Prompt #12

I have been to the Bangor Mall countless times. However, I’ve never really paid attention to what goes on around me. I’m usually just busy and caught up in what I’m doing and all the stores that fill ever hallway. Busy shoppers surround and pass by me. People who are there for a specific reason, stare straight ahead as they know their destination. People who are just browsing, look from side to side at all the store displays. Teenagers who are just there to hang out look at each other and laugh together. An adult couple are standing at the jewelry store. The woman has one arm linked around the man’s arm. Her other hand points at a different ring every five seconds. The man just smiles at her and nods his head every time she points out a new ring. In front of me a mother holds her daughter’s hand as they walk side by side. The little girl is holding a new build-a-bear and smiling from ear to ear. The mother smiles down fondly at her daughter and clutches her purse with her empty hand. Behind them, an old man walks slowly by himself carrying two heavy bags. People who walk by him consciously move out of his way but don‘t give him a second glance. No one offers to help him with his heavy load. A young woman walks by wearing the highest high heels I have ever seen. She can barely walk straight in them. I think to myself that she definitely needs a different pair of shoes especially for winter. A few seconds later she walks into the Shoe Department. I hear a woman order a coffee behind me. I don’t turn around until I hear something fall to the floor. Turning around I see she dropped her fresh coffee. Her son kneels down with a wad of napkins to clean up the mess. The smell of coffee fills the surrounding air, mixing with the aromas of food from the food court. It reminds me that it is getting late and I haven’t had dinner yet.