ShopDreamUp AI ArtDreamUp
literature
Milk and Peanut Butter (Response #1)
Deviation Actions
Literature Text
Briskly walking down a dimly-lit sidewalk on a chilly, Tuesday evening, our weary traveler heaved a sigh, letting its warmth dissolve into the air. It was 2:31 A.M. in the morning. He was on his way to the convenience store. His hands were stuffed into the side-pockets of dark-blue jeans, relishing what little heat there was to accumulate, while his glasses gradually made its way down his nose. He shivered, which only made them inch closer to the ground. The traveler smiled and began to hum a tune as a few headlights flashed by.
“And I don’t know
how I knew it.
But I knew it, somehow.”
A lilting tenor resonated with a few stray notes trailing behind. Somehow singing made this dreary trip seem more like a light stroll, and that was why he did it. It was cold. It was dark—and it didn’t help that a few of the street-lamps along the way needed a few repairs. They always made him feel like someone was going to come up behind and create a bloody mess of his body with each flicker. The song changed that. Now, instead of feeling afraid, the stars were much more clearly reflected in his eyes. Who gave a damn about street-lights when you had burning orbs of gas helping you see?
“You’re the answer
to the question
no one’s answered
till now.”
He grew more confident as his chest grew warmer with each note. All the while, his destination was coming up in the distance. He recognized the familiar red glow of the numbers: “24/7” serving as his beacon of hope. It would be warmer in there. It would be warmer in there. Just the thought rekindled the twinkle in his eyes, both a beautiful, dark ebony. You know, the thing a part of a violin was made of.
“Stars that glisten
lips for kissin’.
Honey liiiisteeen~
it’s true.”
Making his way inside, the traveler finished off the song with the chorus, and attracting the attention of the cashier, he decided to take responsibility by flashing a smile and a wink before beginning to hum the rest of the tune. With the warmth beginning to thaw his stiffness, he finally released his hands from the confines of his pockets and shivered the rest of the chill off. Glancing about, he took note of the declining number of cheese-its in the snack aisle. Also, for some reason, more people were buying condoms this season than usual. It was still winter, right?
“It’s freezing hell outside.” Was the only comment he made on the subject before moving on.
As per usual, of course, without paying attention to any of the finer details, the convenience store remained the same. The tiles were still well-polished. They were mopped regularly and quite nicely for a store in the city. The lights were blinding, but hey, you were able to clearly see what you bought, at least. The products were arranged neatly in their respective shelves; the impressive thing is that not one of them was out of place. Someone took the time to organize these. They probably had OCD.
“I mean—it’s just a convenience store.” he thought to himself before finally reaching that one section where everything was refrigerated. You found frozen foods, yogurt, and of course—
“Milk.”
A wide smile spread across his face at the sight of all the cartons. Pressing a palm onto the glass, he inched his face close enough so that his breath left a fading imprint atop it. His eyes widened, his cheeks flushed in happiness. Did they refill their stock? There seemed to be more than usual. But, that was probably just him and his attitude towards calcium. Picking up a gallon in each hand, he hummed happily as he placed them in front of the cashier to pay. As always, it was the same cashier; the same man who would stand between him and all of this glorious, glorious milk. He was cute, though.
“Wait here, lemme get three more of these. I think I’ll buy five today.” He excitedly stated, skipping back toward the refrigerated area to grab two more gallons. Leaving them in front, he made one more trip for one more back, and stood in front of the “night-shifter” behind five gallons of milk in the end. He had a dumb smile on his face at the thought of just sinking into a warm tub full of it when he got home. It was a long day. You could tell from how he looked. There were splotches of paint lining the sleeves of his shirt. Small dots lined the loose collar about his neck. His pants didn’t have any new coats today, but the older stains lingered.
He made conversation with the cashier again, like he always did.
“How was yer day today Rhys?” the name rolled out smoothly now, after asking the same question each night for every time he came. Our traveler would venture here once every two days for his daily dose of calcium, after all. At times, Rhys would speak. Other times, Rhys would remain silent. Either way, he would get his milk, and his eye-candy for the day.
“Ya know, the little pup of mine, Candy, he’s still being a rascal.” he continued as Rhys began scanning the items, “you know a way to get him to stop biting everything he can get his little teeth on?”
