Nora's Voice

6.The Mall

Sometimes, dancing can take the blues away.

The world can be cruel to the innocent, and the innocent take it not because they want to but because they feel they deserve to.

Milo starts driving. The weather is cold, but it is peaceful. They drive, and as they do, Nora looks out the window. The world she lived in was so big, yet felt so small sometimes, like she was in a bubble, and the more she tried to get out of it, the smaller that bubble got. But when she was with Milo, it was different. It was like that small bubble because it was bigger.

It seems like they drive for hours before Milo Parks the car and gets out to open her door. When Nora got out, she saw a massive building in front of her. She didn't know what to think. She had been to a mall before, but it was a lot smaller than this one. She looks at Milo, who has his hands in his pockets.

"How far away from home are we, Milo? "She signed, questioning how far they drove to this mall. He takes his hands out of his pocket.

"I would say about an hour or so. Why is that an issue?" he signed back with worry on his face. Nora smiles and jumps up and down like a child. Milo didn't know how to react, for he had never seen her so excited over something so small. It was the mall, yet Nora was jumping up and down like a child who just got good news. She grins.

"Let's go, Nora," he signed, taking her hand. She noticed that his hands were a little sweaty, and worry started to kick in; she knew they had left the house immediately, but she didn't remember if Milo had eaten before they left. Nora didn't want to say anything. She didn't want him to get upset with her, so she just let it go.

Once inside, Nora was overwhelmed with all the lights and noise, but she was excited; there were so many stores, from clothing to jewelry to even video games, and of course, food courts; she smiled. "Hey, before we start, can we grab a bite to eat? I'm hungry," she signed, asking. She knew that what she was asking was a lie. She was too excited to be hungry, but she knew that Milo was about to crash if she was correct.

"Sure can," he signed and grabbed her hand again to lead her to an opening where there were a lot of different foods, from Chinese to American, from pizza to burgers. Nora points to a burger joint, and Milo walks to order with her. She tells him what she wants, and he orders for both of them. Two cheeseburgers, two small fries, a milkshake for Nora, and water for Milo. They find a table to sit at and enjoy their food; as they eat, Nora can't believe how beautiful and loud the mall is. She looked around, saw a bookstore, and smiled. She looked at Milo, who had ketchup all over his face. She holds in a laugh.

"Milo, can we go to the bookstore next?" she signed, questioning. She knew that Milo had thousands of books in his room. His mom said that in another part of the house, there was a room covered from wall to wall with nothing but books. Milo loved to read, and that wasn't just manga or comics. He read literature as well. He was educated and knew more than he let on, but he also had ALS books. His mother said he always kept up with it even though he had known it his whole life. He never wanted to forget or get rusty. Nora admired Milo for that.

They finished lunch, and then Milo went to throw it away. When he returned, he grabbed Nora's hand and led her to the bookstore. Once there, they looked through so many books and even got some. Nora got a book on diabetes, but she got it when Milo was still looking. She didn't want him to know that she wanted to educate herself on the topic to help him better. She also got books on coping and a couple of Poetry books. Milo got some ALS books, manga, and books on the holocaust. He pays, and then they head to the next store; before they knew it, it was three in the afternoon. They sit down and relax when they see a small area of the mall; a small place is roped off. These people were dancing and enjoying themselves a lot. Milo takes Nora's hand and leads her over there as a country song comes on, and everyone starts to line dance.