That day was a special day for Marie: it was her birthday. She was celebrating her eighteenth birthday on May 13th.
With everything that had happened in the span of twenty days, Stéphanie would have completely forgotten about this little event without Mathieu's help. Indeed, every morning he took care to cross out the days that had passed so that everyone would know the date.
According to him, the invention of the calendar was one of humanity's greatest inventions. Thanks to it, it was possible to position oneself in time and anticipate.
He had thus noted on a paper, prominently displayed so it would never be forgotten, all the leap years to come so as not to forget to add an extra day in February when necessary on future calendars.
Stéphanie had spoken privately with Mathieu and asked for his help in preparing something for this occasion. She would have liked to make a cake, but everything was missing. They had no eggs, no milk, no more flour or sugar. They only had what they could possibly find in the neighboring buildings, located on the other side of the highway.
While Mathieu was very happy to be able to help the young girl who had been helping him in the fields for now over two weeks, he did not want to let her go on an adventure in the surroundings to search for a gift for her sister. In any case, he didn't want her to go alone.
Fortunately, they were no longer just three to take care of the fields. Two entire families, nine people in total, had decided to leave their housing in Aulnay-sous-Bois for several reasons and had agreed to work on Mathieu's land. They were cramped in his house, especially since there were now two dogs. Yet, no one complained. They were much quieter there than in their old accommodations.
They had preferred to leave rather than endure the increasing pressure from their increasingly aggressive neighbors.
Stéphanie left with Olivier, one of the newcomers, as well as Leto, his dog to dissuade potential looters from attacking them. It was a big white Swiss shepherd with beautiful brown eyes. He was very playful and loved to be scratched behind the ears. As for his owner, he used to work at Ikea, in the industrial zone right next to Mathieu's fields.
The man was thirty-six years old, of average height and build. He had very red hair except for his temples, which had turned white. Since he had arrived at the farm, he had stopped shaving, so he had a rather bushy red beard interspersed with silver hairs.
He was Emma's partner, a very sweet and smiling woman, and the father of a charming little girl named Zoé. Like her father, she had red hair, but a little lighter.
Olivier was much more effective than Stéphanie in the fields although both were equally experienced in this extremely physical job. When she saw him working, she inevitably thought of her old opinions. She felt stupid for having thought that men and women were identical and possessed the same strengths.
Stéphanie tired more quickly than him in the fields and simply couldn't do certain tasks. Yet, Olivier was not an above-average man. On the contrary, he was the stereotype of the average man: a little overweight, average height, and not practicing any sport in his free time. As he jokingly said one day, what he did at work was enough to stay in shape. After work, which mainly consisted of ensuring that the shelves remained well organized and stocked, all he was interested in was being able to rest, read a thick novel, and listen to music. The most physical thing he had done in his life before the blackout had been to move furniture when they moved four years earlier into their old house.
Although he didn't show it, the transition had been tough for him too.
"And so, what do you want to give your sister?" Olivier asked as they walked.
"I'm not sure," Stéphanie replied at his side. "Maybe some nice clothing?"
"Clothing? Like, a coat or shoes?"
"Probably a coat, I think, since we're in the fields all day. Not really the place to wear heels."
"Is your sister the type to wear heels? I wouldn't have guessed."
"No, it's an expression. She doesn't really like heels, especially not anything too flashy."
"What did she used to wear then?"
"Um, mostly neutral shoes, ankle boots or sneakers."
"Ah, okay."
The man and the young girl crossed the highway, which hadn't changed at all since the blackout, and arrived in the industrial zone. Because the power outage had occurred in broad daylight and at rush hour, there were many cars, vans, and a few trucks there. She didn't know what had become of all these people, but they had all been forced to break a window or two to get out.
They ignored the vehicles and climbed over the safety barrier. On this side, there were lots of shrubs, tall grass, and young trees growing peacefully. They crossed this space with some indifference and arrived in front of the huge buildings of the Ikea group. There was everything needed to furnish one's home: sofas, lighting fixtures, tables, chairs, beds. This was where they had come to equip themselves to accommodate the Roussel and Duval families in good conditions.
But that wasn't what they had come for today. On the left was the immense building occupied by the Castorama group, and even further left was Usines Center. The place lived up to its name, as the facade was not very welcoming. But according to Olivier, there was a good chance she would find what she was looking for here. It was a shopping center where one could find shops belonging to major brands from around the world (mostly American, French, Italian, and German).
She immediately found the style to her liking. The interior was very modern and very sober with an overwhelming dominance of the color black. The walls and ceiling were of this color while the floor was gray. The facades of the shops added a little color, but in the absence of lighting, the place seemed mostly cold and hostile like a prison. Fortunately, there were large skylights that let in daylight.
"Well, looks like we're not the first ones to come through here."
Indeed, in most of the shops, there were abandoned goods on the floor. If there was food, and there was because inside there was a restaurant and a Leonidas shop known for the quality of its chocolates, animals had also come to help themselves. The doors had indeed remained open for twenty days, allowing birds, insects, pets, and rodents to enter and enjoy. A cat was just feeding her kittens in a double bed placed in a small shop called Sous-signé.
"A hat shop?"
"Wanna take a look?"
"Why not? She might be happy to have a hat for this winter."
There were all styles at Insolence, but mostly caps since it was spring and summer was fast approaching. Merchants had had time to change their products before the blackout. Fortunately, there were still a few hats that Stéphanie found very cute.
"Olivier? Can you help me get this one? It's too high for me."
"The one with the pompom? No problem."
He only had to reach out to grab the hat and gave it to the young girl with faded blue hair.
"So? Does it suit you?"
"It's so soft! She'll definitely like it! I'll get one too, but not the same!"
"Um, I'll do the same. Better to help ourselves now than to come back later and find there's nothing left. Shall we continue?"
"Yes!" Stéphanie replied enthusiastically.
It had been a long time since Stéphanie had gone shopping like this and it was more enjoyable than she remembered because she didn't have to pay for anything! Unfortunately, the Leonidas shop had been ransacked so thoroughly that there was nothing left, not even chocolate crumbs. The animals that had passed through had left nothing behind and had gone to great lengths to destroy the plastic packaging.
"Maybe there's something left in the back room?"
Olivier simply nodded and followed the determined young girl to find a chocolate treat for her sister. She burst with joy when she saw that the stockroom had not been touched by the feathered and furry visitors. There were chocolate rocks, truffles, meringues, macarons, and much more! There was enough to indulge for weeks!
"I'm so glad I came here! Thank you, Olivier!"
"You're welcome, Stéphanie."
Olivier didn't expect such a discovery either. After all this time, he didn't expect there to be so much left to steal. He supposed it was because they were on the edge of Paris and in a very extensive industrial zone. The nearest residents were two kilometers away! Between the two, there were only shops, offices, and the exhibition center. If the looters systematically targeted each building, then they would certainly not be finished until the end of summer!
They continued their shopping, a huge smile on their faces, visiting the abandonned stores like Style'C, Quiksilver, Jennyfer, United Colors of Benetton, Orchestra stock, and of course Haribo!