Matters of the Heart

Hanga loved the smell of oil and burnt metal wafting through the air in the morning. He was humming a strange song about dark matter that somehow remained stuck inside his mind even though he couldn’t remember where he had heard it or what its name was.

Maybe the humming helped him cope with happiness, an unfamiliar feeling for him. He had Maya and some working self-sufficient droids. The guilt of trading Carmen’s scrapes for the formula and that unique metallic alloy dissipated a long time ago, right when he had realized the deal was worth it.

He didn't have to turn around to notice Maya had entered the room. Her scent was a combination of persimmon and Valerian jasmine. The perfume reminded him of the Rala River on a hot summer day. He enjoyed its freshness even though he was not much of an outdoors person.

Maya gave a whiff. His workplace reeked of neglect and oppressive clutter.