The Last Remaining Store

Daria felt a deep knowing when she saw the brown box.

Something big was about to happen.

What? She wasn’t quite sure of yet.

She just knew it was necessary for her to reach way down deep and pull out whatever was nestled in the deep cavernous space.

In her eleven and a half years, Daria had only seen one other box.

She had found it in the farmhouse’s attic and knew right away it had something to do with way back then.

If it weren’t for her finding it that time, she wouldn’t know that the brown rectangular object was called a box. Unlike the other one, which was empty, this one held a suspicious package wrapped in brown paper.

When she discovered the first box, she wondered if it had been from the time, way back then, when her Granny was barely a teenager and moved into the home with her mother (Daria’s Great Granny) and remaining siblings.

Daria had found the first box, despite the fact that she was not allowed up in the attic because of the dust.

“Dust is a toxin,” her mother had explained when Daria questioned why. “They could cause allergies. It’s best to stay out of there.”

But Daria didn’t know one person who had allergies or any other major health problems. She thought maybe some of why her Mama worried so much because of what happened to great Uncle Joey and Aunt Vicky or Great Granddaddy, way back then.

That was before it all was cleaned up and everything was made better, before The Big Change.

So much was different now.

Daria also felt a deep need to venture outside of the safety net her parents had worked so hard to create for her.

She couldn’t explain the stir that swirled wildly within and threatened to consume her, that woke her up and night and called to her, whispering for her to venture out and away.

She knew there was something more, but couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. And, greatly suspected that learning about way back then would provide answers.

Daria and her family lived on a beautiful stretch of farm land in an eco-friendly, safe home. It had been an old farm house before that, but it had been completely refurbished to protect her family from environmental toxins.

Her mother stayed at home and took care of Daria and her little brother, Darien, while their Daddy worked at the Food Share Center at the end of the road.

While her Daddy spent his time at the Center during the day, walking or biking to and from home, always wearing his protective gear to block him from the harmful UV rays from the sun, Mama stayed home to tend the home. She co-lead a small home schooling group, cooked food from the community share garden, and always made sure their environment was clean and sanitary.

Her Mama had explained that keeping up with things was a job in itself. She didn’t have time to worry about keeping the attic clean too.

Daria had to admit her life was nice. She had two best friends, Shelly and Caryn, from her schooling pod who she spent a lot of her time with, lots of books, and scheduled online time when they were able to plug into the router.

She knew, from what her parents and her Granny told her that things were a lot better than what they were before The Big Change.

“At first, food and water were scarce and only available for the very rich. The air quality was very bad. We had to check the weather to make sure we could leave the house.”

“And, things got much worse, over time. There were the losses…first Great Grand Daddy, then my brother and sister.”

Then…Daria learned, The Big Change happened and saved humanity.

Eco Centers were created on the few remaining plots of land in the country. Houses were built, following strict standards in protective communities, with limited sustainable resources. Families were only permitted to have so many children.

But, Daria also knew from the rare times she could go online that there were people who rebelled and didn’t follow the rules.

Somehow they were able to go out there, beyond the protective realm and survive.

The afternoon of the first box, Daria’s best friends were busy and the hours stretched long and wide.

The attic called her.

And she felt like what a cage bird must feel.

So, while Darien played with a neighbor friend in the backyard garden bubble, Daria carefully pulled down the sliding stairs in the ceiling and climbed up into the attic.

After looking around and not seeing one dust particle in sight, she ventured to the back area and saw the box. It had been shriveled and frayed.

Daria had never seen such a thing.

Her fierce desire to know more information about the box trumped all fear of punishment.

She made her way eagerly down the stairs and called for her Mama. She suspected she had discovered something from way back then and needed to know for sure.

“People kept belongings in boxes,” Mama explained after Daria asked about the large, brown thing.

“But, why?” Daria had asked.

Her Mama had sighed like she always did when Daria started asking questions or didn’t follow the rules.

Daria braced and waited for her Mama’s stern words or threats of grounding.

But, it didn’t come. Instead Daria noticed a tear in the corner of Mama’s eye and how wary and tired she looked.

“People kept a lot of things way back then,” Mama explained slowly.

“But how much were you allowed to have? What were the rules?” The idea of a world where a need to hold onto belongings was a thing seemed the opposite of all she knew about her world now, where an emphasis was placed on keeping as small of a carbon footprint as possible.

