Ancil“So why didn’t you just tell me. I mean — I almost kicked you guys out.”
“Yeah, I could have just told you but I was already weak, already dying and turning into a jumbie. I just didn’t want you to see me as less than I already was. I think I was trying to compensate for being a burden. I couldn’t admit that then but I feel like after all we went through together you deserve to hear it.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I said.
“Just say thank you.”
“Thank you.”
Sara nodded her head then turned into a clothes store. I didn’t follow after her right away. I just stood there watching as she strolled through the entrance of the clothes store, below the big sign that read “STYLES OUTLET”. I allowed myself to smile a little which mingled into a sigh of relief. I felt as though a huge weight had been removed from my shoulders. She was honest with me and didn’t feel the need to be arrogant or stubborn. I think I liked the new Sara much more than the old one. I guess all that time she spent locked up gave her a new perspective on everything.
“Are you coming?” Sara turned around and asked.
“Yeah,” I said before following her into the store.
It was kind of weird being in a clothes store without people because they were always filled with busybodies especially this one in particular. It was a women’s clothing store but I had been in it a couple times with my mother. I had also visited the store with my sister when I had to pick her a birthday present. The store made me somewhat nostalgic. The manikins were in the same position that they were always in for years. There was one mannequin in the shape of a dog being held on a leash wearing a pink tutu. It wasn’t for sale but it really lightened up the store. I giggled a little when I saw it.
Sara was sifting through the clothes on the shelves the same way my mother did. The same way most women did, actually. Just scrolling through with the extremely difficult task of actually finding something worth taking.
“This one is nice,” I said, pointing her attention to a fancy red dress on a mannequin.
“It’s about comfort Jed, not style,” she said.
“Come on. If you’re going to slice jumbies into pieces you should at least look good doing it, you know.”
Her face became stern.
“Sorry,” I said. I regretted what I had said before but I then regretted saying sorry. I was prepared to hear her tell me her old speech about saying sorry but…..
“It’s okay. It’s just that I never was in a clothes store like this before.”
“Never? Really?”
“My mother always used to sew my clothes for me. We couldn’t really go anywhere when we were in Mas Camp. We spent most of our lives underground away from the rest of society. I left India when I was only three years old and I hadn’t seen the sun in years. I was both grateful and mortified when we got kicked out of Mas Camp.”
“That’s….Tragic,” I said.
“What do you think of this?” Sara asked, grabbing a tight jeans and black tank top.
“You could never go wrong with a tank top,” I said.
“Good. I’ll wear this,” Sara said before heading into the changing room. She came back out a couple minutes after and said, “Let’s go.”
“You’re not going to ask me how it looks?”
“Why? It’s about comfort, not style. Remember?”
“That’s your motto now?” I joked.
“It should be yours too,” she laughed. She then grabbed a big pair of boots and threw it on her feet.
We got out of the store and went into another to get some more stuff. Food supplies, books and anything that seemed useful at the time. We were supposed to meet back at the gym in an hour but we still had time. I knew we still had time because I bought…STOLE a watch. I also found a gun store and took a fully loaded handgun and wrapped the gun belt around my waist. I knew that Ronald would have made fun of me if he saw it but Sara was on my side so I didn’t care. She actually convinced me to take the gun while she was taking one for herself as well.
“Just one,” she said. “Just in case.”
“Just in case.”
We tracked back to the gym on the stroke of an hour. The rest of the gang wasn’t there but we just assumed that they were running a little late. A couple minutes had passed and still there was no sign of the others. I was getting worried.
“Where the hell did they go?” Sara asked.
