The Stray

When the girl was a toddler, her aging mother packed up the groceries and left the store without her. For hours, the girl wandered the aisles looking for her. Mama? The girl asked a lady in the bakery section. The girl recalls that the lady wore a big floppy hat and smelled like coconuts. Her smile was so wide that it cracked the edges of her mouth and aged her rapidly. She never responded to the girl’s question. By the time her mother returned, the store manager had found the wailing toddler, gave her a blueberry muffin from the bakery, and had dialed the first three digits that would have directed him to child services. The mother took the abandoned child and left the store before he could dial the rest. 

Years later, as the girl makes her way down those same aisles, she is taken aback with a sense of deja vu. The store hadn’t changed since that horrible day so long ago. The light in aisle three still flickered; a tile still remained missing by the front door; the milk still remained one day away from their expiration date; the bakery still served that same blueberry muffin that haunts her taste buds to this day. 

If the girl had her way, she would have never returned to the store. The original plan was to visit her ill stricken mother and go back home as fast as possible. In and out. But, with the upcoming blizzard, the girl decided to stay with her mother during and ride out the storm with her. Now, she wanders the store once more. This time to gather food and supplies for the impending danger.

As the girl wipes the frost from a freezer door, she is startled by her own reflection staring back. She chuckles and reassures herself that her nerves are high. The door handle is cool to the touch which sends a shiver racing up her arm. She pries the door open and watches bits of frost fall to the floor. Behind the frozen door are shelves full of ice cream containers. She picks her favorite, rocky road, and places it in her cart. Before she closes the door, a pinch of red catches her eye. Nestled in between mint chocolate chip and neapolitan, is a lone apple. What are you doing here, apple? The girl plucks the apple from its resting place and assigns herself the mission of seeing its return safely to the fruit aisle.

With a clear goal in mind, the girl heads toward the fruit aisle. Before she makes it there, a wild howl paralyzes her in place near the frozen meat section. The girl heads straight for the nearest window and peaks at the outside world. Hideous gusts of white wind streak past the window with a vicious agenda. The blizzard came early. 

The girl rushes to her cart and makes a beeline straight to the cashiers, abandoning the apple mission. She is nearly to the cashier when a soft distant noise perks her ears. Everything in her is screaming to go to the noise. Before she can convince herself to stop, she’s already heading toward the noise. As she looks into each aisle to find the sound, it becomes clearer who the culprit is: a baby. The noise, now identified by the girl as cries, grow louder until she stops in the cereal aisle. A baby swaddled in a brown blanket lays in the middle of the aisle with no mother in sight.

Don’t worry, baby, we’ll find your mama. The girl scoops the baby up and searches the nearby aisles. The baby, nestled in the girl’s arms, stops crying. Oh sweet baby, I’m glad my presence calms you. 

The girl begins to call out. She asks the store if a mother is missing a child. No one returns the call, it lingers in the air.

Suddenly, the girl’s breath quickens. A cold sweat threads her forehead as the blood rushes to her ears. Her heart thumps rapidly against her chest.

The baby begins to cry again. The girl tries to calm herself down and decides to head toward the cashiers.  

As she makes her way closer to the front, the baby grows louder. Stationed at the front door, wearing the same clothes, is the manager from her childhood. The girl is taken aback, but convinces herself to talk to him anyway. For the baby’s sake.

S-sir. Someone left this baby alone in the aisles. I was wondering if you could make an announcement on the speaker system.

“There’s nothing I can do for you.”

Oh, um, ok. I guess I can check the parking lot to see if the mother is there. 

“No. Stay inside, there is a blizzard.”

Please, this baby needs its mother.

“How many more times are you going to try this? Take your baby, and go back inside.”

My baby?

The girl looks down at the infant in her arms. A shocked gasp escapes her lips, the baby’s eyes mirror her own. She clutches the baby a little tighter and vows to never let go.

My love, how did I forget about you?

The manager continues to block the exit. The girl sees no other solution but to go back into the aisles. She adds a new mission to her roster, break out of this store.

She scans the store while cradling the baby close to her heart. At the far right of the store, the girl finds a door labeled with an “employee only” sign. She tries the handle but it doesn’t budge. After a few more yanks and kicks to the door, she gives up and continues toward the back of the store.

How are you, my love? At the sound of her mother’s voice, the baby giggles and falls asleep within minutes. I will get us out of here.

The aisles seem to be endless as the girl wanders the store. Her fears grow shadows when she realizes how big the store is. Endless aisles of cans, bags, fruits and vegetables, frozen meats, and cereal boxes stand in her way of freedom.

I’m sorry baby.

Her sore arms give up the time she spent searching for an exit. Before she can collapse from exhaustion, the girl sinks slowly to the floor. It takes a little maneuver to make it to the ground without  the baby. But, the baby’s eyes shoot open when the girl is on the tiles of a cold floor. As soon as the baby begins to cry, the girl is able to decipher what it means. The baby is hungry. 

Don’t worry my love, I’ll get you something to eat.

The girl pushes herself off the floor and sets the baby on the ground. 

It will only take a second and then I will return to you.

The girl finds herself in the bread aisle and sees an apple being swaddled between sourdough and wheat. She stares at the apple and assigns herself the mission of returning the abandoned apple to its origin. After taking a wrong turn, the girl finds herself staring out a window. A white wind whistles outside and she reminds herself to get food for her mother before the blizzard hits.

Instead of getting a can of soup and a tray of crackers, the girl decides she wants ice cream. While her favorite is rocky road, the girl is torn between mint chocolate chip and neapolitan. I shouldn’t stray. The girl decides to stick to her original choice and gets rocky road.