"At this point, I'm wide awake, even alert, and I begin to see myself past midnight and standing at a rope for discount jewelry. I turn to my left. I can see all the way down the aisle to the toy section. It's a mob scene. Crowds rummage through blue and pink plastic. Shelves in disarray. Grasping, pushing, shoving. An occasional moment of kindness. Our turn arrives. I stumble forward, almost fall, when a store employee releases the yellow cord. I have to recover quickly as everyone around me is already on the move. But I suppose there is a God because it seems my item—the diamond ring—is not the most desired one. It must be too expensive for the midnight Wal-Mart shopper. There are only three of us, and there are four rings. Just like that, I have one. But now I have to escape from the store."
Alex Kudera’s award-winning novel, Fight for Your Long Day (Atticus Books), was drafted in a walk-in closet during a summer in Seoul, South Korea. Auggie’s Revenge (Beating Windward Press) is his second novel. His numerous short stories include “Frade Killed Ellen” (Dutch Kills Press), “Bombing from Above” (Heavy Feather Review), and “A Thanksgiving” (Eclectica Magazine).
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