A Day at the Pilgrim Mall

Wednesday, 12 May 2021

Princess Nicolette looked ecstatic as we entered the elevator. She probably hasn't read about elevators, because bewilderment was written all over her face as she studied the four walls inside the small space that brought us down the lobby. I'm sure she wanted to say something, but she kept the excitement to herself, even though what she was suppressing was visible through her eyes, and her smile. The strides we took towards the exit of Indigo Street, which also serves as the entrance, was quiet and yet, blissful despite the heat of the sun.

It was almost eleven. I wonder if Princess Nicolette is hungry. "Do you want to eat before we go shopping? It's almost lunchtime."

I think she wanted to scream 'yes,' but she calmed herself and responded, "Yes," in a casual tone. I could see her chest breathing in and out when she saw the horse of a 'kalesa' parked right at the corner of the Indigo Street entrance. Going to the mall isn't that far by feet, but I wanted her to experience riding in a 'kalesa,' so I put my hands on her hips and lifted her just enough for her to get inside. She scooted a little to the left to give me space to sit on. While she was looking so happy and in awe of the two-wheeled inclined cart drawn by a horse, I pointed at the bookstore when we passed by it, and told her that she would be coming with me to work later after lunch. She agreed with enthusiasm, then continued admiring the town while enjoying our ride.

"This is the main transportation here at the Pilgrim. Most towns and cities near our town aren't using 'kalesa' or 'horse carriage' anymore since…since many decades ago. The Pilgrim has been known to preserve its historical value."

"What a splendid town this is. I love it!"

"Come to think of it, you love everything ever since you got here." I chuckled. "Which is great…and cute."

"Cute? Cute is something you say to something little…like kittens, or puppies."

"You've seen kittens and puppies?"

"Just in books."

"Nice! Well…you are little. It's not a negative criticism or anything, but you're considered little because you're petite."

"Why excuse me, I am not petite…YOU…are just a giant."

I laughed. "We're here."

The Pilgrim mall isn't as big or grand as the ones in the big cities, but it is clean, environment friendly, and the two stories are enough for everything. The ground floor has one big department store and one big grocery store on opposite sides. There's a small beauty salon, an ATM, and a hall that leads to the comfort room area. The second floor is the entertainment and food area. There's a movie theatre, as well as an entertainment area where most kids would play arcade, and most adults would normally prefer karaoke. There are franchises of fastfood and restaurants like Bigg's, Jollibee, McDonald's, Molino Grill, and Starmark. Starmark and Bigg's are my most favorite restaurants, but I decided to take Princess Nicolette to Starmark.

The escalator ride made the princess grab my arm and hug me, thinking that she would fall. "It's fine. Since when did you ever get scared of something?" I said, though I wish I hadn't told her that, because she instantly let go of me and used the handrail instead. "I am not scared of anything. I was merely astounded when we levitated." She sounded defensive.

"More like…escalated. This moving staircase that carries people between floors of this building is called an escalator."

She nodded. "I see."

"And the one at my place is called an elevator."

She nodded again. "Thank you for letting me know," she said as I guided her off the escalator by putting my hand around her tiny waist.

When we got to Starmark, I ordered a group serving of chopsuey, and two individual servings of pork tonkatsu, which also include mixed veggies like corn and carrots on the side. I also ordered two raspberry smoothies.

She was seated just like a princess, with her back straight and her shoulders upright. Her chin was up, and she looked very confident as we waited for the food. "You know, I was thinking about not calling you Princess Nicolette, but then I changed my mind. I think it's alright for people to think that your name is Princess Nicolette, not knowing that you're a real princess."

She nodded with a firm and proud face. "Well, you shall do what is essential to my efficacious inhabitation on Earth."

I was trying so hard not to laugh because she might take it the wrong way, and I didn't want her throwing tantrums at the mall, most especially because it's a public place. But I really think she's just too cute to be sexy and too sexy to be cute, and yet ironically, she's both.

When the food was served, she licked her lips and it drove me crazy to see that, so I promptly shunned my misbehaving thoughts to have a nice first lunch with her at my favorite restaurant. I was proud to see her eating in a sophisticated manner, even if I was 100% sure she wanted to gobble up the food like a hungry warrior.

As we ate, I shared a few thoughts with her like the fact that Starmark is my favorite restaurant, and the food and beverage that I ordered are all my favorites. She also said that all the food she ate so far are her favorites, and that gave me a satisfactory feeling because for a feisty princess of the Purple Sea, it never occurred to me that she can be adaptable. The first thing I was worried about when she came to my world was if she'd like the food, and now I'm glad that it wouldn't be an issue because she practically eats everything, and appreciates everything so far.

