Paige, Michael, Celia, and I went to Thai Berry yesterday for lunch. I even sampled some coconut soup; the combination of hot, sour, savory, milky and sweet was so strange that I couldn't bring myself to finish it. Kristen chauffeured us around town for a little while as we digested. I was eventually abandoned at Goodwill because I was the only one interested in browsing the dingy-looking store. I had never been there before, and I felt as if I had stepped into a different era. Sweaters all colors of the rainbow and worn jeans lined the racks, and grandmotherly ladies shuffled around with shopping carts filled to the brim with delicate trinkets. I eyed dusty film cameras that had probably traveled the world and caught hundreds of smiles (and the occasional sour pout), now nestled between sun-bleached unopened birthday presents. I imagined the chipped mugs meeting tired lips with the sweet nectar of coffee or tea. I left with a colorful belt, a glass bottle, and an unopened package of party lanterns. As I exited, I felt the satisfaction of discovering a fraction of a happy memory.
Today, I persuaded Will to come over to my house. He's weary about coming over sometimes, because my family doesn't quite love him the way his family loves me. But he hasn't had electricity all week, and a warm home was a welcome invitation to someone who has to sleep in a winter jacket. We went to the library and read
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy at the same time, pointing out the interesting and funny parts to each other. We then worked as a team to collect star coins in my Super Mario Brothers game, kissing between lost lives. At a point, I think, we began to deliberately fall or get squashed just to steal another peck. We half-watched some TV, and he eventually had to go back home.
A thought flashed across my mind of someone, years from now, picking up my sweater at a thrift store and keeping some of my memories tucked away in their drawer.
☀K☁
