Fantasy

He went out to the local supermarket to buy a bottle of milk and a loaf of bread.

Considering the fact that fiction is one kind of story, whereas fantasy is one kind of fiction, it has to be remembered here that this story is fiction, not fantasy. Anyway, he was on his way to the local supermarket to buy a bottle of milk and a loaf of bread. The shops weren’t far from his house and he was walking. When he arrived at the supermarket’s entrance, he found a young girl sitting with her back to the wall and her head in her hands, sobbing. If this were a fantasy, which it isn’t, the man would have crouched down next to her, asking what was wrong. She would have looked up displaying a pointed nose and pointed ears. She would have told him that she was a fallen fairy and had lost her wings, but this being a fiction, a mother suddenly appeared scolding the child for wandering off.

In the bakery section he saw that there was only one of his favourite loaves left. He stretched in to pull it out. If this were a fantasy, this would have revealed a small mouse sitting up nibbling at something between its claws, begging him to say nothing because mice were not supposed to be in the store, but this being a fiction, he put the loaf in his basket and went looking for milk.

On the way, he found an elderly lady stooping to pick up a packet of biscuits she had dropped. She was obviously having trouble, so he offered to retrieve it for her. If this were a fantasy, he would have found that the packet would begin to float up before he could have hold of it. Handing it to the woman she too would begin to rise. Holding the packet and thanking him with a smile, she would then float up over the isle and disappear out of sight. But this being a fiction, he handed it to her and moved on.

He found the milk and moved to the checkout. He took out his card to pay for the items. If this were a fantasy, a bell would start ringing and a manager would arrive explaining that he was the one billionth customer in all their stores worldwide and he would hand him a golden coupon that would allow him to shop at any of the supermarkets free of any payment. But this being fiction, he paid and left.

Outside, finding the day sunny, he decided to return by a longer route, taking in the park. There, he found a seat and sat for a while with his bag of shopping beside him, enjoying the respite and the view, when a small dog approached. It sat in front of him looking up with pleading eyes. If this were a fantasy, the dog would begin to explain how it had been placed there as an observer and was aware of humankind’s problem with climate change. It went on to say how surprised it was that nobody had yet discovered a vast and endless source of energy right under their noses. But this being fiction, at that point the owner arrived, clipped the lead back onto the dog’s collar, apologised and walked on.

Getting up, the man continued his walk home. As he approached his front gate, he noticed something fluttering along with the wind and picked it up. It was a thousand dollar note.

The finding of this was not a fantasy, it was fiction…