Seven days of love (ENG)

Valentine's Day (AC1677 / Normal Cell)

She was waiting for that red blood cell with her eyes fixed on the road, as she did every day. She was on one of her breaks from the boring and repetitive work she did: the process of mitosis wasn't the easiest, however, it had to be carried out scrupulously.
«One mistake can be fatal» the mother cell that had created her had told her. «But you're good, you're one of the best cells I've ever known... because you were born from me, humbly speaking!»
Although she had a different nature from that mother cell and was very humble, she was happy to have inherited from her the great ability to divide without making too many mistakes. She was happy to do her work alone, in the silence of her room: it was enough for her to do the work she loved to be happy, knowing that in her own small way she was making a great contribution to the organism of which she was a small part.
But since she had met that erythrocyte, her life had changed. The first time that cell had knocked on her door, she had immediately realised that he wasn't like his other colleagues, who were always silent: he had introduced himself with a beaming smile and asked if he could stay with her for a few minutes.
Although she hesitated at first because she had to finish her work, she finally decided to welcome him into her home, and although she had warned him of her work commitments, he didn't change his mind. On the contrary, he sat down in the living room and, while he waited, began to talk about himself, his friends, his hard work, but also about that hope that he carried in his heart and that, despite everything, he never wanted to extinguish completely.
Since that day, that erythrocyte had become a constant presence in her life, behaving kindly towards her, even going so far as to volunteer to help her with her work - even though his help would have been useless given his inexperience with her work. It all seemed strange to her: he seemed to be voluntarily skipping work shifts... for her, just for her.
But no one had complained about what could have been a problem, either to him or directly to her. And in the end, she had gotten used to that pleasant presence, to sharing the breaks between work shifts with him and, through his words, to gradually getting to know the world around her that she wasn't used to seeing, trapped within the four walls of her home to repeat the same process.
That day, too, she stood on the balcony, waiting for the erythrocyte that would soon arrive. This time, however, it was carrying a small white box: although the simple blue "O2" indicated the presence of oxygen, its size alone made it seem unlike the usual box used to carry red blood cells from the lungs to the rest of the body.
It seemed far too light to be carried by one hand, from him.
«Come on, don't tease me» she said with an amused smile. She welcomed him into the house and sat down at the small kitchen table with him. «You expect me to believe that you've become stronger with a smaller... and I assume empty box? I bet there's no oxygen tank in there.»
The red blood cell placed the box on the table. «You're right: indeed, no oxygen for today!»
«I could almost be offended, you know?»
«Trust me: this is a thousand times better!»
«It won't be caffeine, will it? You know I can't take that.»
«That crap? Yuck, I don't even want to hear its name!» To emphasise how much he disliked that drink that many considered a miracle, he wrinkled his nose and arched his eyebrows, a reaction that made her stifle a laugh.
«So what is it?» she asked, leaning towards him. «Or do you prefer to keep that aura of mystery until the end?»
The red blood cell smiled at her. He opened the box and gently handed her what was inside it: a box of chocolates on a small golden tray. Where did he get them? she wondered, also wondering how they were made, as she had always heard about them but had never had the chance to taste them.
«Well, here's the thing» the red blood cell tried to explain as he scratched the back of his head. «This morning I had a delivery in the brain area, and our superiors were talking about something called "Valentine's Day" that would have consequences throughout the body. In fact, I noticed that everyone from the stomach to the lungs was very excited today: the neurons were super concentrated at their workstations, the blood vessels were super busy, and in the other organs the various cells were very nervous! When I got a headache from all this, I took the opportunity to come to you: I always thought that the tips of my fingers and toes were ideal for taking a break...»
«... as always» she added with a hint of amusement and the thought that this wasn't the first time the erythrocyte had missed a few shifts.
«Exactly: as always. Aaaah, how peaceful it's here: I'm already regaining a lot of energy!»
Then the erythrocyte moved towards her and took her hands, which were on the table. «Today you need me more than any other cell in the world. If there is one thing I have realised about today, it is that it's good to spend this day with the cell you love. And maybe you already know who I'm talking about...»
He winked at her, making her blush. To break the awkward atmosphere that was developing between them, she smiled at him and replied in a burst of sincerity: «Actually, I was wondering: your friend with the glasses, where is he? Did he get lost in the traffic?»