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"I just need some pens and we can go," said Emily as she pranced into the pastel pink store.
Her posse of angels followed her into a store filled with everything kawaii, surrounded by cute faces and light colors. Everything that anyone could ever want, all with a cute branded face. Stationery, backpacks, plushies, toys, clothing... Even those who filled the store seemed to keep with the aesthetic. A mix of cutely dressed adults and children in bright colors.
Then again, most winners were in pastels, so they were probably going to fit anyway.
Abel tilted his head. "From the Sanrio store, Emily?"
"They make really good quality pens," explained Emily.
Peter's attention, though, was quickly lost towards the plushies of a little white dog with blue eyes. He dragged his boyfriend over to that aisle, while Emily invited her sister to the stationery.
As much as Emily loved her plushies, she was here for practical reasons. She was really quite organized in her pursuits of joy, a trait she carried from her sister. Though her organization was in unconventional methods, she had a system that worked.
Sera's eyes darted from shelf to shelf. She preferred traditional organization, and with everything so distinctly color-coded, she could see where people had misplaced pens into the wrong jars. There was a teal inside the yellows and it bothered her endlessly.
She plucked the teal pen from the yellows and placed it into the proper jar. Then, she fished a pink from the greens and a purple from the whites. A cat eraser inside a collection of frogs and-
Wait.
Some child had misplaced a plushie.
Tucked between clear buckets of pens, discarded nowhere near where this thing should have been, was a potential purchase clearly left behind by a child whose mother said no.
A little yellow creature with a droopy face, laying atop a white platform with its rear out.
Sera gasped. "Emily? What is this little...creature?"
Emily glanced over to identify it. "Oh, that's Gudetama. The lazy egg."
"Excuse me?"
"It has a whole thing of shorts on YouTube. I can show you, if-"
Before Emily knew it, the egg had disappeared. She turned to her sister, watching as Sera cradled it like a newborn puppy in her hands. Gentle, tender, careful as to not disturb it.
"Hello, my child..." She whispered to it. "Why do you look so sleepy?"
It must have taken too much effort to keep those little eyes open, because its mouth remained just slightly open. Like the egg didn't have the energy to keep its face in check.
Poor little thing. Sera knew that feeling well, but a being so small and innocent didn't deserve to be exposed to it. It was so overwhelming for Sera, but for this thing...?
"I understand. I get tired, too. You can take a nap, it's okay."
She sighed. There was so much trust in its vulnerable, droopy eyes that Sera couldn't take it. She felt as though she had been chosen, but not for something grand, like when she had been bestowed the title of High Seraphim.
Though, the feeling was very similar. It was as holy as the Speaker's presence, though much more gentle in its' tides than the crashing waves of cosmic responsibility. No, Gudetama just wanted Sera to take care of it, and that was so much more touching than anything that the elders could ever offer her.
Peter and Abel, having already made their purchase, wandered back around to meet the friends they came in with. At seeing them, Emily waved and extended her hand to alert Sera.
She reached out to her sister's shoulder before she noticed the very distinct shiny quality under Sera's eyes in a very obvious streak.
"What is happening?" Peter whispered, moving behind his boyfriend's shoulders.
"Is she crying?" Abel asked as he looked back at his boyfriend for confirmation that this was really happening.
Sera's bottom lip pursed to keep from quivering. She dragged a finger along Gudetama's round face, gentle to keep it from popping. As though it was a real egg yolk creature.
"Look at your little cheeks..." She murmured.
It looked like it was ready to pass out at any second. A creature overcome by fatigue in its already small figure. No wonder it was so tired. Its body had such little stamina, it couldn't handle too much effort. How much activity would tire a little creature like this?
"You're so small." Her voice broke. "So tiny."
She wept quietly to herself, overcome by pure cuteness. A feeling both good and bad in nature, all brought on by something so mundane. It was actually quite startling to the other patrons of the Sanrio store.
"Sera, do you want me to buy it for you?" Emily offered.
Sera looked up. "It's an it?"
Emily shook her head. "No gender. It's unfertilized."
Sera bowed her head before Gudetama, touching their foreheads together ever so lightly. White curls obscured her face, leaving Emily deeply concerned as to the mystery behind her sister's stance.
