1 Coffee Cups & Floating Islands

"Amera! Carry this to office #3, would ya?"

Amera turned around. Her pink hair swept in the air in an arch before gently falling down to the sides of her face. Brown eyes reflected the light resembling orbs of amber frozen in time. "Okay!"

Amera walked back and picked up the box filled with copy paper refills. "That office runs out of paper quickly."

Her coworker snorted. She typed something quickly on her computer before looking at Amera again. "That's because Gary over there keeps printing out entire documents each time he makes the tiniest mistake."

Her typing got faster the more she talked. "If he made a mistake on page 5, he'd print out the entire document after fixing it. And then he'll find something on page 20, fix it, and print again. And then he'd-"

"Okay! I'll bring the paper to office #3. Bye!" Amera interrupted. She quickly picked up the box and fled away.

The coworker looked a little baffled before returning to her work again. Visibly pouting, she murmured, "And then he'd print out the document again."

'That was close! I almost got stuck in one of her long rants.' Mischievously, she stuck out her tongue and giggled. 'But I escaped.'

As she went into the hallway, she couldn't help but stop and look outside. A wide, clear sky where the blue seemed to never end. Wisps of clouds climbed the altitude until it meshed into the blue. The end was so inevitable, but for a moment, she wanted to believe there was no such thing.

Scattered through the sky were rocky platforms. From these floating pieces of land, water would run down the edge until they thinned out into strands of smoke and disappeared. Along with these smaller rocks, there were larger pieces of land floating around. And on these larger islands contained buildings made of glass, reflecting the light at every turn.

This was the space wedged in time. It had no sense of time nor reality, appearing mystical and unbelievable. When she first arrived here, the shock was nothing short of life-threatening. But what could threaten her life if she could no longer die?

Amera had already bid goodbye to life when she was murdered. She had accepted that life was life and life always ended unexpectedly but deep in her heart, she did feel bitter. She felt rightfully wronged of having her life taken by force, but regret was always fleeting. She learned to accept the reality set before her.

When she arrived here, the first thing she thought was that she was in Heaven. A white robe wrapped her body comfortingly while she stood on white clouds. In front of her was a golden gate and behind those gates were floating islands. People would walk on air reaching these places - laughing, smiling, appearing so happy and content with their lives.

But quickly, she learned this wasn't Heaven nor was it Hell. Instead, it was a separate world called, simply, the Split. Time did not flow here nor could life flourish. Only the dead were welcomed here, but even then, it was based on luck if you happened to land here.

The Split had its own rules and meaning to exist. It was like the subordinate of God, doing His bidding without question or retaliation. In short, the Split governed the operation of worlds.

There were 3 departments within the Split: the Department of Relations, the Department of Management, and the Department of Operations. They operated as separate powers but together, they managed the many worlds under their control. There was no one above them except for God.

In principle, the Department of Relations conveyed any necessary information or concerns regarding the worlds. Management was tasked with keeping track of available workers and assigning them. They also made sure minor scruffles in the Split were taken care of. Finally, Operations would send these fixers to the world, make sure they were able to complete the task, and bring them back safely.

Amera was separated into the Department of Relations. For the past year, she was a proud Relations member, though just someone who helped out with the odd jobs. She had forgotten about her world before, focusing on her newly given life.

"What are you doing, Amera?" a voice called out.

Amera snapped out of her daze. She turned her head and smiled. "Hello, Team Leader!"

Quince, the team leader, sipped his coffee. He waved at her before looking out the window. Across from them was the Department of Management.

"Staring at our rivals?"

Amera shook her head. "Thinking of when I arrived here."

Quince smiled lightly remembering that day too. "You looked so confused and clueless."

"Who wouldn't?" Amera laughed. It took her 3 full days to comprehend that she was dead but at the same time, not. At the time, she even thought she was hallucinating and this was all a fever dream.

"Do you have something you're doing right now?" Quince switched the topic and asked. He glanced at his watch before returning his gaze.

Amera pointed to the box in her hand. "I have to bring this to Office #3."

Quince hummed before shaking the coffee cup in his hand. In an awkward but requesting tone, he asked, "Then, do you mind being our coffee handler today? Just plain hot coffee for Offices 1-3. 4-6 already got their share."

Amera smiled and saluted him. Acting like a soldier, she shouted, "Yessir, Team Leader sir!"

Like the wind, Amera ran off with the box. Her lithe figure disappeared into the hall until only Quince was left.

"Thank you!" Quince shouted and let his voice echoed through the halls. He didn't know whether she heard it or not, but he was thankful regardless.

Quince shook his head and chuckled. He downed the last sip of coffee before throwing the empty cup into the trash can. He stared at the building across from their island. Before his thoughts could finalize, his phone started ringing.

"Hello? Amera? What do you need her for?"

Quince wrinkled his brows as the caller explained. He glanced at the hallway Amera ran through. "She just went to grab some coffee right now. I'll tell her when she's back."

Quince ended the call and looked back out the window. He muttered, "Guess the feud's over."

----

Amera carefully balanced the coffee holders in her hands. It was stacked in 3 layers and wobbled with every step she took. As it leaned towards the left, Amera carefully moved her hand to the left as well. Her attention was solely focused on the caffeine-cupped balancing act.

She walked slowly, internally cursing in her mind why she didn't bring over the cart. Amidst her mindless murmuring, she bumped into someone. Like a scene played in slo-mo, one of the cups tipped over and splashed onto the floor.

Amera's eyes widened and she quickly pushed her head above the coffee cups. "Sorry! Did you get some on you?"

The guy she bumped into frowned. He stepped back from the spill and shook his head. "Luckily, no."

"I'm so sorry. Do you need me to repay you with anything? Like a cup of coffee? You can grab one from the top."

The man shook his head again. "No, I'm fine. Please be careful."

Amera was still flustered from her accident. She refused to leave without doing anything. "I'm serious. If you need anything at all, tell me. Anything at all-"

"It's fine," the man said. "I have somewhere to go."

He looked down at his watch and walked away. Amera stood there staring at his back before looking at her coffee. Her brows furrowed but a mop pushed against her shoes. When she realized a cleaner was there to mop the spill, she apologized before moving away.

As she walked, her cheeks blushed. Her hands were occupied so she couldn't even cover her cheeks, but the warmth radiating could only make her imagine how red she looked like. 'God, I can't believe you're so clumsy.'

When Amera returned, she handed the coffee to everyone in the office. The one coffee she dropped was hers, but she didn't care. She could last without any anyway.

Then, someone tapped on her shoulder. Amera turned around and looked questioningly.

"Team Leader is looking for you in his office," they said. She lifted her coffee and added, "Thank you for the coffee."

Amera smiled while wondering in her mind what the Team Leader needed her for.