He chucked, talking about the new dog he had adopted a few weeks back. It had been something he brought up with Rhys a few times since he believed that if there was nothing else to talk about, ever, just talk about some cute animal or the weather. It was what he learned after many awkward silences.
“And I don’t know
how I knew it.
But I knew it, somehow.”
A lilting tenor resonated with a few stray notes trailing behind. Somehow singing made this dreary trip seem more like a light stroll, and that was why he did it. It was cold. It was dark—and it didn’t help that a few of the street-lamps along the way needed a few repairs. They always made him feel like someone was going to come up behind and create a bloody mess of his body with each flicker. The song changed that. Now, instead of feeling afraid, the stars were much more clearly reflected in his eyes. Who gave a damn about street-lights when you had burning orbs of gas helping you see?
“You’re the answer
to the question
no one’s answered
till now.”
He grew more confident as his chest grew warmer with each note. All the while, his destination was coming up in the distance. He recognized the familiar red glow of the numbers: “24/7” serving as his beacon of hope. It would be warmer in there. It would be warmer in there. Just the thought rekindled the twinkle in his eyes, both a beautiful, dark ebony. You know, the thing a part of a violin was made of.
“Stars that glisten
lips for kissin’.
Honey liiiisteeen~
it’s true.”
Making his way inside, the traveler finished off the song with the chorus, and attracting the attention of the cashier, he decided to take responsibility by flashing a smile and a wink before beginning to hum the rest of the tune. With the warmth beginning to thaw his stiffness, he finally released his hands from the confines of his pockets and shivered the rest of the chill off. Glancing about, he took note of the declining number of cheese-its in the snack aisle. Also, for some reason, more people were buying condoms this season than usual. It was still winter, right?
“It’s freezing hell outside.” Was the only comment he made on the subject before moving on.
As per usual, of course, without paying attention to any of the finer details, the convenience store remained the same. The tiles were still well-polished. They were mopped regularly and quite nicely for a store in the city. The lights were blinding, but hey, you were able to clearly see what you bought, at least. The products were arranged neatly in their respective shelves; the impressive thing is that not one of them was out of place. Someone took the time to organize these. They probably had OCD.
“I mean—it’s just a convenience store.” he thought to himself before finally reaching that one section where everything was refrigerated. You found frozen foods, yogurt, and of course—
“Milk.”
A wide smile spread across his face at the sight of all the cartons. Pressing a palm onto the glass, he inched his face close enough so that his breath left a fading imprint atop it. His eyes widened, his cheeks flushed in happiness. Did they refill their stock? There seemed to be more than usual. But, that was probably just him and his attitude towards calcium. Picking up a gallon in each hand, he hummed happily as he placed them in front of the cashier to pay. As always, it was the same cashier; the same man who would stand between him and all of this glorious, glorious milk. He was cute, though.
“Wait here, lemme get three more of these. I think I’ll buy five today.” He excitedly stated, skipping back toward the refrigerated area to grab two more gallons. Leaving them in front, he made one more trip for one more back, and stood in front of the “night-shifter” behind five gallons of milk in the end. He had a dumb smile on his face at the thought of just sinking into a warm tub full of it when he got home. It was a long day. You could tell from how he looked. There were splotches of paint lining the sleeves of his shirt. Small dots lined the loose collar about his neck. His pants didn’t have any new coats today, but the older stains lingered.
He made conversation with the cashier again, like he always did.
“How was yer day today Rhys?” the name rolled out smoothly now, after asking the same question each night for every time he came. Our traveler would venture here once every two days for his daily dose of calcium, after all. At times, Rhys would speak. Other times, Rhys would remain silent. Either way, he would get his milk, and his eye-candy for the day.
“Ya know, the little pup of mine, Candy, he’s still being a rascal.” he continued as Rhys began scanning the items, “you know a way to get him to stop biting everything he can get his little teeth on?”
He chucked, talking about the new dog he had adopted a few weeks back. It had been something he brought up with Rhys a few times since he believed that if there was nothing else to talk about, ever, just talk about some cute animal or the weather. It was what he learned after many awkward silences.
Song lyrics from "Simply Jesse" sung by Rex Smith.
Comments0
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In