Reborn at a cost

na'

some food befor

led like freshly baked bread and antisept

oaves cooling under heat lamps, cut by the sharp tang of floor polish and chilled produce mist. Fluorescent lights buzze

of cereal tagged with, "Buy one, get one free!" I

c and a recent mop. Promotional signs dangled overhead, fluttering slightly in the

ht one and was still c

s, eggs, frozen chicken,

had spilled juice. My mind wandered: the office, the tensio

A toddler in the next aisle wailed briefly, quickly hushed; the sound echoed off

nd I liked. It came in strawberry now. My hand

. I argued silently with myse

; the artificial strawberry scent wafted up faintly wh

n gestured wildly with a baguette; the woman shook her head, a kid chasing a cart, the soft cl

oftly; the argument carried low, tense murmurs-ordinar

coli. He was one of those people who'd make you feel guilty for eating

leaves brushing against each other as he turned the corner. My

I hadn't realized

he office clingin

cake mix. Excitement mingled with relief. The or

ked neatly, cardboard

I reached for a

u

cou

she could hang up

ely, voice sharp with irri

pite myself.

one with the awful red hair and no manners. Her dog

worn conversation from before everything shattered. The store noise faded

complaint. Different ti

k dogs don't understand where they

d yet here I am, cleaning up after

out, listening as she vented like

alk to her,"

d. "She said it

t her

es

t is he

riumphantly. "Finally

s look from the cashier. For a mome

as items slid across; the plastic bags rustled, and t

t?" Mum asked, suspicio

ound t

lied smoothl

say that. Don't let them

ded heavier t

I wouldn't. I co

ng about the woman in her book club whose daugh

ed back into the cold London even

carrying the wet-earth smell of recent rain and distant exhaust.

stened from the

ped past, drowning out the faint sound of a

apartments drift

present, resisting the urge t

nto the cupboard, placed the tomatoes into the frid

soft pop; cold air brushed my fac

d and garlic bread in the fridge. I popped it in the microwave and wa

d betrayed

ed. The way he said mine. The way he w

oesn't mean

osity got the

, grabbed my laptop, and opened i

to the sea

ph

hen snorted softl

s poin

search

in Italy. A dentist in Manchester. A fitness influencer who definitely

Not

eyes c

the right side

I frowned. Curiosity pricked

lic

alf a second, I was annoyed at my

s face

hair. Hazel eyes I

pression. The same man who w

me in a single,

l Blac

nd the bread in m

ank in lik

er of Oraion

: Cybers

rters:

se Corps' bi