Xerosis 08
It was a freezing morning in the last quarter of the year. while high above on the rooftops planning and plotting was abundent, down here at street level life was a lot simpler.
The bell rang as the door swung open and a little girl darted in from the rain. She stopped a second for her eyes to adjust and for the dust to settle before she approached the counter. Looking in the glass cabinets around the shop she tried to make sense of the contents, eyes sharp with curiosity and suspicion. she'd visited many tech shops before, but she never made a habit of remembering what each one sold, she was looking for a specific component and nothing else. she didnt want to get involved with these kind of people any more than she had to.
A flicker of plastic streams caught her eye as the shopkeeper wandered in from the back, shaking a stream of faded orange plastic from his arm. cursing the dustcovers he sat down behind the main counter.
"Anything you after luv?" he muttered. her skin crawled from the second she realised he was trying to be nice.
He sniffed and took out a pipe as her little boots squeaked quietly to the front desk, and he could only see her hair above the counter. He stood up to look her in the eye.
"That" she pointed to a small converter with a rather hefty price tag.
He laughed. "are you SURE? that costs quite the penny, and I'm sure a lovely little girl like yourself would rather spend that money on something else, perhaps a bodymod?"
She grit her little teeth and reminded herself that this was one of the last shops she could still go to safely.
"that." she pointed again, and placed a smal cloth bag on the cabinet with a clink.
After observing the contents and looking her over once more, he reluctantly sat back down, and reached into his pocket for a keycard. swiping it across the back of the cabinet he put his arm through the glass and picked up the piece in question and dropped it into a small grey bag, which he then handed it over.
As the bell rang again, he watched the youngster splash off down the street. he had long since stopped wondering why his clientelle bought what they did, and why they came in such unusual sizes and shapes, and simply resigned himself to a life of mere shop running.
Meanwhile, several minutes away, the girl clanked up the stairs to a residential domicile, and jammed her key into the lock, twisting it hastily she ran inside.
The solitary light source was the window directly above the motionless bed. the room was slovenly and unkempt, hardly looking like it was even lived in. Throwing her shoes off and slipping as she ran down to the bed she leaned over it with tears in her eyes.
"its okay mom, I got it. I got it, everythings going to be okay now!"
The figure on the bed remained still. A nearby machine bleeped faintly.
"See? I bought the same type that was here, its alright! I can just replace it, no problem!"
She pulled the piece out of the bag, overjoyed to see that it hadnt become damp in the rain.
Holding it delicately in her tiny fingers she lifted the clasp and opened the latch exposing the machines internal workings.
A gauge light was slowly going red, the cracks in the glass showing the age of the machine. she continued, undaunted, to unclip the now failing component and slip in the new one. The look of concentration on her face would have made her father proud she hoped, she was looking after her mama all by herself now. In the previous years he or her brother would have done it, since she was far too young to try. but with them both gone now she had to do it anyway.
The piece inserted successfully and she flicked the switches back into place as the gauge went back into the high orange, nearly hitting the green! it had been a very good piece!
She let out a little cry of happiness as she leaned over the bed smiling at her mother.
The figure on the bed remained still.
"Its done mom! You're alright again! I'll never let you down! You can depend on me forever!"
the machine beeped a little more livelier this time. The girl dropped down from the bed and lay against it, and held her knees smiling. it had been closer than usual.
she rested her head on her folded arms.
"its okay mom, you can depend on me. for as long as it takes."
"as long as it takes."
The bell rang as the door swung open and a little girl darted in from the rain. She stopped a second for her eyes to adjust and for the dust to settle before she approached the counter. Looking in the glass cabinets around the shop she tried to make sense of the contents, eyes sharp with curiosity and suspicion. she'd visited many tech shops before, but she never made a habit of remembering what each one sold, she was looking for a specific component and nothing else. she didnt want to get involved with these kind of people any more than she had to.
A flicker of plastic streams caught her eye as the shopkeeper wandered in from the back, shaking a stream of faded orange plastic from his arm. cursing the dustcovers he sat down behind the main counter.
"Anything you after luv?" he muttered. her skin crawled from the second she realised he was trying to be nice.
He sniffed and took out a pipe as her little boots squeaked quietly to the front desk, and he could only see her hair above the counter. He stood up to look her in the eye.
"That" she pointed to a small converter with a rather hefty price tag.
He laughed. "are you SURE? that costs quite the penny, and I'm sure a lovely little girl like yourself would rather spend that money on something else, perhaps a bodymod?"
She grit her little teeth and reminded herself that this was one of the last shops she could still go to safely.
"that." she pointed again, and placed a smal cloth bag on the cabinet with a clink.
After observing the contents and looking her over once more, he reluctantly sat back down, and reached into his pocket for a keycard. swiping it across the back of the cabinet he put his arm through the glass and picked up the piece in question and dropped it into a small grey bag, which he then handed it over.
As the bell rang again, he watched the youngster splash off down the street. he had long since stopped wondering why his clientelle bought what they did, and why they came in such unusual sizes and shapes, and simply resigned himself to a life of mere shop running.
Meanwhile, several minutes away, the girl clanked up the stairs to a residential domicile, and jammed her key into the lock, twisting it hastily she ran inside.
The solitary light source was the window directly above the motionless bed. the room was slovenly and unkempt, hardly looking like it was even lived in. Throwing her shoes off and slipping as she ran down to the bed she leaned over it with tears in her eyes.
"its okay mom, I got it. I got it, everythings going to be okay now!"
The figure on the bed remained still. A nearby machine bleeped faintly.
"See? I bought the same type that was here, its alright! I can just replace it, no problem!"
She pulled the piece out of the bag, overjoyed to see that it hadnt become damp in the rain.
Holding it delicately in her tiny fingers she lifted the clasp and opened the latch exposing the machines internal workings.
A gauge light was slowly going red, the cracks in the glass showing the age of the machine. she continued, undaunted, to unclip the now failing component and slip in the new one. The look of concentration on her face would have made her father proud she hoped, she was looking after her mama all by herself now. In the previous years he or her brother would have done it, since she was far too young to try. but with them both gone now she had to do it anyway.
The piece inserted successfully and she flicked the switches back into place as the gauge went back into the high orange, nearly hitting the green! it had been a very good piece!
She let out a little cry of happiness as she leaned over the bed smiling at her mother.
The figure on the bed remained still.
"Its done mom! You're alright again! I'll never let you down! You can depend on me forever!"
the machine beeped a little more livelier this time. The girl dropped down from the bed and lay against it, and held her knees smiling. it had been closer than usual.
she rested her head on her folded arms.
"its okay mom, you can depend on me. for as long as it takes."
"as long as it takes."