Orbit (jjk)

1: Present

~

Hozier's voice accompanies me in my room, together with the clinks of the teaspoon and mug, due to the constant stirring of my coffee.

I had been distracted by playing with my beverage that the illustration on my laptop screen had not progressed for the last thirty minutes.

I thought coffee would fuel my mind and make it spill out of creative juices, but it did not do anything other than distract me from my work. I didn't know it would be amusing to watch the dark-colored coffee turn light with milk.

My client has called again for revisions of the poster due next week. Edits for this commission have been going back and forth. Do this. Go back to this. I don't like this. With this amount of demand he's giving me, I sure as hell need additional pay and additional time. He's not my only client.

I haven't had my breakfast, my head is aching from racking it for ideas, and I feel frustrated. I continue to ignore the rumbling of my stomach and stay in my place to force myself to finish this before the sun sets.

I close my eyes and feel the quietness of my apartment. I'm not used to being alone, but experiencing it while working is heavenly. I used to think otherwise, but it's different now.

I feel the sun's heat through my windows on the back of my neck. I feel the cemented floor of my place through my bare feet, and I indulge in Hozier's voice.

'And tell me if somehow some of it remained. How long you would wait for me,' his voice sings.

Then I sigh again, breathing out all the impatience in me.

I was never good at meditating. I was good at distracting myself with tasks. However, those tasks I was used to were what reminded me of the things I was eager to forget.

A knock on my door interrupts my thoughts, and I actually internally thank whoever this is. I'm tired of being frustrated and many other things. I just want to be a robot — completing duties without feeling anything.

"Heather?"

Recognizing the voice, I immediately leave my laptop and scurry my way to the door to open it. It is then that I feel better by stretching out my legs.

It reveals my best friend with a very suspicious smile and look. Very suspicious because he knows my passcode but chooses to knock. But then again, he hasn't been coming in here unadvertised for a long time.

"Yuha, come in."

Yuha immediately steps inside and follows me to my dining table, where I am working. I recall the date today — June 15. My rent is not yet due today, and I wonder what this person, also my landlord, needs from me. He sits in front of me, still wearing the look he had when I opened the door and stayed quiet.

"You realize that I know you well to know that you have something to say to me, but wouldn't because you're scared?" I say, putting my glasses on the top of my head to give him a look.