A Cage of Glass by Mikaela Miyamoto

Mikaela is writing a bunch of short stories for 13 Days 13 Shorts this year! To check out more stuff from Mikaela, visit www.mikaelamiyamoto.com

When I woke up today my mom came into my room and told me to pack a bag for the day because we were going out. Surprised and a bit groggy, I got out of bed and got ready for the day. In the middle of deciding what to bring in my bag, I was hit with the realization that we were going somewhere. We were actually leaving the house. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t in this house or in the backyard. When I met everyone in the kitchen my grandmother loudly announced, “I heard someone complained that we never leave the house.” She pointedly looked at me before continuing, “So today we will be traveling to Dolian Harbor.” Although I felt a bit embarrassed, I was excited that my previous outburst led to a trip! We piled into the car and headed to our destination. I’m not entirely sure how long it took to get there because I quickly fell asleep during the drive. As the car rolled to a stop my body woke itself up. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and looked around. My excitement slowly began to fade. It was very gray. And it seemed quiet and almost deserted. There weren’t any people walking around, the sun wasn’t able to break through the heavy clouds, and there wasn’t a single seagull in sight. My grandmother rushed us out of the car and ushered us into the first shop, a candy store. The  walls were lined with old fashioned candies and barrels upon barrels of salt water taffy. There was a single person in the store, a worker manning the front counter. When we entered, they didn’t react. They were simply standing still and looking straight ahead. I wandered the aisles to look for something to take home. As I reached for a giant lollipop I noticed it was covered in dust. I put it back and decided to grab a bag for some taffy instead and noticed it was covered in dust too. I heard my grandmother call out, “The taffy here is famous! Make sure you grab a bag.” I complied and with my taffy in hand went up to the register to pay. The cashier robotically took the bag and weighed it before punching in a number. My total came up on the register, they smiled and gestured to the number then stuck their hand out. I cautiously took money out of my wallet and handed it to them. Their hand closed around the money and was retracted, then they handed me my taffy and waved goodbye. Their smile looked forced and almost painful. But maybe they just didn’t really like their job. My grandmother herded us to the next shop, a souvenir store. This store seemed to specialize in handmade shell items. Hair clips and bracelets and keychains. Again, the only other person in the store was the worker manning the front counter. They were silent and still with a pained smile and glassy eyes. I looked through dozens of bracelets and keychains, all covered in dust, but nothing jumped out at me. I was about to give up when a snow globe caught my eye. It contained a tiny angel with seashell wings inside. I picked it up and shook it, watching glitter swirl around her. The detail was amazing, her face looked so sad. I took the snow globe to the counter and purchased it, the interaction very similar to my previous one. Maybe the people in this town don’t really like tourists? We were all a little hungry and tired so my grandmother decided we should grab lunch and then head home. She led us to a little stand labeled “Best chowder in town!” In faded blue letters. She sent my mom and sister to grab a table while I stayed with her to help carry back the food. She ordered 4 chowders and a hot coffee. The worker wordlessly and mechanically took her order and money and disappeared into the back.  When they returned they handed me the tray of food and waved goodbye. I took it back to our table and we began to eat. The chowder was good, but it tasted exactly like the chowder my grandmother makes. I mean EXACTLY like it. And the bowls looked like the ones from home. But I didn’t want to complain, we had finally left the house. We finished our meal and headed back to the car. On the ride back I tried my hardest not to fall asleep but I just couldn’t help myself. After we arrived at home I went to my room to put away my new snow globe. But when I took it out of the bag, it was empty. No glitter and no angel, just clear and still water.