The now dead mall once known as The Royal Galleria occupies the whole of Blair Van Auken’s memory. He strives through the fog of years to recall the start of that November day when he and his best friend, Conrad Cliff, came down from the K-Mart on the long escalator toward the carousel. Signs of Conrad’s deteriorating  mental state were evident from the beginning, but Blair ignored these warnings and turned his focus on a girl who smiled at them. Conrad and Blair’s mutual melancholic exercise carried them through the mock Medieval mall, down the North Hallway, toward fate.