING TO GET
OUT!
That’s when I saw
my mother coming to the door. After exhaling a sigh of relief, I noticed
something
else.
Patty was with her!
But how?
I was too exhausted
to feel anger, relief, sadness, and guilt, but I felt all of them anyway.
She was with the
security guard I had met earlier. He let her in. I flung myself into my
mother’s arms.
“I’m sorry, mom!” I
cried, my mouth and lips cracking from being so dry. “I’m so sorry I didn’t pay
closer attention to Patty!”
“It’s alright, May”
my mother began to soothe me. “Patty couldn’t find you in the mall of people,
so
she panicked and ran home.”
“I’m sorry if I
scared you,” whimpered Patty.
I didn’t know
whether to hug my little sister or hit her, so I did neither.
All of us appeared
too tired to do anything.
It was a long and
silent drive home. I sat in the front next to my mother who had a vacant stare.
Mom should be happy, so why the distant
look? She is going to punish me. She is going to ground me
to not taking better
care of my sister whom I didn’t want to come with me in the first place.
I’m alright, I told myself. Patty’s ok. And
some day, we’ll laugh over all of this. That crazy night. It’ll
be such a great
story for us to tell everyone. Ha-ha. Look at me. I’m laughing already.
I wanted to say so
much to my mother, but I couldn’t find any words. I had already explained to
the
security guard what happened. The sounds I heard. He promised me I must
have been sleeping or
dreaming or unconcious or it was my imagination. Why do
adults always tell kids that it’s just our
imagination?
Maybe he’s right.
Maybe I fell down on the floor and dreamt that whole horrible thing.
Wow! We’re home
already?
By the time I got to bed, it was close to 2:00
AM. My mother kissed me goodnight and
said that
everything would be alright. We’ll get up in the mornign and have a
wonderful Holiday.
“Good night,” was all I could manage. She left the
room.
I cried myself to sleep.
In spite of it all, or maybe because of it all, I
began to drift off into sleep.
Then, just as I closed my eyes…
A Voice breathed a melodious tune into my ear:
He knows…when you are sleeping…
I
cringed, “I’m dreaming. Nobody is in the
room.”
He knows…when you’re awake…
“It’s a dream…” I
dragged the blankets over my mouth and nose, “why can’t I just open my eyes to
prove it to myself that there’s no one here? I really hate this dream!”
He knows…if you’ve been bad or good…
“STOP!” I
screamed.
All I could hear was the sound of my own pulsating
breath. A single tear flowed from my eye
into
my mouth. The taste was bitter.
I WAS
dreaming…this WAS a dream!
I frantically looked around; tears blurred my vision
but it was obvious…
…there was no one and nothing there.
May…get a grip
- there isn’t anyone here, you’re just
imagining—
“May! Are you okay?” my parents shouted in unison
from their room.
“I’m okay! Just a dream!”
That’s it.
It was all just a dream.
* * *
* *
The next morning around 7:00 AM, I woke to bright
sunshine beaming through the windows, making
the snow on the ground look brand
new thought it snowed several days before.
An envelope on my nightstand caught my attention. I
opened the envelope to find a beautifully
decorated card wishing me a Happy
Holiday.
I realized it was one of those musical cards because
as soon as I opened it, it sang
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…..”
Copyright 2007 Paul McCarthy & Scott C. Forrest-Allen
