They disappear into the vast crowd as I move my eyes away from them and slowly take my steps one at a time to my destination, as the feeling of something grasping me has slightly diminished, and I finally reach the e-book shop.
"Hello, do you have the latest $###^%%?" I asked the robot clerk whose name tag said 5U, as my eyes were glued to the Nice name generator.
"No... sir," 5U gave a reply with a moment of pause, as if rechecking while he did something on the monitor. "The one you are checking — that one has a slight delay in its publishing time."
I waited, and slowly people started to come to this store and ask the same question. As if feeling a threat, I said in my brutish tone, "Hello, this is the line for that, so come and follow the rules," while giving the robot a nod with a smile, while internally thinking, God damn, good job that I formed this line. Sigh... people would turn to monsters, or I would have fewer chances of getting my order. These mongrels... I don't know if they get it or not, but I want it.
They formed a line behind me, as there were others also who got here for such — getting their deluxe edition, a whole set of Nice's new release, like the Nice who's one and only hero and owner of Nice Corporation. How he took down an entire army of psychopaths and terrorists with his special unit, and the world run by cooperation — he became, or is still, a role model to me and many others. This nation is practically his playground now, to be exact.
"Here, time has finally arrived! The time it is truly welcoming — Nice's 140th anniversary. This is a special occasion," 5U said, as there were different voices mixed in it. I finally remembered why this occurred — this was one of Nice's Disabilities Foundation shops, where the robots would be controlled by disabled or paralyzed people to work from their location. This too made people admire him from the bottom of their hearts — for such people to exist in a world filled with corporate greed, he shined like a diamond. As I was first in the line, I got my e-book online with my customary items, like a figurine of Nice and a small hologram video.
As I stared up to see the clouds covering the sky, the strangeness and my sixth sense made me feel weird as I rushed to the mall. But alas, I was late, and "pitter patter" — contaminant falls on me. Waiting for the worst, I just stand there, whereas the civilians screech, scream, and a few despair and cry — but a few seconds pass and nothing happens, like literally nothing. Everyone is safe, no one harmed. A few puddles form in between the road and street path, and a few children, out of curiosity, jump on them and start to play. And the noise — "pitter patter" — it continues to fall, as so does my curiosity about how things would end up. As I see that the contaminant is not murky at all but transparent as water, as if it were purity itself. Human eyes could see no impurity, and as it passed through the barrier that removed any impure contaminant, I stared at the sky, feeling my wet clothes. Even if it were poisonous, I wouldn't give a s### now. I slowly open my mouth and swallow the droplets. As the water flows through my face — it was a heavy waterfall — I slowly walk towards the next bus that would lead me to my home.
As I saw a tedy bear that caught my eye while I walked and drank the water, others, whether it was a parent, child, or couple, just walked away or ran when they saw me. That was weird. Like, aren't people supposed to have fun in their life? I guess those people still want to judge others. Such a unique day. Weird people.
I slowly enter the dungeon called the shop, see different toys, but the one that catches my eye is just one small teddy bear, and it is what I wanted to buy from this shop. I went to the clerk with the teddy bear and bought it for 70 Sirea. And as I had no other obligation to stay in such an area, I just left, and the waterfall didn't stop yet.
As I stared at the teddy, the pulling and tugging in my arms returned, but I was absent-minded. I stared into the sky and only saw the clouds of containment with pure water flowing down, and a few drops fell on my eyes. But still, I felt empty. The excitement of having the deluxe didn't make me any happier, my mood was still sour. As I pull my gaze toward the bear, remembering that Sweetie loved the bear, I see the old park while reaching my home. It was empty — the one place bustling in such a climate, with young mothers with their children and older people taking their walks. There were none of them in such a climate. I guess they went to their homes and are eating something warm now.
-------------------
Soon he reached his house.
"I am back," he said while smiling and hugged the nothingness in front of me as if something was present. The house was empty. There was no one, and he so realized it and let go of his hugging arms. He took out a brand new teddy bear he bought while he was back in the station.
"Here, Sweetie. Here is the teddy bear you wanted," he said, but there was no one to talk with him. His house was empty — no one, and no light, as it was pitch dark here.
He felt his stomach churning. He felt nauseous as he put down the bear on the side. There were even more of those teddy bears — not one or two, but a mountain of them, of different sizes. He just turned and got up and walked there, putting down the teddy bear.
"Sweet Pie," he said as he placed the bear on the other big one's shoulder.
As he did that, he clapped his hands as the lights turned on. He just stood there for a few minutes in a trance, trying to remember what he couldn't — all the lost pieces in him that he couldn't even remember. All he had was the word "Sweet Pie" and the teddy bear — the only two things that were too vivid in his memory — and the feeling of holding something precious. Something he felt that he vowed he would even give away his soul to protect. And the agony of not remembering even a single thing about that being makes his heart feel dead, and his brain constructs illusions and makes him absorbed into it.
He slowly goes toward his bed and falls straight into it — falling there without letting his feet touch the bed, as he is a clean freak in a way and hates being dirty, which makes his OCD act up.
"So it is finally time for us," he said to himself, and thinks about the plan. But due to the previous event, his head hurts, so he begins to rest and slowly closes his eyelids as a toll of what was about to happen soon.
He gives a smirk — and a huge one at that — as he covers himself with the pillow. The smile rises over as he thinks of what was about to happen soon, how it would change everything in this world, and what it has meant to others too. As he slowly falls asleep due to his exhaustion, he looks at the tons and tons of teddy bears.