10 Chapter 10: Droplets

I woke up to the smell of waffles. I saw it along with sausages, a glass of milk and random fruit slices. They were splendidly plated. They were placed on the bed side with a sticky note. It was written nicely. 'I'm downstairs arranging the rations. Eat first. Wash up. Help me downstairs. I hope you like the food.' There was a big smiley face in the note.

I ate the breakfast he prepared and washed up.

I got to the closet to pick out comfy clothes. I fixed the bed and went downstairs with the tray of plates.

The empty boxes were neatly stacked in one side. He was putting flour in a big jar when he saw me. He averted his gaze from me and I saw a feint blush in his cheeks.

"Is there anything wrong?" I questioned him though I know the reason why.

"Ella, I'm just embarrassed."

"Why? Did I do something wrong? Maybe we could work things out?" I was playing with him and I saw a radiant smile.

"No. It's just awkward."

"Come to think of it. Oh. I'm just going to wash the dishes." I was about to ask him where the soap and sponge is when he was already behind me to open the cabinet above the sink to get what I needed. "Here you go." He was reaching towards it so his stomach pressed against my back. It made me uncomfortable.

"Thanks." I silently responded as he slid off to unpack other boxes. "Delf. Can you confirm what happened a while ago."

"What kind of confirmation?"

"Did it actually happened between the two of us?"

"Of course there was. I'm really awkward about it."

"Why?"

"My brain could never forget every detail of it. It feels like it was my first time. I don't know how to describe it."

I tried to remember what happened as I stack the plates, cuttelry and glass in the rack. I looked at him intently as I wiped my hands in the dishrag. He was sitting on the floor with his phone serving as his checklist.

"Hey, Delf. Do you need some help?"

"Yes. Check the contents of this box. I'm just going upstairs to get some storage boxes and trays."

I did as I was told and he swiftly climbed the stairs.

His phone was identical to mine and I ticked the item present.

He got back with stacks of storage boxes. He sat beside me. He got some paper, marker and tape from the room too and started labelling the boxes. Out of nowhere he said, "I miss eating rice."

"We're never getting that commodity until our first salary as a couple. I miss eating rice too." We arranged the items in the boxes and put them into cabinets.

"Thank you for the breakfast a while ago. How did you make good waffles?"

"Oh. We have a waffle machine. There are cookbooks and how to apps in our phones. It was easy. Don't worry about it."

"About the fruits and milk?"

"Oh. That. When you were still sleeping, the Nutrition Services gave us cartons of milk, meat, poultry, fruits and vegetables for the week. They included nuts too. They specifically asked me to give you my ration of cashew nuts because they said you need it."

"You can have your ration. It's okay if you can have it."

"No. Vicerra. They said it's for the sake of the baby you are going to carry. Don't worry about that. I'm really not fond of those kind of nuts."

He called my true name again."Delf, did they tell us to do it again? I mean are we required to do it if we have the chance?"

"No. Of couse not! It would burn all the nutrition in your body. They told me that we will get a message if you ever conceived my baby."

Our phones alarmed. He looked at me and told me. "We're still in the teaching department. Check your phone."

"I'm in the Neo-literature Department and Neo-social Reconstructivist Deparment." I looked into my phone and there was a short list of tasks and schedules.

"I'm in the Neolanguages Department and neosociolinguistics Department. Talk about a new language. We're going to teach in different schools though."

"F... " I can feel Delf's anger.

"No cursing."

"What are we to do?"

"We have no choice but to abide. They've eradicated enough."

"I can't believe this."

"I know."

Silence befell us like a storm. When we both realize that there is no way out of this mess. This twisted eutopia is just to hard to bear.