“Mango pudding.”

This has to be the worst joke ever.

“How many.. Avner, you can’t eat this right?”

Evening. Mother and I went back to grandma and grandoa’s place because they wanted to have a proper dinner together. My mother, surprisingly, didn’t fret about it.

After that we went to the grocery store.

In this grocery store, grandma was spoiling me and Lia by allowing us to buy snacks. Lia went to the snacks aisle and chose something xe knows I can’t eat. Was it so xe can have it all for hirself?

What a cheeky bastard.

“It’s alright grandma.”

“Lia, choose something that can be shared, can’t you?”

“But, but.”

“Grandma, I don’t mean it that way. If Lia wants the pudding, it’s alright to get it for hir. We normally buy pudding whenever we come here.”

Just that Lia is extra happy now that she can have the 8 pack to herself.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Do you really want the mango one? How about other flavors?”

“Fine, this one then.”

Lia decided to choose the mixed pack instead.

One would think that supermarkets should’ve stopped existing now that online shopping has become a standard. However, Novelle’s thought process was slightly different in that it’s the experience of browsing the market which keeps the people coming. It’s like going to a theme park. There are just things that can’t be replaced by technology.

You can’t get that experience of choosing, browings, and actually seeing an item upfront unless you’re physically present.

Otherwise, you could just say that it was a blunder on her end. Self-driving cars should’ve been a thing in this era, but I don’t see it anywhere.

“Avner, would you like this?”

“It’s alright.”

“No?”

Grandpa placed the box back on the shelf. It’s a cookie roll snack which Avner would’ve said yes to if not for Shin’s interference.

The supermarket is fairly large, though not the size of a hypermarket, there’s a fair chunk to explore. The aisles were labeled using holograms. There were search functions in place to direct you to the item you want. Promotional products are also being highlighted.

The storefront is operated by no one, everything is self service. There were security guards though.

We came to the cold produce section. Aether was picking out dairy items.

“Big bro, there’s this yogurt here! We should get some.”

This avocado and cashew flavored yogurt mix. It’s all the craze. A unique item.

“Drop it in,” aether said, swinging the basket over.

“Yahoo!” Lia grabbed two tubs and tossed them in.

If it's yogurt I suppose I don’t have any issue with it.

“Oh look at these fresh mealworms. They're on sale.”

“Do you eat them often?”

“I do.”

My grandao took a few packets and tossed them in the basket.

I hath witnessed the abomination of this new insect produce section. I never thought I’d see such a day in my life.

The little shopping excursion ended with me buying a few bars of dark chocolate. Apparently, the nutritional benefits of chocolate outweigh most vegetables, and so I opted for this snack. Of course, it’s dark chocolate, not the kind which contains high sugar.

Shin is one to worry about health, so I thought I should try to take care of this body too. You never know.

I have this hypothesis that Avner and Shin’s influence will alternate depending on the time. It must be that Shin is making a bigger ruckus these past few weeks.

The entire checkout process was done simply. Baskets with the items are placed on a scanner scale. The items are listed on the screen, and paid.

We returned to grandma’s apartment to sort through the items.

“See you again.”

“Next time, don’t come with mangoes yea?”

“See you, take care.”

“Bye bye, grandma, grandoa.”

We left the condominium. Lia fretted over how we should’ve brought our swim suit so that we could swim in the pool. Xe was planning to freeze to death.

Snow was falling, the sky was painted purple with streaks of red and black. The city was coloured in various flashing lights, the AR blimp in the sky continued to display the ever increasing number of infected.

I rubbed my nose and pulled my jacket around myself.

I sneezed.

We arrived at the zebra crossing.

Past this we would head up the escalator and make our way to the ELRT station. There we would take the train home.

A warning sign which didn’t appear the last time came on. We were notified to beware of the slippery roads.

A floating AR marker above began flashing green. Vehicles came to a stop, pedestrians from both sides began to cross.

This all too familiar feeling.

The asimilar mood.

This temperature, the warmth of my body under the jacket, the chill of winter–

The discomfort.

Everyone was walking, I stood there, silently.

Two steps down the crosswalk, Lia turned around.

“Big bro?”

Shutting off my mind, I forced my legs to take the painful steps forward.

Novelle was killed here.

I should have ran to her.

I should have stopped her.

I should have done something.

It felt so far away before. Why did it become so real?

Shin’s memories.

The green light went away. A caution logo flashed a few times before it turned red. Cars went whizzing by once more.

I turned around to look at the zebra crossing.

Would something happen again here?

A chill crawled on my skin.

{WARNING: YOU ARE BEING WATCHED}

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dotturndot: Oh man– the mystery deepens.