Fiona, a second-year university student, woke up in her rented apartment. She sat down and stretched, spreading out her arms like wings. A broad smile appeared on her face upon recalling yesterday’s resolution: I’ll never go to a shopping mall again. To prove the seriousness of her oath, the girl donated a huge part of her belongings to a local charity organization.

Yesterday it took her 3 hours to transport all clothes doomed for donation to her Mercedes. Those neighbours who occasionally peered out of the windows could see a girl in a blue hoodie, black leggings and colorful snickers carrying huge plastic bags – 5 per arm. When Fiona was driving back, she felt as though she obtained wings. It seemed to her that she was not sitting behind the wheel, but rather floating in a cloudless sunny sky. Never again! Never again! a happy thought was buzzing in her head.

Everything in Fiona’s life up to this moment screamed of addiction to shopping. Her poor grades screamed addiction. She was constantly thinking about shopping malls, which screamed addiction. The tumor of emptiness that was growing larger and larger inside her screamed addiction.

This addiction that lasted for two years was finally overcome.

Today while brushing her teeth, Fiona was humming to herself: My grades will skyrocket!

Then she started flying around the kitchen. All her movements were unusually confident and powerful. She was wearing Calvin Klein underwear and a silk gown.  

Firstly, to one shelf to get a pan.

After that to another shelf to grab Quaker oats.

Almost immediately back to the cooker.

When the burner was on, she soared to the kettle and turned it on.

Throughout this activity, there was never a moment when the thought: I’m free! left Fiona’s mind.

Eventually breakfast was set up. The girl landed on the chair in front of her bowl with steaming porridge and a cup of coffee. Fiona switched on her iPhone to check social media. Hmm… an email… Fiona thought and tapped the screen. From Amazon… recent orders… suggestions… Hmm… I’m not interested in this anymore…

The girl put the spoon full of oats into her mouth. Several touches transported Fiona into Instagram.

Wow! So amazing! she gasped when she saw a new photo of her favourite model. The slim young woman was standing in front of an endless sea. She was wearing a light blouse from Nordstrom collection that was flapping in the wind.

Fiona felt a wave of unconditional love. She wanted to become a source of happiness for her magnificent role model. She wished to express gratefulness for daily inspiration. There was not a large choice of options of how to convey the breathtaking feelings. Fiona coloured a heart underneath the photo in red. Then she carried on chewing oats.

While driving to university in her Mercedes, Fiona felt that her wings weakened due to the email from Amazon and the sight of the model. The girl decided not to pay attention. For around a quarter of the first lecture Fiona was focusing on the professor’s speech.

Then flashes of memories started distracting her, like pheromones of a sweet taste distort the trajectory of a fly. The girl was recalling how she would sit at lectures and enjoy online-shopping. The surrounding world would cease to exist. Billions of splendid dresses would diffuse through her skin and substitute her blood cells and neurons. They would be endlessly circulating in her body and constantly firing in her brain. After each session Fiona would wake up to reality with a bitterly blithe smile.

Soon these memories became so lucid, that there was nothing left to do except to bring them to reality with several strikes of keys on her MacBook’s keyboard.

The lecture ended. The graphics of clothes got stuck in Fiona like threads of dreams. They intertwined with a blissful memory of ordering magnificent high-heeled shoes on Amazon. The agitated imagination set her hands to constant shaking. Only touching the smooth fabric of the blouse identical to the one that was on the model from Instagram could stop the trembling.

I shouldn’t fall into temptation, Fiona was still trying to resist.

After the second lecture she got her essay back. D+! That’s inevitable! I’ll never get even C! she wailed in her mind with an inextinguishable sadness. The inner struggle was over. Fiona dropped her MacBook into her backpack, put on her coat and left the classroom. The tread of her high-heeled shoes could be heard all around the university building. It resonated through the walls and caused a magnetic eraser to disconnect from a whiteboard in one of the classrooms and fall. The eraser hit the floor with a hollow and dull sound.

Here I come, Nordstrom! Fiona thought, turning on ignition in her Mercedes. The engine roared and the car moved ahead. Fiona’s hands were tightly squeezing the wheel and shaking uncontrollably. Her palms were sweating, leaving drops of moisture on the leathern surface. Apple watch on her wrist was detecting a pulse as fast as 120 beats per minute.

Then the colossal building appeared. It seemed as though infrastructure respectfully moved aside. The pheromones of sweet dreams and memories were all leading Fiona here. The highway kneeled in front of the department store, and Fiona’s car rushed down. The girl felt the painfully familiar knot of jubilation in her throat. Nordstrom was as majestic for Fiona as a Venus trap for a fly. She rushed into the store with her head freed from thoughts. There she found comfort.

Her fingers were caressing the soft fabric of clothes. She was blissfully burying her face in the soft folds of attires. She was inhaling the head-spinning aroma of luxury. Fiona did not suspect that her movements stimulated the trigger hairs of the Venus trap. The mouth of the carnivorous plant was shutting down above her head.