Cinderella Radiates a Suspicious Aura

The shop was located near an elevated road that spanned a major highway, and it was the shop at the far right end of a single-story building that housed about three businesses. Perhaps because of that location, it didn't seem very noticeable to passing cars.

The shop, which was on the route to elementary school (and also the route to junior high school), could be reached from my house in about 5 or 6 minutes by bicycle.

In my hazy memory, the shop's entrance was a sliding sash door, but the glass was covered up, so I couldn't see what was inside at all. However, a large sign was mounted above the shop, and it said things like "Adult Toys" and "Adult Shop".

Adult toys?
Aren't toys for children?
Do adults play with toys too?
Even though I thought things like that, I understood as a child that these toys were probably not the kind children play with. Furthermore, I unconsciously understood that I shouldn't ask my parents, "What are adult toys?"

As a child, I had no idea what adult toys were. It seemed my friends were the same. "Hey, hey, what do you think that shop is?" "I wonder what adult toys are?" "It's kind of suspicious, right?" We girls in the class would say things like that to each other. When girls reach the upper grades, they become interested in slightly erotic topics. We would whisper about erotic things in our close-knit groups of girls. At such times, girls who had older sisters would sometimes secretly tell us. But in the end, I remained without knowing what adult toys were.

Then one time, the homeroom teacher spoke to us during the closing meeting. "Someone broke the glass at the entrance of that shop. They probably pushed too hard at the entrance and it broke. You must not stop in front of that shop." I don't remember the details, but I think that's what they said. Some mischievous boys from another class probably tried to peek into the shop and pushed too hard, breaking the glass. It's a ridiculous story, but perhaps erotica really does make people act strangely.

A few years passed since then. I sometimes rode my bicycle past that shop on my way to high school. I usually took the opposite side of the road, but sometimes I would pass by on my way home. The shop continued to radiate a suspicious aura. By the autumn of my first year of high school, a few friends and I decided to go to a tailor to have our uniforms altered. We wanted to shorten the length of our blazers and vests, take in the sides a little, and make them compact enough not to be an obvious violation of school rules. And we also had them let out the skirt length as much as possible. Since our grades weren't bad and we looked like serious students at first glance, we didn't stand out too much even if we tweaked our uniforms a bit or got point perms. (Though we hid spare uniforms in our lockers for clothing inspections.) Well, having uniforms altered or getting point perms was something many girls did nonchalantly.

That tailor was right next to that shop.

After school, we came to the tailor, having skipped club activities as a matter of course, but that shop was right next door. I feel like it became even more suspicious as evening approached. Even while having my length measured at the tailor, I couldn't help but be curious about that shop in my heart. After leaving the tailor, I talked with my friends, saying, "I wonder what adult toys are," just like when we were in elementary school, but in the end, I still didn't know what they were. If we had smartphones or computers (the internet) back then, I could have found out in an instant by searching. Now that I'm deeply immersed in the internet society, I understand that being attracted to mysterious things might be a human truth.

A few years passed since then, and as an adult, I finally understood what these so-called adult toys were for. It seems they were things for adults to do this and that. It seems they are things to be used alone or with two people. As an adult, I... there's no way I'd say that. Even I know the difference between what should and shouldn't be said here. All I can say is that I prefer the warmth of human skin over artificial things. Ah, what on earth am I saying? If my image as Miyu is damaged any further, it might affect my future Note activities. Will I ever be able to escape from this back alley? Seriously, what is this story about, lol.

By the way, the name of that shop was "Cinderella."
Whether it was because they were pushed out by online shopping or because sales didn't go up, Cinderella disappeared before I knew it. Surely, after midnight, Cinderella must have returned to her original world. All that remained was my childhood curiosity about adult toys and my intense interest in the inside of that suspicious shop. Humans always idealize things they cannot obtain. With my interest in that shop in my heart, I think of items I will likely never use. However. I also think there is a slight possibility that an aged prince on a white horse will come to me one day with toys.

Seriously, what on earth is this until the end...

What is this story about?

It seems like a good place to end, lol.

Something I suddenly remembered because of Cinderella, lol.
I wonder if anyone knows it💦

#WhatIsThisStoryAbout