Page 39 - Demo

Jenna Charland
The Comfort of Childhood in A Big-Box Store
Your local Kmart in Plattsburgh, New York closed before your childhood ended, but it still stayed a centerpiece of your childhood. From the 2010’s music playing from the ceiling, most aisles perpetually absent of customers, and the white paneled floor you stared at as you followed your dad around, it is a store that you cannot forget. Outside, the wind whipped your hair every time you walked through the parking lot towards the sliding doors, but you grabbed ahold of your long hair anyway, hoping it would be different this time and there would be no knots. You still do this with your shorter hair on your way into the Runnings that sits on the same foundation–a hint of your childhood resurrected. But that does not change the fact that Kmart, the source of so many childhood memories, closed one random month when the experience of middle school had just started. However, why do you still remember Kmart so fondly rather than another store you spend a lot of time in, like Walmart?
When you asked others for their experiences with the local Kmart, one of your friends likened the Little Ceasars that lived in the corner of the store to a Dark Souls bonfire. And for those who have never heard of Dark Souls, it is a video game where the bonfires restore life and allow the player to rest before their next adventure. After hearing that, you decided the metaphor could be furthered to be the entire store with Little