Hell V

About half an hour later I pulled on my trusty old jeans and my old blue jacket. I thrust my ATM Card firmly into my wallet that was so ancient that I doubt that even the most accomplished of archaeologists would be able to tell what it was originally like. I had already decided where I’d go, the new Upmarket Mall that was fast becoming the talk of the town.

At college the girls would compare notes on the displays; at work the other faculty members were selling it to each other as the place where you could have a complete experience, the place was generating a lot of interest and it was high time that I satisfied my new found curiosity for all those things that I had so far considered shallow.

Another half hour and I stepped into the climate controlled environs of the Mall. Surreal. That was the only adjective that came to mind. An object of beauty spun from glass, concrete and sandstone, an apparition from Akrabah, One of Atlantis’ palaces risen up from the sea, a treasure trove of beauty and aesthetics that was meant to be worshipped. I was mesmerized by the sheer luxury of the sensation.

Even now when I look at it through the vision that I had then, I become that naïve kid with a newly acquired sensibility, a new recruit to the cult of consumerism, a person not yet gone but not quite there, I become like I did then a half remembered chimera, a shadow of thought and a consequence of circumstances.

If I could, I’d walk up to that waif catch him firmly by the shoulders and through him out of there. I’d beat him senseless, douse him with cold water, tie him to the back of a car and drive for miles, maybe even kill him. But I wouldn’t let him jump into the quagmire that he ultimately got into.

But what lies between us is the gulf of time. An immeasurable expanse that no one has ever crossed and no one ever will.

I entered the mall with more than my fair share of awe, I wanted to look at everything, drink it all in one go but I didn’t want to move further than the entrance because I was afraid of desecrating that temple of luxury. I would have stood there forever if the guard hadn’t told me in extremely condescending tones that I should get a move on.