"Untitled" J.A.
Joy and kindness, what amazing words
Everyone you ask will say so
Forever smiling
Forever happy
Always being able to see the goodness
Through whatever darkness clouds your view
Kindness in the hurtfulness
In the suffering
No matter the circumstances
Sorry for nothing and to no one
Determining to always stay happy
Even though the world’s not a happy place
Serving those who need your help
Even though you aren't served back
Respecting those who earn your respect
Valuable
Even though they may not back
Determined to make the world a better place
Because there are so people
Even though they hurt
Through the hurt
Through the pain
Even though the world may be against then
Remember to always remain joyful and always stay kind
Your time in your universe, for the time being, is over with. Everything you can accomplish has been done, and your limbs ache with soreness, exhaustion. When your body finally gives out late into the night, you give in, collapsing as the room around you fades into darkness.
Suddenly you’re standing again, and the dimness of nighttime has brightened. This is not your home; the brightness is from the enormous skylight you’re standing under, in the middle of a shopping mall. While all of the shops have their lights on and their doors open, there is not a single person around you in the corridor, or any indication of one. Even so, you accept this. Your singular footfalls echo as you walk on pristine tile, the only sound save for the music playing in empty stores.
If you’re here, you may as well shop. There are no employees behind any counters, or security guards, so nothing is there to stop you from wandering into a shoe store and simply taking a pair you like, or leaving another with an armful of shirts. The alert sirens don’t even blare when you leave each place, though there must be security tags still embedded in them, mustn’t there?
One of those displays with a new car sits in the intersection of two corridors. You decide you want that too—there must be a way to get it out of here, if someone got it in. Setting down your pile of stolen treasures, you duck under the nylon rope surrounding the vehicle, and go to the driver’s side, tugging on the handle.
It’s locked. But even so, the car starts with this action. You startle, and step away nervously. Maybe it’s self-driving, and it will leave on its own. This seems to be the case at first, as the engine revs...but then, rather than moving forward, the whole vehicle begins to float, as though gravity has ceased.
One of those displays with a new car sits in the intersection of two corridors. You decide you want that too—there must be a way to get it out of here, if someone got it in. Setting down your pile of stolen treasures, you duck under the nylon rope surrounding the vehicle, and go to the driver’s side, tugging on the handle.
Lucid
Catherine Milroy
Anonymous