THE GROCERY STORE

Once upon a time, far away from the city, lived a girl named Lily in the remote countryside. She lived alone on her country estate with few farm animals and her dog Billy, and she grew her own produce in the backyard of her house. Still, the summer of 2016 changed many things as it was the hottest year, and the crop wasn't great, which caused shortages of vegetables and fruits in supermarkets.

This meant Lily had an empty pantry and no daily essentials as she never stepped out of the estate. Her mother made sure everything was delivered to her house, as she was timid and was diagnosed with severe social anxiety, which meant for her going out alone was terrifying.

On that particular day, her mother was out of town, and the town grocery store was closed. Still, she was sitting on her reading chair with her dog napping away in her lap and reading the collective poems by Sylvia's path but waiting for the delivery man who arrived at his usual time. He never showed up that day which made Lily anxious because it had never happened before, and the thought of lack of groceries, meaning she might have to sleep empty stomach, made her panicky, so she decided to run downstairs and call the store. Still, as it was ringing, nobody picked up. So, she tried again, but no answer; then she called her mother to inquire about the package, but unfortunately, her mother's cell phone was out of reach. So, Lily looked outside the window, hoping to see a box on the doorstep, but the only thing she could see was the night dawn and Mr Wilson walking his dog during the usual night hours.

The next day, she decided to step out of her comfort zone and go shopping, which was a massive step. As she sits in her car and looks at her Google Maps, it shows one hour and 45 minutes, making her feel a little better because there's some time to talk to herself and gather all the courage.

As she was driving through the countryside road, her favorite song came on the radio, "Run the World" by Beyoncé. She started humming away; her nerves were calming down. She was coming close to entering the town, so she started singing the song loudly, enjoying herself, like a car concert where she began swinging her body from right to left and smiling. Lily parked her car and listened to the song repeatedly, which gave her some time buffer to face her fear.

Lily enters the store; an old familiar face greets her. Mr. Wilson, her neighbour, who works at the store as a security guard, keeps walking toward the baked goods aisle; she can feel the crowd increasing. Chitter-chatter being louder instantly, Lily started sweating and panting but was trying to find her way to the billing counter. Still, she panics, which makes the situation worse; suddenly, you can hear a loud voice coming from the opposite corner of the store "Lily, Lily, wait", but she screams "Help me, someone ".

Suddenly she wakes up from a fever dream and finds herself in bed in the middle of the day, and it becomes clear to her that it was her worst nightmare.

She gets up from the couch and heads toward the pantry to check her groceries and essentials. Everything was well stocked, and she instantly laughed to herself. She says, "Lily, you are silly women who dream about the grocery store", but she is feeling out of breath and sweaty, so she decides to go out of the house for a stroll to shake off the panicky feeling from her body and feel the fresh air on her face and smell the flowers in her garden.

And just like that, Lily never experienced the joy of a grocery store as she is suffering from anxiety, but one day she will wake up to a confident lily and make a move. It might sound ludicrous to others, but for Lily, that will be the most significant thing she ticked off her list.

Do you ever feel scared or panicked when you are told to visit certain places? If so, please talk to your parents and teachers, and get help.