La Voz de Galicia – May 16, 2025 →
While trying on the sneakers, I was thinking about how something so ugly (to each their own) could be so comfortable and so expensive. I had doubts about whether I wanted to spend that much money on shoes that were just for walking without my calluses hurting. As I wandered around the store wearing the sneakers, deciding whether to buy them or not, suddenly seven kids came in, all wearing masks and carrying canes. They couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen years old… I glanced at them for a second and realized that maybe it would be best not to make eye contact. So, I leaned against the wall and stared at it while thinking about the possible ways out of the situation. The kids were grabbing everything they could, and I just hoped that the three employees there wouldn’t confront them, because even though the kids were small, they were well-organized and too many.
I looked at the door and saw that there were four more kids outside, waiting for the ones inside, and for a moment, I thought about running out. But the fact that I was wearing the sneakers I hadn’t paid for yet stopped my impulse (it’s curious what goes through your mind in moments like that). So I stayed there, frozen, until the kids decided they had enough merchandise and left the store the same way they came in: silently, with their canes raised.
When it was all over, the employees just carried on as if nothing had happened. Trying to shake off my own fear, I approached one of them to ask if this was common, and that’s when I saw the same fear on his face that I had felt. “They come every now and then… My salary isn’t enough to face them.” And pale as milk, he lowered his head. And pale as milk myself, I paid for the sneakers and left the store wearing them…
