The ZANABIA Mall
If malls elsewhere are about shopping, the ZANABIA Mall is about loitering with purpose.
Nobody really remembers when it opened. Some say it grew naturally, like a polite fungus, after Zanabians kept meeting “just for coffee” and accidentally built an economy around it. What everyone agrees on is this: you never enter the ZANABIA Mall to buy one thing. You enter to experience everything else first.
The shops are arranged not by category but by mood.
Feeling optimistic? That’s Corridor Seven—sunlit stores selling socks that always match, notebooks that forgive spelling mistakes, and jackets that somehow know the weather before you do. Feeling dramatic? Head downstairs where the lighting is moody and the mirrors flatter everyone equally.
Cafés are everywhere. Some are stationary, others politely roll past you on silent wheels. One café only serves drinks that sound better than they taste. Another serves exactly the opposite. The most popular one sells “Just One More Cup,” which is never your last.
The escalators are friendly. They slow down if you’re tired, speed up if you’re late, and occasionally reverse direction just to remind you that control is an illusion. Travelators whisper motivational quotes under your feet. Buggies are available for anyone who looks like they’ve been browsing too long without snacks.
Indoor sports areas pop up where you least expect them. You might be comparing hats when suddenly—bam—there’s an ice rink. Or a chess arena with live commentary that takes the game far too seriously. Zanabians pause, play a round, clap politely, and continue shopping as if this is perfectly normal. Because here, it is.
Event podiums rise from the floor at random intervals. Sometimes there’s a poetry reading. Sometimes a wool fashion show. Sometimes someone is just announcing they finally found parking. Applause is mandatory, enthusiasm optional.
And yet, despite the chaos, the ZANABIA Mall works. No one rushes. No one pushes. Everyone eventually finds what they didn’t know they were looking for.
In ZANABIA, the mall isn’t a place you visit.
It’s a place that gently absorbs you—and sends you back happier, slightly confused, and definitely carrying snacks.
