24 - Breath

24- Breath

We take the air we breathe for granted. We exhale in, we exhale out. We don’t even realise were doing it if we weren’t paying attention. We can’t feel our lungs rise and falling every second. If we did, we would probably go insane.

It was a winter morning, the temperature on the car gauge read -1. In the literal sense, it was freezing. I pushed the heating up to full, wrapping my scarf up to my neck before reversing from my drive. All the children were making their way into school looking frostbitten, icy cold. There were a few, that just wore their blazers without coats, how to be young and not feel the cold.

It was shopping day. I tried to put everything off till the last minute, but it would be foolish to wait so near to Christmas. Even at 8.30, the cars piled up, every car in front beeping, their fumes turning into ice.

15 minutes later, I found a car park space. Not ideal, right next to the dumpster where the shop would empty their rubbish, but beggars couldn’t be choosers in this situation.

Inside, wasn’t that much better. Crowds of people pushing each other just to get a turkey for Christmas. In any other situation, this would be madness. I have a small frame and people tend not to notice me as much. One side of me piles of people toppled on top of each other, the other side was complete quietness and one turkey right at the back of the shelves. I may have gotten old I said, but I can still drive and I still didn’t need to wear glasses. The turkey wasn’t in an awful state, it was just people were so blind to see what was ahead of them before looking around.

I paid, but with plenty of people piling around the cashier. I was glad to get outside. It may have been freezing, but inside the shop the heaters were turned up to max. With all those bodies crowding around, the thought of a cold breeze delighted me.

I started pushing my trolley through the turnstiles I had entered, but too my horror people lined up around the doors. The heat was making me feel faint and the people around me started pushing like I was cattle.

“What’s going on?” A large man who seemed to be a builder judging by his hard hat and Hi Viz jacket.

Mounds of people began complaining, pushing their way to the front until a tiny face peered ahead. Right ahead was a young woman that worked here, both hands up trying to control the mass crowds but failing.

“Listen... listen.” I heard her faintly, she sounded like a mouse she was so quiet.

“SHUT UP.” I yelled. I don’t what made me shout, perhaps in my old age I just didn’t care, even so, it worked, a shocking silence descended among everyone.

“We have an issue...” The girl started saying.

“What kind of issue?”

“I want to get home!”

“LET US OUT ALREADY!”

The crowd started getting restless.

“I can’t let you do that. It would be dangerous to let you out.”

That statement caused panic through everyone’s bodies.

“What do you mean, dangerous?”

“Were not sure at the moment, but we think the air is dangerous.”

Mass hysteria broke out. People started screaming, yelling that they were insane, some crying out it was a conspiracy that the shop were holding us longer so we would spend more money. Whatever it was, it had moved quickly as I was only outside half an hour ago breathing in the cold air.

The pushing began turning nasty, people being thrown to the ground as people all hurried closer to the doors. It was too sudden to see but I knew exactly what had happened. The young girl was thrown outside, the automatic doors closed behind her. She began banging on the glass, the sound echoed all around. The crowd, in horror started disputing and I could see everything that was happening.

She fell to the ground. Her palms outstretched on the pavement seeing her coughing violently. In the distance, I saw people stopping where they were, shopping bags spilled open, groceries on the floor. They were all coughing and then it was as though their body was sucking air inside as everyone outside clawed at their throats falling face down.

The girls face was facing the doors and her eyes wide open. We all knew she had died.