After having a great lunch, the escalator brought us back to the ground floor. We headed to the department store, and it didn't take long for me to find a birthday gift for Hailey because I already knew what gift to buy. I bought her a vanity set, something she'd been wanting to have because she didn't have one like Marie's vanity set, which was something I gave her when she was also Hailey's age. It was Disney's Frozen merchandise vanity box in pink color, with a brush, comb, baby cologne, mirror, small hairclips, hair ties, and a pretty headband inside it. Princess Nicolette looked like she also wanted one, so I also bought her a yellow vanity box suited for her age.

Instead of having Hailey's gift in a gift wrap, I just bought a beautiful paper bag with 'Happy Birthday' written on it. I also wrote a simple birthday message on the greeting card attached to it.

Princess Nicolette was so happy with her own vanity box, but had to keep all the excitement to herself by just simply smiling. It made me feel happy for her to be happy, but I also felt a bit guilty for depriving her of completely expressing her joyous moments. With that in mind, I intend to let her have all her joyous moments once we get back to my place after Hailey's party. If she wants to scream with so much joy, I won't stop her. After all, the building is new, and I'm the only tenant so far. So, until someone else discovers that place and dwells in it, I want Princess Nicolette to be free to do all that she wants when we're at my place.

There were so many clothes and accessories that caught Princess Nicolette's eyes. But I told her to buy the most important things first. Undergarments. Every time she would pick a brassiere with matching underwear, I felt nervous and ashamed of myself for imagining her in those. And since my thoughts misbehaved every single time she picked another brassiere with matching underwear, I silently scolded myself thinking, 'In broad daylight? Really?! Stop it, you maniac!' With that thought in mind, I impulsively slapped my face, but then Princess Nicolette saw my sudden weird gesture while picking another set of undergarments.

"Why on Purple…I mean, why on Earth must you hurt yourself?"

"Oh, I didn't. There was a mosquito. You know what a mosquito is, right?"

"Oh. Is that it?"

"Yeah."

"I know what it is. I read that it can be bothersome."

"Yes, it's very bothersome. I hate it."

After the two baskets I was holding were filled with a dozen brassiere, panties, and Princess Nicolette's new vanity set, and I was also holding the paper bag with Hailey's birthday gift on it, I pulled the biggest cart that was lined up near the cashier, transferred all the basket contents there, then carefully placed Hailey's gift.

We headed towards the women's wear section. It didn't take long for Princess Nicolette to find the ones she liked because she practically loved everything she saw, so we just grabbed small sizes of six casual dresses, seven shirts, three shorts, and two skirts. I wanted to buy her a pair of sneakers and one pair of sandals, so we also headed towards the shoe section.

When I checked my watch, it was already 12:30pm. Since we only had 30 minutes left, I quickly grabbed a pair of sneakers and sandals. Then, I let her sit on an upholstered bench that was meant for customers who would like to try on shoes. Again, she had to suppress her excitement, but then her eyes and big smile couldn't hide her emotions.

When I removed her sandals, her feet looked a bit red, which was caused by the new shoes, so I gently rubbed it. "Does your foot hurt? Do you want to change into slippers?" I suddenly realized that I also have to buy her at least two pairs of slippers.

Oddly, the excitement on her face quickly vanished, and she didn't respond. She looked like she was in a sudden pain, so I was wondering if there was more damage to her feet than the redness that I was seeing. Thinking that she might've incurred blisters, I checked each foot from the sole to her ankles, then carefully examined them entirely to make sure I wasn't missing anything. She groaned while her face looked pale and sweaty. She seemed so much in pain that I was starting to panic because I had no idea why, so I just kept examining her feet as if I hadn't done that already. She groaned once again and that alarmed me, "What is happening…which part of your feet hurts? Should I take you to the hospital? Uhm, Miss?" I called out on a saleslady and she instantly approached. "Can you help me?" Witnessing that Princess Nicolette was obviously in pain, she was quick to nod in agreement. "I have an emergency. Here's my card. Would you mind taking all these to the cashier? Someone will be here later to pick them up." She nodded.

Princess Nicolette started rubbing her legs while she silently cried in pain. "Ahh…I….Uriel, it hurts so much."

Anxious, I carefully checked the parts of her legs that she was rubbing by pulling her dress up a little, and I was shocked to see scales that had started to spread on her legs. "Oh no…"

"Ma….my tail…I think my tail is coming back."

Oh no…not…not here at the mall…