Lost to the Mannequins

I spin around looking for Grandma. My heart pounds in my chest. Chills go down my back as I pick a direction and walk faster. There are so many faces in the mall, strangers who glance at me for a moment, then move on.

An old lady in a red sweater appears.

My eyes trace up to her face, a smile forming on my lips. Then a wave of disappointment washes over me. It isn’t her. Again and again, I see people with similar jackets or hair but who are just nobodies to me.

Slowing my pace to ease my achy feet, I come to a vacant bench and take a seat. Where could she have gone to? I gaze at the floor, my fingers interlaced. I guess it’s my fault. There were cool shoes I just had to see, but the moment I turned back around… she was gone.

From a distance, faint children’s music plays and a baby cries. In the background, the shuffling of feet fills the space. What if I never find her? What if I’m stuck in the mall forever?

Facing one of the toy stores, two boys walk in with their Mom, smiling and laughing. If only I could be like them. Inside, a worker stands at the register and waits for buyers. Maybe I should ask him for help.

Oh, you’re such a baby, Jimmy. Why do you always cry? You don’t need help when we’ll be gone for just a little bit. We’ll be right back, loser. The voice of my big brother Mark comes back to me, as I shake my head and fight back tears. Neither Mom nor Mark came back out of the car that night.

It crashed.

If I wasn’t such a baby like Jimmy said, if I wasn’t so needy for help… they wouldn’t have spent time with me. Maybe they would’ve missed the driver who hit and killed them.

I glare at the worker standing at the register, just a dummy adult who thinks they know everything - well, I don’t need any help. Rising from my seat, I clear my throat. “Grandma, Grandma, where are you?” I cup my hands around my mouth and shout.

A few people stop to look at me before carrying on to their destinations. I walk around, shouting in whatever crowds I can. Then a young blond lady comes up to me with a smile. “Are you lost, young man? I can help you.”

Freezing, I stare at the lady with wrinkles around her eyes from long smiles. Her voice is soft and gentle, like I’m her baby boy, her son. Kneeling, she comes down to my level. “I can’t stay with you long, but I can help you find your way.”

“No,” my voice is soft at first, then rises. “You’re not my Mom. You can’t be real.” Clenching my hands into fists, I turn and run the other way and leave her behind. I pass crowds of people as I go. Running, I still want to shout for Grandma, but my voice is so dry.

I come out from the mass of people, and a long empty hallway appears that leads to an emergency exit. It’s a place where I can be alone. Turning, I hurry and press my back against the wall.

Wiping my eyes, I sniffle and try not to cry. That’s not what big boys do. I’m not allowed to be a baby. This mantra of thought is solid grounding for me, but worry slips through the cracks.

I’ll never find her on my own, and I can’t ask for help either.

Smacking the wall with my palm, I hang my head. “No, I must ask for help if I want to find Grandma. I have to be a stupid baby then.” With my sleeve, I wipe my eyes as the skin dries out.

I take a deep breath and go out of the hallway.

But now all the people are gone.

My mouth hangs open as I stare. In their place are mannequins standing frozen in time, replicas. Carefully, I approach one of them and wait for the slightest movement, a blink, anything.

“Hello?” My voice echoes in the silent mall. “I-I need some help from an adult. I’m lost and can’t find Grandma.”

The mannequin’s head turns and looks at me, the neck grinding like stone, and the rest of its body follows. It walks towards me as my heart races, and I step back and bump into something hard. I jump away from another mannequin looking down at me.

“Don’t touch me. Leave me alone.” I stomp on the floor, but they only come closer. Walking faster, more from all around turn to face me, encroaching. “I said get away.” I break into a sprint and so do they, their silicone feet thudding against the floor.

Breathing heavily, I pass clusters that spot me and start chasing. Passing stores, I see mannequins standing as the cashiers and looking around. Naked people pose in place of where the mannequins used to be.

I have to get out of here.

Making a turn near the exit, the mob of humanoid figures appears in the way. I stop in my tracks and look from right to left as they descend upon me.

Their footsteps echo, and I close my eyes. This can’t be real. I’m going to open my eyes and all this will be over. Deep breath… 1, 2, 3. I’m okay, I’m okay now.

I open my eyes and the mannequins stand less than a hair away from me. Meeting the gaze of one of them, the edge of its mouth curls up in a smile.

I scream the second they grab and lift me off the ground, their hands clasping firmly around my wrists and ankles. Thrashing and flailing, their grip never falters. “Let me go. Please, you can’t do this to me.”

I stop resisting when it seems pointless. And they bring me into the Lego World store, one of the few I’m familiar with. My older brother Mark used to love going here.

We come through the doors and they carry me around to the end of the building, where an elevated throne made entirely of legos resides.

In that chair, sits my older brother, Mark.

His eyes glow blood red, and pieces of his gaunt skin are ripped off from months of decay. A few maggots cling to the suit he was buried in. They all stop and face him.

Mark grins wide, showing his blackened teeth. “Caught you being a big baby again, didn’t I, Jimmy? Thought you could grow up on me, huh?”

I try once more to pull away from the grips, but they’re too tight. “Why are you doing this? I thought you’d finally leave me alone.”

His grin disappears. “Because it isn’t fair and you know it. Why should you grow up to be a big kid when I couldn’t?” Mark’s hands grip the armrests of the throne, his knuckles white. “I’m supposed to be the older brother, not you. That’s all I had, but now…”

He rises and stomps his foot on the ground. “It’s not fair, Jimmy. Mom would agree if she was here, I’m sure of it.”

“Wait, I know where Mom is. I saw her. She tried to talk to me.” My eyes widen.

“You?” He peers at me and folds his arms. “I was the favorite. She wouldn’t ignore me and then go to you. You’re a liar.”

I shake my head. “I’m not lying, and Mom wouldn’t want any of this. She always wanted us to get along, remember?”

He’s quiet for a moment and glares.

“Please, let me go and you can still be my big brother. Just because you’re gone now doesn’t mean you should be forgotten. I’ll tell everyone about how fast you could run, how you’re older, cooler, and what you could do with Legos. You really were my big brother, Mark.”

He’s silent for a long while as he looks down at the floor, then he speaks softly. “Why should you get to grow up when I never had the chance. I-I don’t understand it. I’m sorry, Jimmy.” He vanishes in a cloud of dust.

“Mark!”

Suddenly, all the hands on me tighten their grip. More latch onto me, a hundred of them grasping. Then a white light emanates from all around me, my entire body tingling and itching.

A blinding light flashes before my eyes.

In an instant, I can no longer move. When I try to speak nothing comes out. I stare off, motionless, as the mannequins carry my body off to somewhere else in the mall…

“Now where in the world could Jimmy have gone off to?” Grandma walks through the mall with her cane, passing clusters of people. Her back must hurt from the constant trudging, and her feet likely aren’t much different. A thin layer of sweat covers her face.

She went to one of the workers and had my name called several times on the intercom. Hours passed, and I am still missing. Grandma walks alongside the clothing store and pauses to take a breath.

Gazing through the glass, her eyes linger on me.

“That looks… just like Jimmy.” She sees the mannequin of a young boy, then shakes her head. Grandma turns and walks off. “Jimmy? Jimmy, where are you?”

I watch her disappear in the crowds as she leaves me behind.

I am the lost mannequin boy.