Elias looked at his shivering toe, then at the rain. He didn't want just a barrier against the floor; he wanted a ritual.
"Enough," he muttered. He pulled out his phone and typed the four words that felt like a lifeline: where can i buy slippers
He grabbed his coat and an umbrella. He passed the glowing windows of the big-box stores and the generic aisles of the pharmacy. He walked until he reached the small shop with the wooden sign. When he stepped inside, the air smelled of cedar and lanolin. Elias looked at his shivering toe, then at the rain