Shopping Bags

She was walking back from the store, carrying brown paper shopping bags. She tried to imagine herself as seen from the houses. She pictured herself walking left to right, red lumberjack shirt and grey sweatpants, plus a pink bandana on her head. White sneakers flashing energetically. This was the perfect shot, according to Hollywood rules, with the perfect light of the golden hour and the right direction of camera movement. Yet the whole scene seemed depressing to her.

She was feeling rested and calm, but somehow nostalgic and that nostalgia made her sad. The kids were due back in about an hour, so she would whip up some food for them and that would be it for the day. All the housework already done, no extra-curriculars for the kids, no socializing needed, just a quiet night in.

”Yeah, right,” she said to the empty street.

On days like this, she realized she wanted something else from life. She was not sure what, but this walk home from the store was definitely not what the little girl in her wanted.

She approached her block. The block where she grew up, and where her house had always been. The house had a new coat of paint since two years ago, but it was still the same. She remembered how they used to hide in the bushes across the street to play a prank on their dad.

The shopping bags were slipping down too low, so she hoisted them up and went up the porch steps.

Posted by: Paweł Kowaluk