Plastic

Written for https://weeklyprompts.com/2025/06/28/weekly-prompts-the-one-day-prompt-14/

‘One day at a time, each hour counts,’ Mary thought to herself. Strange to be walking through streets without laws.

Crowds pushed past each other, plastic bags mingled with an attempt to save the planet. Why didn’t they stop making them? Oceans would have been less polluted. She slipped inside Costa.

The bins overflowed with cups in the wrong compartment. A chance of change, but hardly anyone took it. If they only saw a glimpse of the future. Each mother would help their brood.

She waited in line, watching each customer order unhealthy treats. Carrot cake, coffee, and a turkey dinner sandwich.

‘Can I help you?’

‘I’ll have a caffeine free latte,’ she said.

‘Sorry … we don’t stock that here.’

Mary stepped back. Of course, it would be a few more years before that became a regular thing. One cup wouldn’t hurt.

‘Do you want anything else?’

The selection behind the glass counter spoke a language her stomach didn’t understand. Food more of a nutrient supply than enjoyment. Only her gran loved cheesecake. She pointed to the smallest slice, adding it to her time card bill.

On the corner table, almost afraid to take a sip, she leant forward. With a metal fork, she pushed through the layer of soft sponge. She couldn’t prevent the plate from being empty. Her coffee tasted like pure heaven.

‘Excuse me, miss,’ a young male tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned around, pushing her shoulders back.

‘You dropped your phone.’

Better not to have a conversation with the wrong person. Yet, without it, she couldn’t keep up the disguise.

‘Thank you,’ she said, taking back her slim lifeline to her time period.

His fragile face, covered in a layer of glasses, a quiet reflection of 2019. In four months, the country would be in lockdown. They would set rules in motion. Lost lives. The one metre rule; if only they knew the truth, but without rules nobody would survive.

One life saved, and only one life.