I. Roses

"It's pretty windy today…" He admired the sunset. It illuminated the surface of the sea and painted the sky with shades of orange. It was the most beautiful sunset he has ever seen. "Ironic… If it all could be like this…" His throat tightened as he gazed upon the water below. Scared from the height, he climbed the railing, balancing against the wind. Did I turn off the stove? He wondered as the wind took his body and slightly shifted its weight, the gravity did the rest. Airborne, he took a last look at the beautiful panorama of the coastal city. Water broke apart as if it was trying to evade his body. There was no pain, the surrounding water just slowly filled with scarlet blood swirling and flowing, creating rose like patterns. His mind was already slowly slipping away when he saw her. Her hair flew in the water as rigorously as the waves broke upon the shore. The sun rays shot through the water and broke apart his scarlet roses.

The clock loudly clacked as both hands reached the number 12. Silence settled, but not for long. It was pierced by a firm voice. "Felix mate! Is your report ready to hand in?" The cubicle suddenly felt small, with the invading presence.

"No, I don't think it is, sir…"

He worked up the courage and looked up, locking eyes with the invader. A man in his late thirties was menacingly looming over his shoulder. His soul felt pierced by the cold blue eyes that judged his every movement. The pressure finally broke him, and his eyes quickly darted onto the messy table in front of him. There was a pile of documents waiting to be digitized into spreadsheets and presentations.

"Well, I do hope you can get it moving, or I will have to put you on a bench."

"I do understand, sir."

Without another word the invader turned around and crawled into another cubicle. Felix quickly looked over his shoulder to see his boss invading someone else's personal space. With a stretch and long sigh, he returned to his work.

As the time passed, the sky turned black and hundreds of white lights started shining. The computer screen illuminated Felix, as he sat in a completely dark office, alone. His bloodshot eyes were tracing the numbers on screen, trying to make sure he entered them correctly. Ready to go home, his hand prepared to press the save button.

The room went black.

He finally shredded his last document. The CTRL-S keys on his keyboard completely destroyed from the constant saving. With a gentle kick into the table, he rolled out of his cubicle. The dark sky faded away and was replaced by the light blue color of early morning. Exhausted, he tilted his head backwards and completely submerged himself into the small office chair.

"Were you here the whole night again?"

Surprised by the sudden voice, he twitched aggressively and turned around, just to be hit with a finger. In front of him stood a young boy, their faces bearing the same features.

"Wake up, old man. Go home if you are tired!"

"What- is this supposed to mean?"

"What don't you understand? I told you to go home. You are behaving like a slave. Don't you understand that they will keep using you like this? Learn some self-respect already."

"What do you know about my-"

"Everything."

"What?" He cautiously asked the boy.

"I never left you." Feeling the tear flowing down his cheek he opened his eyes and wiped it off to find the boy gone.

"I miss you…"

"Three hundred and fifty eors." A clearly artificial voice came from the machine. He inserted a few crumpled papers with portraits of people long gone.

"Thank you for your patronage. Do come again!"

Felix paid no attention to the machine, he hastily picked up his groceries and rushed out of the store. His shirt was visibly sweated through, as the air was humid and hot today. The sun had yet to break it's rays through the sky-high buildings. He mounted his bike and strolled through the heavy traffic jamming the city. Slowly leaving the commercially littered center, the scenery shifted. Apartment building and complexes mixed with local stores replaced the skyscrapers and billboards. The traffic also lightened and the screams of seagulls resonated in his ears. The screeching sound of the bike coming to halt interrupted a pair of pigeons courting on a nearby power line. Felix looked upon the vast sea as he dismounted his bike. It was calm, slowly rising, and falling, making the shore sand wet.

He kicked the door closed and went straight inside. The room was small and nearly empty, the only furniture filling the empty space was a simple knee-high table and few pillows scattered around him, it was all illuminated by light coming through the big windows. Avoiding the scattered pillows, Felix tried to make his way to the kitchen. The bamboo flooring flexed beneath him as he heard water flowing. He stopped in his path and looked to the left, seeing his shower running wild.

"Come on."

After hastily repairing his shower with duct tape and changing from the suit into something more comfortable, a smile finally found its way onto his face. He picked up the bundle of tomatoes he bought and held them high. Admiring their perfectly smooth surface, he washed one and took a big bite. Instinctively he started to pick out the spices that would play nicely with the slightly bitter taste. Dancing around the kitchen, he prepared a pot and turned on the stove. The flame engulfed the bottom completely, making the water boil quickly. A sprinkle of salt and herbs and a pack of freshly made noodles fell into the pot all at once.

The chives stood no chance against the freshly sharpened knife. They were followed by garlic and onion. The tomatoes earned his excited look once more before he turned them into a herb flavored sauce. With his chopsticks he mixed the cooked noodles into the sauce and topped it with the defeated vegetable.

Happily humming, he ate his food. The sauce danced around his tastes buds, meanwhile the noodles satisfied his craving for chewy texture. The smile faded and turned back into the tired expression as his food vanished.

"It finally tastes like her food…"

A tear fell into the red stained bowl. Then another.