mall deer

I was on a road trip and really had to use the bathroom. I pulled off at this big, dark mall that was about to close for the night. There was a huge former food court near the entrance that had been emptied out of all furniture and had a big line for bathrooms snaking through it. I notice that I'm the only non-black person in the area.

While waiting on line I noticed blood all over the floor. Someone had dragged a dead deer in from outside and had started butchering it outside the bathroom but evidently left it to do something else. It wasn't clear if the butcher was returning and there were deer body parts strewn over a wide radius. People shuffled past the parts, kicking the bloody limbs out of their way.

I finally get into the bathroom. It's a series of 6 stalls in the center of the room ringed by urinals. I need a stall but they're all occupied. When one does open, a teenage girl carrying a load of boxes comes in staring at everyone. Everyone backs down and lets her pass. She puts her boxes down on the floor and goes into the empty stall.

My last memory is staring down at her boxes and hating myself for not helping her shoulder the load. Letting her cut the line wasn't good enough.