text: The lights flickered overhead. I was getting dizzy, but I had no choice other than to continue on. Our family needed supplies, and we didn't have much time left. I looked at my husband, hoping to communicate all my love for him in with eye contact. I nodded to him silently, and we separated, hoping to cover more ground between the two of us. My beloved, may your journey be successful. I will see you again, I swear it. Oh, gosh, here they come again. The employees at Savings Mart were quite familiar with them by now. They must have moved here a few years ago, because one week they showed up and started making their weird habits everyone else’s problem. Once a week, this family came in and did the strangest things while shopping for their groceries. The cashiers looked at each other and whispered about how maybe this week they would just shop like normal people. They all knew deep down that this would not be the case. I peered my head around the corner, searching for signs of life. Seeing none, I crept cautiously onward. Ah, yes, the bread. A life-sustaining substance, useful in so many situations. But I must pick the right one. If I pick the wrong one, I may poison my children or prevent them from getting the nutrition they need. Man cannot live on bread alone. I needed something from nature to encourage the fighting strength of my loved ones. Tree nuts were usually a safe choice, but again, I cannot be too hasty in selecting one. The wrong nuts can be fatal, especially to my poor Timothy. Aha, almond butter, at last. I only hoped my husband was having luck, wherever he ended up. Come on, they don’t even use shopping carts. If you are shopping for a week, you probably need a good amount of stuff. Instead of using the carts, these weirdos brought their own bags from home. Ok, so bringing the bags from home is not so bad in itself, but they brought the strangest ones. Sometimes they’d bring in these shiny boxes and load their groceries in slowly and carefully, speaking in some weird language to each other. Other times they brought worn leather bags and stuffed groceries in like they were packing for a long trip. Occasionally they would just use cardboard boxes, and the cashiers would be relieved, thinking maybe they were going to be normal for once, but they were wrong. Those days usually involved throwing items into the box quickly and haphazardly, as if the couple was just grabbing necessities before running from their lives, like preparing for a zombie apocalypse, as one of the nerdier stockers pointed out. I pulled my cloak closer around my shoulders and hurried through the frozen passes. This dangerous path is the only way to get the freshest of the finest foods. Milk from the right cows combined with a secret blend of fruits can be the best motivator. We worked hard this week, my family has earned something special. As I rub my freezing hands together, I spot it at last, the perfect one. I carefully place it with my other findings, and hurry on. How long have I been here? Will I make it home in time? I pray that I do. The stockers never knew what to make of that couple. You’d just be rearranging the products and see something out of the corner of your eye, but by the time you turned your head, it would be gone. It only took a few weeks for the breakroom chatter to come to the consensus that it must be them . It’s not really so hard to put together with all the other weird stuff they do. And if they did come up to you while you were working the shelves, be prepared for an odd conversation. The nerdy stocker said it was like being the side character in a video game. The customer would go on and on about their quest, asking seemingly random questions and then just wander off. My weariness was beginning to take over me, but I must push on farther. An orb of light can conquer my children’s deepest fears of the caves of our home. My memory is getting fuzzy, and I struggle to recall the right sequence. The code makes all the difference. I should have sent my husband on this quest, but I recognized the needs for his skills elsewhere. No, this one I must take on alone. I close my eyes and breathe in deeply. I must center myself and reach out to the knowledge and strength buried in me. My eyes shot open as I knew the code, of course I did. It had been inside me all along. Hold on, dearest, I am coming. The weirdest part is when they checked out. They would meet up at the register and act like they had not seen each other in years, barely paying attention to the poor cashier. Today it was Linda who got to deal with them. Linda was only three weeks into this job and trying so very had to do it right. It is hard to ask if a couple if they want to sign up for the in-store credit card when they were staring deeply into each other’s eyes. I gazed at him tenderly. My own darling, returned to me at last. I cupped his cheek in my hand, admiring again the deep green of his eyes and the beautiful texture of his dark hair. I smiled, for I felt again that surge of love and surety that this is the man I was to spend the rest of my life with. I found my prince, and together we had built a wonderful home and a loving family. This man is the greatest partner, the best father, and the most loving adventure companion a woman could hope for. And he was mine . He gave me that little smile and my heart melted. “Dearest, every moment away from you is pained, but the joy of seeing you again makes all of our journeys worthwhile.” The lovely shopkeeper said something, but I didn’t listen, too focused on the sweet words spoken by my husband. Hand in hand, we returned to our family, successful in our quest once again.