That's it, let's eat croquettes! #ShortShort

I heard a small child's voice saying, "I want to eat a croquette!"

"Hey, I want to eat a croquette."
The voice was coming from the deli section, deep inside the supermarket. It's a local supermarket I've been visiting often since I came here on a business trip. I managed to leave work a little early, so I stopped by in my suit, and this was the first thing I heard.

As I picked up a black shopping basket, I couldn't help but look for the source of the voice. Squinting, I saw a toddler in a shopping cart and a young woman who appeared to be the mother.

The mother was leaning over, browsing the packs lined up in the deli section. Beside her, the child in the cart was shouting, "I want to eat a croquette." Is that child really shouting because they want to eat a croquette, or are they making such a loud noise to get the attention of their mother, who is absorbed in shopping? Either way, it's somewhat heartwarming to see the mother seriously choosing items, unfazed by the child's voice. She looks a bit like my middle school daughter.

A song by my favorite female idol group is playing in the store. However, no one seems to care about the child's voice. Only I, who have become strangely conscious of the voice saying "I want to eat a croquette," am standing in front of the vegetable section with my black basket. As if brainwashed by the child's voice, images of freshly fried croquettes are floating in my mind. The croquettes my wife used to make. Somehow, I've started to want to eat croquettes too.

"What are you looking at?"
I heard a voice from behind, came to my senses, and turned around. Below my line of sight was a white-haired grandmother pushing a cart. She was glaring at me as if I were an annoyance. Did she think I was a suspicious person because I kept looking at the parent and child, or was I in her way because I was standing in front of the pile of cabbage? As I said, "...I'm sorry," and hurriedly moved away, the grandmother started comparing cabbages while muttering to herself.

To the local regulars, a middle-aged man in a suit on his way home from work must be the most out-of-place customer. My business trip is almost over. I'm going home tomorrow. It's better for an outsider not to stand out. To avoid getting in the way of other customers, I moved a little away from the pile of vegetables and started checking the potatoes and onions.

I've been eating out for ramen or fried rice all week, so I know I should at least get some proper nutrition for my last night. But, it's such a hassle. Should I just quickly get by with some deli food and a beer? If so... it has to be croquettes. Because of the image of croquettes I just replayed in my mind, my head is now full of them. The juicy feeling of the fluffy potatoes and the crispy texture of the breading come back to my mouth, and I swallow my saliva involuntarily.

That's it, let's have croquettes tonight.

Thinking that, I looked toward the deli section, and that parent and child were still there. The child, dangling their short legs out of the cart seat, continued to repeat "I want to eat a croquette" as if singing. I have to get some croquettes too. I hurried toward the deli section.

The shelves were packed with salads, yakitori, fried chicken, and more. Of course, there were croquettes too. There was even a sticker that said "Freshly fried at 5:00 PM today." They looked delicious, with their crispiness oozing out. However... there was only one of each: a transparent pack with three, and a pack with five smaller croquettes—

The child in the cart looked up at me while saying, "I want to eat a croquette." Unfortunately, our eyes met.

"...Croquette..." The child's voice, which had been shouting energetically until just a moment ago, faded away. Were they intimidated by the grumpy adult man who had suddenly appeared? Sensing the change, the mother immediately looked at the child and then at me.
"Oh, I'm sorry..."
Perhaps she misunderstood that it was bad for me to be hogging the space in front of the shelf. The mother hurriedly left the deli section without putting anything in the cart. The moment she did, the child's voice saying "I want to eat a croquette!" returned. However, ignoring that protest, the cart quickly went to the meat and fish section on the other side.

Even though I had been hesitating and thinking about it so much, I had made them leave because of me. While feeling sorry and thinking I had done a bad thing, I felt relieved that I would be able to secure my own share of croquettes. When I looked at the shelf, a hand suddenly reached out from behind, and the packs of croquettes disappeared from view.

I was surprised and turned around; it was the grandmother who had made me move at the cabbage section earlier. The cabbage grandmother glanced at my face, and with a straight face, put both the pack of five and the pack of three into her cart's basket. When I thought, "I've been had!", she was already leisurely pushing her cart away—

◇

In the end, my only harvest was a pack of yakitori. I slowly walked around the store and headed to the register. I'll have this for my evening drink tonight. My head is still full of croquettes, and I still want to eat them, but there's nothing I can do if they're gone.

Just as I thought that, a cart and a woman dashed across in front of me. It was the parent and child from earlier. I stopped and followed them with my eyes, and saw them quickly rushing back to the deli section while pushing a cart that had more items than before. When I looked to see why they were in such a hurry, I saw a supermarket clerk standing there. In their hand... so that's it! I heard the voice "I want to eat a croquette" again.

However... there were no more croquettes there. That cabbage grandmother had snatched up the last two. Oh, if only I had known, I should have at least grabbed one before she took them. If I had, I might have been able to give it to that parent and child...

Just as I thought that.

The mother, who had returned to the deli section, showed something to the clerk with a "What about this?" look on her face. The clerk expressionlessly put a red sticker on what the mother was holding. At that moment, I heard the child's happy voice saying, "Can we eat it?"

To my surprise, it was the two packs of croquettes, the one with five and the one with three. How on earth...

The white-haired woman pushing the cart passed by me, who was standing there in a daze, with a leisurely air. It was the... cabbage grandmother from earlier. However, there were no packs of croquettes in the basket of the cart she was pushing.

The parent and child's cart approached, and the mother bowed her head to the grandmother.
"Fumi-san. Thank you. You saved us." As she said that, she handed the pack of three with the red discount sticker to the grandmother.
"I'm glad we made it in time."
When the cabbage grandmother, who was called Fumi, smiled with relief, the mother also smiled. The child was hugging the pack of five with the sticker on it to their small chest as if it were precious. So that's what happened...

The parent, child, and grandmother's cart passed right in front of me and headed toward the register. Seeing the mother's relieved expression overlap with my daughter's, my mouth naturally softened into a smile.

Suddenly, the smartphone in my pocket vibrated. It was a message from my wife, Taeko.
"You're coming home tomorrow, right? Don't forget the souvenir."
"Understood."
"We're having croquettes tonight!"

How did she know I wanted to eat croquettes?

"Yay, croquettes!"
Almost at the same time, a cheerful, joyful voice rang out through the store from the direction of the register.

Huh? Does that mean, in the end, I'm the only one who won't be eating croquettes—?

<End>

(From the author)
This was a spin-off of the Taeko the Witch series. I would be happy if you read my other works as well.