Star-Crossed

Part 25

The first place I head toward is an old sweets shop that my parents took me and Pikar to once, for my fifth birthday, not too long before I was captured.

Nestled between two red brick buildings on a tiny, quiet street off of one of the main roads, Moshie's is a small, baby blue house with bubblegum pink trim. It has a big, Birchwood sign that says "Moshie's" on it in thick, white lettering.

I stand in front of it, happy to see it still there and even more delighted by the fact that it is open for business. For a moment, I try to recall the memory of coming here with my parents, and Pikar, for the first time.

It was a bright and sunny day, crisp but not cold, much like today.

In my memory, it was the morning of my fifth birthday, and my parents decided to take Pikar and I here to get a special treat. I remember I could only pick out one item, and Pikar was allowed to do the same.

I wanted everything, but I remember settling on a fluffy, white cupcake topped with light pink strawberry frosting and milk chocolate sprinkles. It was beautiful. And delicious. I remember trying to eat it very slowly, so that it would last as long as possible. But, I didn't do a great job of that. I chuckle to myself. I have always had a bit of a sweet tooth.

I take a deep breath - in and out - and walk up the steps toward the blue door with the "Open" sign hanging off of its doorknob.

Slowly, I turn the knob and open the door. The buttery, creamy, sweet aroma specific to my memory of Moshie's hits my nose, and instantly, I remember in vivid detail taking my first bite of that wonderful cupcake.

"Welcome," says an old man sitting at the counter. "How can I help you today, young lady?"

He smiles. Tears begin to well in my eyes, but I fight them back and swallow hard.

"Hello," I manage. "I'm just looking around."

"Of course," he smiles. "Take your time."

I walk around the tiny store, tasting all of the free samples and smelling everything in sight.

Then, in a case on one of the tables in the corner, I see a stack of those vanilla, strawberry, chocolate cupcakes. I walk over to the case and lift the lid, taking a deep breath in and letting the smell flood my nostrils.

"It's one of our most popular flavors," says the old man. "Would you like to try it?"

"Oh, no thank you," I respond. "I've had one before - a long time ago. On my fifth birthday, in fact. I'll take half a dozen, please."

"Sure thing," he answers, zipping out from behind the counter and taking six of the cupcakes from the case. He places them in a small, blue cardboard box and sticks a pink sticker on it that says "Moshie's - Have a Sweet Day!" in white.

"Do you live in Shinar?" asks the man, as he rings me up.

"I just moved here a couple of days ago," I answer.

"Oh wonderful!" he exclaims. "Welcome. Where did you come from?"

I pause for a moment, unsure of whether I should mention Dard. Do people know that it's still a slave colony?

"I, uh..." I begin. "I was recently accepted to be a Cadet in the Galactic Squad."

He stops what he's doing and looks up at me, a look of reverence on his face.

"Pleased to meet you," he responds. "The cupcakes are on the house."

He smiles and slides the box over to me.

"Wow, um, sir - thank you so much!" I exclaim. "Is there anything I can do in exchange?"

"Just be a great Cadet. Stay out of trouble," he responds, smiling.

"Thanks so much sir," I say, beaming.

"You can call me Moshie," he responds. "Hope to see you in here again soon!"

Blue box of cupcakes in-hand, I exit the shop and head to my next destination: the Day School I used to attend.

On the way to the school, I dig into the box and eat one of the cupcakes. It is better than I remember. So moist and fluffy and gooey and sweet. I am in heaven.

When I near the schoolhouse, I plant myself on a bench across the street from it and check my watch. 2:58. Perfect timing. School lets out at 3:00 sharp.

I open the box of cupcakes and reach for another one, carefully peeling back the thin paper cup the dessert is nestled in and taking a huge bite out of it.

Mmmmm, delicious.

I notice the cars lined up around the block, parents waiting to pick-up their children and whisk them off to activities or back home.

Through the car windows, I see so many of the mothers chugging Iggy's Elixir. It's crazy how popular this drink is. The bell rings and children begin to pour out of the school's main doors.

Maybe I should try it, I think to myself half-jokingly, as I continue to stuff my face with cupcake after cupcake while watching moms and dads reunite with their children.

There is so much joy and love, yet I feel so sad. And nauseous.

After I devour the entire box of cupcakes, I decide to see if I can remember how to retrace my steps from the school back to my childhood home. We lived so close to school, that sometimes I'd walk home, usually with Pikar, since she was a few years older than me.

Most of the children are gone and there are no more cars waiting, so I walk to the entrance of the school. I look up at the big arch before the doorway and remember it seeming much larger than it now appears to be.

From the entrance, I turn so that I'm now facing the street, as if I've just been let out from school and am walking to where the cars would be waiting. I walk down the steps and onto the sidewalk and then stop for a second and close my eyes. I take a breath - in and out.

Then I turn left.

My memory of this walk is a bit hazy, so I mostly guess about which way to turn, but after about 15 minutes, I arrive. I remember this street so vividly. The tall trees, the specific pointy-green bushes and that oddly shaped, almost florescent purple flower.

I walk down the tiny street, toward the cul-de-sac, which is where my old house still stands. I can see it in the distance, just a few hundred feet away.

Someone emerges from the front door. It's a tall man. I stop dead in my tracks. For a split-second, I wonder if it could be my dad.

Then, he yells, "Come on Nellie and Javed! We're late!"

Two kids come running out the door after him, and I realize how dumb and naive my thought was.

I sneak behind a bush, so that I'm hidden but I still have a clear view of the house. Aside from different cars in the driveway and a basketball goal, the house looks just as I remember it.

My stomach starts to churn, and I can feel vomit surfacing. I throw-up.

I wipe my mouth and take a long, hard look at the house one last time. The sunset casts a fiery glow in the sky that reflects off of the house's windows. For a moment, I imagine the house burning up in flames.

Suddenly, I feel very thirsty, so I walk to the nearest corner store to buy some water, and as I exit, I see a woman hobbled over in a corner, clutching an empty can of Iggy's Elixir. She has these terrible green sores all over her body. And she is very, very thin.

I can't help but stare at her for a moment.

"It's a lie!" she screams at me. "It's all a huge lie!!"

Her screaming - plus seeing a can of Iggy's Elixir - jolts me into remembering the concert. I check my watch. 5:40. I need to head to The Arena.

For a moment, I'm unable to shake the image of that woman out of my mind. Her sores look incredibly painful. And what does she mean that "it's all a huge lie"? She's probably just sort of crazy. I brush it off, and the closer I get to the concert, the more she begins to fade out of my mind.