“How’s your neck?”
“It’s getting better.”
“Good.” The doctor hands him the prescription. “What did you drive
before the accident?”
David coughs, “A Subaru Impreza STI. I had it for just under two
years.” He bought it because of the anime “Intial D.”
“Ah,” the doctor smiles, “A good car. Unfortunately named though.”
Before the accident David used to drive to the Joann’s Fabrics on 4th
and Bristol in downtown. The car wasn’t as loud as it looked, but was still
a deep bass kind of loud. David was usually a quiet person. The Impreza
made him feel like someone else, like someone who could save somebody.
It was like a powerful, mechanical suit that granted him powers God had
found him unfit for.
There was a woman in the store who would cut fabric while in
costume. She had short red hair and freckles. Most days she was some
sort of anime character, others she just wore clothes that looked like they
belonged in anime. David never learned whether her costumes got her
the job, or whether she had a job despite them. However, through trial and
error he did learn her schedule as he built his collection of fabrics. One yard
every few days just to break up the monotony of gazing endlessly into a
computer screen.
It was always warm in the store, about 82. It also always smelled
like cinnamon candles. The ceiling was high, which made sense; if the light
fixtures were too high to touch, then the conspirators only had to project
the illusion of lights instead of putting actual light fixtures there. It made
sense that the sky worked under a similar principle.
On this day, David was adding the coarse texture of muslin to his
collection of materials. The anime woman wore a dress like the main
character from Cardcaptor Sakura. Light pink and white, puffy sleeves, a
dress with a petticoat to give it volume, and a clashing dark green Joann’s
apron. The woman was at the counter cutting a fuchsia satin for an old
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