I lack the verbal alacrity to craft a narrative, but here are some aspects of my actual mall-world, though there are other dreamscapes I often visit.

• One of the anchor stores, in the style of a late 90s Rich's/Nordstrom/Macy's, has a great selection of men's crew-neck sweaters, soft, almost impossibly light, and in muted tones
• Another store on the other end of the mall sells books and vinyl records. But it's not Barnes and Noble. The same store also has an incredible variety of international snacks and comfort foods. Now that I think about it, there is an almost sterile "duty-free" atmosphere, so innocuous as to actually be threatening.

Now that I try to analyze it, it seems to be slipping though my hands...