Until Sera produced the louded sniffle Emily had ever heard, and Emily knew immediately what was happening.
"Is that true, little one? You're unfertilized?"
She brought the egg to her chest, as if the power of her love alone would solve all its problems. As if her affection would protect it from all inconvenience in the world.
It wasn't even particularly pathetic. Gudetama was still very much alive and happy, but some part of it felt sad. It was something that Sera needed to protect it from. Poor thing. Did it ever feel insecure about being unfertilized? Did it get bullied at school by the other eggs? Sera felt the need to step in, even though she had completely fabricated this scenario for a character she didn't know. It hurt her feelings all the same to imagine. Gudetama was perfect just the way it was.
Was Gudetama alive? Maybe it hadn't even gotten the chance to truly be alive. Gudetama would never grow from this point. It had stagnated, and Sera was deeply concerned with making sure it knew how perfect it was as one of God's creations. Everything was perfect under the Lord's guidance, especially Gudetama.
Poor Gudetama. Sera couldn't just leave it be, and that thought hurt her even more. A vision haunted her of herself leaving the store without Gudetama, with Gudetama having been so close to freedom, to having a home. Gudetama crying on the shelf, reaching out for Sera as the other cruel eggs laughed at it for daring to dream that it would be loved. After all, it had already been discarded by the time Sera found it.
What a cruel Seraphim she would be to do that to Gudetama! A horrible, strangled whimper left her lips at the thought.
"Poor thing. I can't just leave it here, Emily. All alone..."
Emily nodded sympathetically. She took Sera's wing, carefully guiding it to sit atop the egg's head. "Gudetama could probably use a mom."
A mom. A mother, to take care of it and guide it. Oh, Sera's aching heart swelled at the thought. Of course. She could just take Gudetama back home with her, to be pampered under Seraphim standards. Yes! It would have to do!
She nodded, following Emily to the counter.
But then, her eye caught another tired-looking Gudetama on the shelves, and she gasped. The same vision she had seen with her Gudetama plagued her again.
"There's another one."
"Oh," Emily paused. "Yeah?"
"I can't just separate them. It looks so sad. I can't leave it behind, too! Then it'll feel abandoned."
"You can't just buy every Gudetama in the store, Sera," Peter piped in.
"But they'll be lonely." Sera protested. A few of her more-hidden eyes revealed themselves, a testament to her goodwill towards Gudetama as a citizen of Heaven.
"It's okay. They'll go home to other people. They'll be picked up, I promise!" Emily reassured her.
"Ah. You're right..." Sera sighed, a smile coming to her lips. "Just the one, then."
After all, she would hate to take a Gudetama away from the possibility of going to another owner. She knew she didn't have the emotional strength to give all of them the love that they deserved, and that would only lead to more sadness than if she left them on their shelves.
The Seraphim glided together across pink tile and to the counter, where Sera pushed the little egg to the cashier with a gentle smile.
"Do you want to add a Gudetama pen for a dollar?" The cashier asked.
"Yes."
It was just a dollar, and she needed a new pen as well.
Emily bought her plethora of pens, ending their visit to the Sanrio store. Peter and Abel couldn't get out fast enough, while Sera exited in a much more relaxed pace. She nuzzled Gudetama against her cheek, a proud and loving mother to her strange egg baby.
"Thank you, Emily, for talking me into this purchase," she said.
"Of course," replied her sister. "I'm glad you're happy!"
"This is my baby now. I will cherish it."
"Guys, we're just gonna go to the bathroom," said Abel, as if they didn't all know that it meant he and Peter planned to make out in one of the stalls.
They weren't harming anyone, though, so the Seraphim let them go. The two of them found their way to a nearby bench, taking a water break while they could. They had a long day of shopping ahead of them, after all, and they had just been through such an emotional ordeal.
"You said there were shorts on YouTube?" Sera asked.
Emily nodded, going into her purse to find her phone. Sera and Gudetama watched as the latter appeared on-screen, sitting atop a hefty plate of fettuccine.
Tears rolled down Sera's regal cheeks as she processed Gudetama's voice.
Too tired to even sneeze.
What a helpless creature.
"It's so silly..." She whispered, a tear trickling down her cheek.