The shelves were always crowded with products, and quiet conversations floated through the aisles throughout the day.
With her brown hair tied neatly in a ponytail and her friendly smile, Emily knew most customers by name—and often by their usual health complaints as well.
She was naturally observant. It was a habit that sometimes felt like a gift and sometimes like a burden, because it made her notice details others ignored.
And then there was Caleb.
Caleb lived a few blocks away in an old, fading house that always seemed covered in shadow. Emily saw him almost every day. But he never bought medicine, vitamins, or even cough drops.
He always bought the same thing.
Large packs of wet wipes.
Every day.
Sometimes even twice in one day.
At first Emily shrugged it off. Everyone had strange habits, and it wasn’t her place to judge.
But recently something about Caleb had changed.
He looked thinner than before. His clothes, once simply messy, were now worn and stained. Dark circles had sunk beneath his eyes, and his beard had grown wild and gray. He carried himself like someone who hadn’t slept in days.
And there was something else.