Festive Shopping

 

Festive Shopping

 

The centre was desolate now. Deep darkness had taken over and the blackened silhouettes of celebratory trees and sparkling Christmas decorations loomed high, creating dancing shapes on the floor as they swayed from side to side; and through the translucent ceilings, sat the moon, which reflected its cold, iridescent rays down onto the freshly polished chequered floors and bare glass shop windows.

 

Hard to believe that this now gloomy place was by day, one of the most popular and glamorous places to be, it had a sense of importance to the everyday hustle and bustle of life. The scent of fattening fast food was still in the now-stale air, where tiny tots had frantically jumped around their mothers with excitement like coiled up springs; meanwhile, the fathers helped their teenage sons choose a gorgeous getup to take the girls out on the town.

 

Then in the corner, a lady – face sagging with wrinkles – having a rest on the bench under the fountain that youths frolicked in; her lifeless purple eyes and legs worn out like a rusted spring no longer able to bounce; she gazed at the teenagers and tykes of the younger generation.

“Ah, to be young”, she mumbled under her breath, listening to every precious voice of laughter from the cheeky children, who awaited impatiently in a long queue to make demands to the fraud named Santa - sat in a velvet chair like royalty – sliding neatly packed presents wrapped in gold straight into their fresh and unsuspecting hands, creating a sense of joy to the occasion. Noel.

“I want a pony for Christmas!” a request from an energetic small spoilt girl could be heard though the deafening sounds of hundreds of different topical conversations.

 

The grey conveyor belts were tiring as dozens of friendly frantic families headed home, some with tots trailing on their trousers, disappointed in knowing they can’t have everything in life the way they want. A woman called out on the loudspeakers of the centre:

“Closing in 5 minutes, please vacate the store”.

 

The Christmas rush had left the shops and the quirky cleaning ladies rushed in, rustling their bin bags and dousing the floors in detergents.

“Who’s locking up tonight? Us or the security guards?”, the cleaners voice echoed around the floors of the stores like a whales call in a deep blue ocean, almost reaching the cheery police officers, doing their last checks before plodding home to their festive-filled homes.

“Well we’re done here now; I’ve spoken out over the loudspeaker and patrolled the stores. I think the cleaners are done now. Say…they put up the decorations early this year eh?”

“Yeah, yesterday was the twenty fifth of November, it was a tad early! We’ll do the locking up tonight guys”, an officer replied.

 

The typical winter’s day for retailers was complete; the doors slammed shut and the lights snapped off and the fountain stopped spurting and the key to public happiness turned in the lock. All went silent.