"I'll be back in a half hour with the milk for your cereal. For now though, why don't you find something to do?."

That was the last thing his dad said to him before all hell broke loose. It had been a beautiful morning weekend; the sun was shining, birds were chirping, kids could even be seen playing outside in their gardens; a rarity in the usually cold England.

Sam had just gotten up from bed, down the staircase, and into the kitchen. He poured some cereal into his bowl, and reached to grab the milk, but instead of finding it in its usual place, his fingertips brushed upon empty air. He checked the fridge one more time, finding nothing.

"Daad!" The 9-year-old wailed. "There's no milk at all! I want milk so I can eat breakfast!". He was on the edge of tears from his hunger and then his dad, hastily putting on his spectacles, stumbled into the kitchen once he heard his son's tantrum and, knowing that he wouldn't stop till he got what he wanted, he sighed and put on some sweatpants and a shirt, before heading out the door. And that, was the last Sam had seen of his dad in many years.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

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Reid parked his car and exited. It was a chilly November day, and as such, the parking lot was mostly empty. Unimpeded, he made his way towards the supermarket. As he entered, he looked around; this is the first time he'd come to this specific store. Directly in front of him, he could see the cashiers scanning items, and a little to the left of that, was the self checkout lines. He made note of them, then moved on. As he began to walk, he noticed that some Christmas music was being played. Already? It's only the 16th of November for God's sake. He put the thought out of his mind.

The first couple aisles were the baking aisle, the canned goods aisle, and finally, the dairy aisle. Once he reached the cold fridges, he pulled his overcoat tighter around him to ward off the cold. He looked around him, seeing some yoghurt nearby, some cheese, but no milk. This was going to be a chore and a half it seemed.

"Excuse me." I called to a nearby worker. "I can't find the milk, have you got any idea where it might be?"