“Way back then, people were allowed to have and get whatever they wanted. There were stores that held lots and lots of stuff. And many people would go out and buy things.”

Daria shook her head, slowly, and tried to picture her young Granny back then. She imagined her skipping along besides Great Granddaddy, maybe her cell phone in hand (as most kids her age had back then), as he carried a box, filled with stuff.

“How do you know, Mama, if you weren’t alive then?”

Her Mama sighed again. “You know that I attended some in person school. It was safe for larger groups to gather then. We learned about that time, way back then. Also, Granny would tell me things.”

“Can’t I do that Mama?”

“Do what Daria?”

“You know, go to an actual school. Doesn’t it still exist, somewhere?”

Mama looked at her carefully, like she wanted to say something more, then paused and rolled her eyes, looking above Daria's head to indicate the conversation was over.

She knew Mama was annoyed. But, Daria just had to know more. And, in that moment, she knew the family would not help. That she would have to venture out and learn about out there for herself.

On Wednesday evenings when Mama would meet with Shelly and Caryn’s moms Diane and Ambry for wine and board games in the kitchen, she would tiptoe out of the house and venture out of the large enclosed shield surrounding the farm house’s designated property.

Sure she was taking a huge risk leaving the kids area, even after bribing them with her portion of whole food, dark chocolate treats. They were all supposed to be in the family room to watch movies.

It was a rare opportunity to sneak out though and she could not let it pass, which is why she was out there, on the road in front of her house when she saw a truck drive by.

She knew truckers passed her home occasionally and even at times had seen a few from her bedroom window. She just never knew why.

This time, she was outside as the flatbed rolled shakily down the highway, through the thick hazy air that hurt Daria’s chest, spraying dirt in her direction.

She watched, astonished and awed, amazed by the sensory experience of the large vehicle’s sounds and smells as it passed her.

And, then, it happened.

The large box slid off the back of the truck’s bed, bumped onto the pavement and flipped into the grass.

She ran from her hideout where she was nestled next to the trunk of a tree and ran to the dark, bulky treasure. For a brief second, she considered turning around and running back home, but the temptation was too great.

Without another thought Daria tore the lid off, flinging pieces of cardboard into the air. A fierce feeling, a wildness inside took over when she saw the suspicious package wrapped in brown paper. The words “Chucks” was displayed boldly on the top.

Daria felt her heart pounding, her hands shaking, as she forced herself to slow down and carefully peel off the paper-thin wrapping. Underneath was a smaller box. Attached to that box was a paper that read “Thank you for purchasing this kettlebell. Sincerely, your friends at Chucks, the Last Remaining Sporting Store.” Next to that was a web site.

A web site! A clue to out there.

Daria opened the box and picked up the object, the kettlebell. It was heavy, but she managed the drag it all the way back to the farmhouse and somehow sneak it up to her room.

Struggling to calm down her rapid breathing, she inhaled deeply and collapsed onto her bed.

She knew what she had to do. She had to get to that web site. Kieren from her school pod, she knew he could help. He was good at hacking into forbidden sites. As her luck would have it, the next day the group was scheduled for online time.

While her mom cooked lunch, Daria partnered with Kieren. Sharing a computer and with the promise that she would give him all of her special milkshakes at dessert time from that point on, they found the site and clicked.

Chucks!

She held her breath as she scrolled through several pages highlighting all the sporting store had to offer.

There it was. In all of its magnificent glory. What once had been one of thousands of chain stores, was now down to one, she learned from the description.

She saw from pictures featured that many of the aisles were bare, but featured photo walls of goods. Customers could pick from the images, organized by categories, like picking a racket from the tennis section or yoga pants from fitness. A service representative would ring them up, like way back then. And when the item was ready, it would be shipped and delivered by a truck, like the one Daria had seen earlier on her road.

Daria couldn’t help but notice that none of the store workers or visitors to the store wore protective oxygen masks. She did see a small mention about how Chucks made sure to keep its people safe, but nothing else.

As Kieren impatiently signaled for her to wrap things up, Daria tried to imagine it, a place where you could just walk around, with very little restrictions and just buy things.

The thought felt like magic.

When Mama returned to the library where the students were stationed, Kieren quickly clicked out of the page and shut the laptop down.

As the other children began to grab the plates full of salads off the tray her mother had placed on a table, Daria dreamily allowed herself a moment more to picture the possibilities, what a life could be like where one could shop and roam freely.

One day, she thought, I will get there, to Chucks. I will. I will.