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Today was a good day for Maria.
It was a day where she felt safer on her own two feet, and not needing to rely on her wheelchair- thankfully the days of relying on it were growing further and further in between, and her being able to stand on her own two legs was becoming more and more common.
Still, she had her chair on standby in case she pushed herself. Shadow had it folded up and was pushing it towards the car that was outside.
The 21st century was strange, but she was slowly growing to love it- it was nice just being on earth again. The sun was warm and the grass was sweet and the wind-
Oh stars and garters how she missed the wind. Its gentle caress and wonderful sounds was something she forgot she longed for. She smiled as the wind blew and the warmth of the sun greeted them as they stepped outside.
Shadow was going to take her to the mall- a wonderful place that the sound of it reminded her of the ARK, but there were tons of people there, and sky windows! Shadow said that she could look up at the sky while inside the building!
“Maria, do you wish to eat first to acclimate to the noise levels first, or go to one of the stores first?” He asked, his voice gentle and soft in her ear. He was looking at her like she would break, not because she was weak.
She wasn’t sure what it was. But it wasn’t weakness, and it wasn’t romantic. It was something she had yet to figure out in the month that she’d been awake again.
She thought for a moment, gently adjusting her protectors on her nasal cannula so they’d protect her ears better. It was an unsaid agreement that when going to public places she’d be on her oxygen after her treatments had been greenlit. Her immune system was still tender, and it seemed to help. “Hmmm, maybe we could try one store first? That way if I get overwhelmed I can at least get some stuff.” She said, looking hopeful.
Shadow offered a small smile, placing her face mask back on. “We can do that, but you need to tell me if you feel anything’s wrong. I know you’re excited Maria but…”
Maria raised her hand up, gently placing it on Shadows face. “Shadoooow, you’re worrying too much silly. I’ll be fine, and if I start to feel bad, or get overwhelmed, I’ll tell you. Okay?”
“… if I sense that you’re pushing yourself I reserve the right to take you home.” He said, quiet stress chirps being heard. Maria always thought it was cute, like a machine working.
“Of course.” She said, lowering her hand. “Red for go home, yellow for when I need a break, and green for go go go!” She said, smiling behind her facemask as she let Shadow hold the car door open for her. “Thank you Shadow.”
“Thank you for letting me help you. This means more to me than you can understand.” He said softly as he made sure she was buckled up. Maria knew that Shadow knew she could buckle herself in, but Maria also knew that Shadow needed this.
She wasn’t sure why, but Shadow needed this bad enough to ask for it- and that was already telling. She didn’t need to know.
She just knew that Shadow needed this, and she was more than happy to let him have this. “You mentioned it was a lot of stores smashed together- do they have a Dillards? Or a Macys?” She asked, having only foggy memories of those stores.
She remembered her mother loved them though, and her purse had been from Macy's. Maria still had the wallet that came with it, and the peppermint candy her mom left for her in it.
“They do actually, as well as other stores that are more modern. Do you want to go to one of them first?” He asked, already starting the car. Shadow was a surprisingly good driver, it made Maria more glad that they were on earth together. Shadow wouldn’t be allowed to drive on the ARK.
He wouldn’t have had room to drive up there.
“Ooooh, Shadow. Everything’s so lovely like it was in my books.” She said, looking around at the park they passed by. “When I’m strong enough to not need oxygen when we go out, can we go there?”
“We can go there next week if you want. Tails should have your compressor done by then, that way you can have a full day's worth of air on hand without it being cumbersome to you.” He said once they stopped at a stop sign. “And of course we’ll go once you don’t need it as well, but you don’t have to wait until then.” He said, turning into a very large building. It was as big as a hospital!
But it wasn’t. Maria could see the Dillards sign and several others on the outside of the building. She was so excited she barely noticed her jubilant giggles. “Oh my gosh! Shadow! This is amazing!”
She barely waited for the car to be parked and turned off before she unbuckled herself and hopped out. “It’s so big! Are we really allowed to part so close to it? Everyone else seems to avoid the parking spots.”
“They’re not avoiding them, they can’t park there.” Shadow explained, taking Maria’s hand and crossing the parking lot with her. “Those spots are for disabled people, needing special paperwork and license plates.”
Maria smiled. “So we have all that, right?”
“Of course we do. You can thank your cousin for that.”