January 20, 2017

I was on my way to the department store where my brother worked. I remember that my father said I better go for a run if I wanted to visit him so I started to break out into a light jog on the sidewalk under the highway. When I walked through the glass doors, I was greeted by the blinding white lights reflecting against the porcelain walls. In front of me was the elevator which for some reason cost money to ride. Knowing that my brother worked on the 9th floor however, I decided to take it.

The doors opened much faster than I expected. I didn’t even remember walking into the elevator before I found myself walking out onto the 9th floor. I saw my brother working at the counter of the shaved ice store. I walked up to the counter but was unable to locate the menu. I saw a small promotional image on the counter and asked if it was today’s special.

“No, that’s tomorrow’s special.” It was apparently going to be some kind of passion fruit medley.

“Then what’s today’s special?” I asked.

“Soy sauce and wasabi.”

I was starting to take too long and the couple behind me was getting impatient. I thought that it was strange that my brother hadn’t said anything yet and was I afraid that I mistaking the person working in the back for someone else. I decided not to order anything. As I walked away, I heard the couple behind me order a “Four Colored Ice”. I wondered how they even knew such a thing was being sold without a menu.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to wait until 4PM, when my brother supposedly got off of work. I was hungry too. I walked into the nearby variety store which seemed to sell a bunch of old items. Along with finding some old photos, I also spotted several shelves of poorly translated manga.