The Solution

The metal cart kept edging to the right. Tifa hated the ones that did that. In the grocery store, there were three kinds of shopping carts. The first was the kind that had a maladjusted wheel. It would either skid across the tiles occasionally or require a lot of force to make turns. The second was the kind that just liked to lead to the side. Nothing seemed to be really wrong with the cart, it just preferred to roll to one side, and took force to keep straight. Of course, the third was the good, flawless cart. Personally, Tifa hated the second kind the most, and that's what she'd been stuck with.

"Cart giving you trouble, Tifa?" Marlene asked, one hand placed over the side of the cart.

"Yeah, it keeps rolling to the right."

"Hmm… I can help push it to the left a little."

Tifa smiled. "Thanks, Marlene."

It was always comforting to have company while shopping for groceries. Cloud and Denz were both shoveling snow in the front of the bar, but Marlene was a great grocery companion. "Hey, do you remember what Cloud said he needed for his bike?"

Marlene pressed an index finger against her chin and raised her head as if in deep thought. "Hmm… I just lost it! I think it was some kind of oil or something."

Tifa nodded. "Yeah, I think that's right. We'll pick it up on our way to the kitchenware section." She stopped the cart and stepped over to the dairy products. The slip of paper in her hand indicated that they needed two dozen eggs and carton of milk.

Meanwhile, Marlene noticed a picture of a large Chocobo plush on a cereal box and scurried over curiously. Limited time offer, it said. She didn't like the ones that made you send in a bunch of stuff to the cereal place. The ones that had free toys inside the box were the best.

"Mommy, isn't there a way to stop it?"

Marlene turned and noticed a small girl, perhaps a year or two younger than herself, clutching the collar of her shirt. "It hurts, mommy," she said, grimacing as the hold on her shirt tightened. The mother was busy picking out seasonings from the shelf, and didn't seem to notice her daughter's trouble.

"Marlene, let's go," Tifa called, waving at her from the cart. Marlene nodded and hurried back to the dairy section.

"What else do we need?" she asked as she absently read the label on the milk carton.

"Hmm… let's see. We need sugar, we got the ketchup. We still need napkins, the spatula, and Cloud's oil." Tifa began to push the cart again, still annoyed at the screeching noise it made as it led her to the right. "You want ice cream or cake, Marlene?"

The girl shook her head. "Denz got sick from the tiramushi we got last time."

Tifa giggled. "Tiramisu?"

"Oh, yeah that!" Marlene said with a wide smile.

She followed Tifa towards the napkins and tissue aisle, but her attention was still directed at the little girl from before. She and her mother were now at the opposite side of the aisle.

"Why won't it stop, mommy?" she continued to cry.

What was wrong with her, Marlene pondered. Maybe she had a lash in her eye, too. "Tifa, that girl keeps telling her mom that something's wrong, but the mom won't listen."

Tifa reached out for one of the napkin packs, her mind calculating prices and total costs. "Huh? What was that, Marlene?"

Marlene turned back towards the girl. Maybe Tifa was too occupied at the moment. This was something she needed to figure out on her own. The girl still had her hand clutched over her collar. Strange, Marlene noted. It couldn't be a lash, then.

"Mommy! It keeps doing that! Why won't it—"

"Honey, I can't help you with that. You just need to wait it out."

"But it hurts!"

Tifa signaled that they were done in this particular aisle, and Marlene followed her out, away from the girl. Their next destination offered shelves stacked with pie crusts, baking powder and sugar. Tifa leaned in towards the large white packs and began to calculate again.

From the back of the aisle, Marlene noticed that the girl was now roaming about by herself. Maybe she could go and just ask what her problem was.

"Hey Marlene, have you ever heard of this brand?" Tifa asked, holding up one of the sugar bags. Marlene studied it briefly and shook her head. "That's fake sugar. Cloud said it's not good for you."

"But it says 'pure sugar' on the bottom."

Marlene shrugged. "That's what Cloud told me."

Tifa sighed, and returned her gaze to the shelf. "It's so cheap, though. Maybe I should call Cloud."

Marlene noticed that the little girl was now in the same aisle, still gripping her shirt. She was making strange gagging noises every now and then, which made Marlene more worried than curious. Maybe she did have a bigger problem than it appeared.

Her shirt didn't seem to have any stains or obscurities that Marlene could identify. Maybe there was something stuck in her throat.

"Hey Cloud?" it was Tifa. She held the phone between her ear and shoulder, and read the labels out loud. "No, but Marlene said that you told her it wasn't real sugar."

The little girl was now walking towards them. Still breathing deeply and hunched forward as if she was exhausted. Maybe she had breathing problems, Marlene noted. There had to be some way to solve this girl's problem. This was just the way Marlene was. She always wanted to fix problems. Whether it was Cloud's bike, or a lash in an eye, or Cloud and Tifa's fights, there was always something to solve.

The girl flinched again, and made a gasping noise. Marlene admitted, it was really strange, the way the girl grimaced every time the whole process repeated itself. "Hey Tifa," she said. "Do you think you could give me a minute?"

Tifa nodded, still busily discussing complicated economics and financial strategies on the phone with Cloud. Marlene took another glance at the girl, and decided it was time to take action. She took a deep breath, and ran full speed to the other side of the aisle—opposite of where the girl was. And then, she disappeared behind the next food shelf.

"Ow!" the girl cried as she flinched again in pain. She released her grip on her shirt collar and let out a deep sigh. Maybe it was time to give up. She'd tried everything but there was no way get rid of the pain.

Is this how it ends, the girl thought to herself, eyes directed inattentively at the pack of flour on the top shelf. Seriously, she wondered if other people struggle with this pain the way she did. Maybe it was something that was just supposed to be. Maybe there really was no way to solve this prob—

"RRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The little girl almost died right then and there. She screamed and almost fell over from the sudden attack from behind. Panting heavily, she jolted around and saw a brown-haired girl grinning at her. "Hey, I'm Marlene," she said.

The girl stepped back, mixed with both confusion and frustration. "Why'd you do that?" she cried, heart still pounding violently.

"I wanted to help solve your problem," Marlene replied. "Hiccups can be annoying, I know."

The girl raised a brow, and paused momentarily. After finally deciding that the painful attacks had indeed ceased, she smiled back at her savior and said, "Thanks."