By: Max Yang
Joe and his wife, Carly, were shopping at the Big Mall. As always, it was only Carly who wanted to buy things. The Big Mall had many shops, including Tom Klein, Bap, Billy Hilfiger, Naughty-ca, and Elizabeth’s Secret, all of which possessed clothes which Carly adored. Joe, on the other hand, just rented a recliner in the middle of the mall and stayed there all day long, playing on his phone.
Carly quickly became obsessed with Tom Klein’ short sleeves. She loved how the fabric looked, felt, and how comfortable it was. She bought many of them. When she went to show Joe her new clothes, Joe just replied absentmindedly, “Huh? Yeah, okay. Sure. Cool.” Carly dropped off the bags at Joe’s recliner and went on about her day. What she didn’t notice was that her husband’s hair was grayer than usual.
“Aha!”, she exclaimed when she found Bap. Carly took pleasure in their long sleeves and hoodies, perfect for Autumn. Plus, they were also having a discount. Why not buy some? When Carly went to check on Joe, she saw a crippled old man who looked somewhat like Joe sitting there. Joe’s phone number didn’t work. Carly concluded that Joe must have gone to the bathroom. Nothing to worry about. Like the shopaholic she was, Carly sauntered off to find new shops.
After another round of lengthy shopping, with tons of bags in her hands, Carly, who could not carry any more items, felt satisfied. When she checked her watch, it showed that eight hours had passed. “We seriously should go home,” Carly thought. When she went to the recliners, what she saw devastated her.
There was a fossil in the shape of Joe. “My dear husband has turned to stone?!”, Carly frantically yelled. She suddenly realized that 800 years had passed while she was shopping, and her husband has loyally waited for her for many centuries. Freaking out, Carly heard a familiar ringing. Waking up to the alarm, Carly’s heart was beating quickly from trepidation and astonishment. Waves of relief washed over her, but Carly still couldn’t recover from the nightmare. At that moment, Joe came in and asked, “Hey, do you want to go shopping?”