Poetry

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕸𝖎𝖉𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 𝕲𝖗𝖔𝖈𝖊𝖗𝖞 𝕾𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖊

The store appears at night,

wedged between two flickering streetlights

where an empty lot should have been.

The fluorescent lights hum softly.

The store cannot be found on maps,

not in memory,

not quite.

My teeth remember its name,

but my tongue forgets.

There is no sign,

only a door.

It opens before I touch it.

Inside,

the shelves are lined with familiar things,

yet something does not sit right.

Milk cartons wear labels

written in a language

I almost understand.

Tin cans carry no brands,

only descriptions.

A Night for the Heartbroken.

Second Chance.

Regret.

I reach for an apple.

It is warm-

the warmth of a living heartbeat,

of a living pulse.

At the counter,

no cashier waits.

For a moment,

I think I am alone.

Then a figure steps from the back room,

human in shape,

wrong in every other way.

I place my basket down.

The figure smiles.

The smile never reaches its eyes.

"That will cost you one."

"One what?"

The smile widens.

"A dream.

A memory.

A name.

A feeling.

You decide."

I drop my basket.

I try to run.

The door is locked.

The shelves seem to be watching.

So I pay.

A memory of my first love.

The figure accepts it

with a smile.

When I reach home,

the milk goes into the fridge.

The apple sits on the table.

Everything seems ordinary

until I try to remember.

I find nothing

but an empty space

where there had once been

a face,

a voice,

a reason for my heart to race.

The next night,

I return.

The lot remains empty

until midnight.

Then the lights appear.

Then the door.

Waiting.

I trade

my childhood dog's name,

my father's voice,

my mother's laughter.

Each time,

I leave carrying something.

Each time,

I return feeling emptier.

Now I stand behind the counter,

forgetting my own name.

The fluorescent lights hum above me.

A customer places a basket between us-

milk,

an apple,

a can labelled Regret.

They ask,

"Why can't this store be found on any map?"

I smile.

The smile never reaches my eyes.

"That will cost you one,"

I hear myself say.

And the strange thing is-

I cannot remember

who taught me those words.

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╲┃ yuri ^_^
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