Renuka General Stores

Being right at 344 on Loni Cross Road means we see everyone passing through Loni. The store is just a simple building with a corrugated metal roof that makes a lot of noise when it rains. We stock the basic things like cigarettes, matches, bread, and those little packets of shampoo. The floor is concrete and has a few cracks near the entrance where the heavy delivery crates get dropped. In the mornings, the sun hits the front window and makes it hard to see the labels on the bottles. We usually have a radio playing in the corner, mostly just the news or some old songs. People stop their trucks right outside and jump out to grab a cold drink or some snacks for the road. It gets dusty because of the cross road traffic, so we spend a lot of time wiping down the glass counters. My brother helps out on the weekends when it gets busy with the village crowd coming in for their weekly supplies. We have a big blue barrel for water in the back for ourselves. It isn't a place with any special decorations or anything like that. It’s just about keeping the shelves full and making sure we don’t run out of the essentials that people expect to find here. Most days are the same, just opening up, waiting for customers, and closing when the street lights come on.