A Danger That Lurks In The Darkness | A TPQ AU |

I | That Time Mini Walked Into A Desk

MINI
BEFORE THE SLUMBERING CITY AWAKES, THE EARLY MORNINGS ARE ACTUALLY QUITE PEACEFUL.

The few stars twinkling in the early morning sky, the few moments of peace and clarity that one can enjoy before their duties and responsibilities called upon them.

A few moments of alone time.

Yamini Kapoor-Mercado-Lopez leaned back on her sofa, cupping a mug of warm coffee in her hands.

It had been a sleepless night, the kind where a restless stirring made her stomach uneasy, where she paced near the window-sill to tire herself out, but nothing worked, where her body refused to fall asleep.

She felt the coffee scald her tongue, but gulped it down anyway, before exhaling.

Just as the dawn approached fast, she felt her eyelids sink and grow heavy with the onset of sleep, when a loud beeping interrupted her. Her alarm for 6 A.M. was incessantly loud, but thankfully, now, it did the trick. A little too well, as, startled, she dropped the mug onto the carpeted floor.

The mug didn't break, but the coffee definitely soaked the carpet, as, to complete this picture, she hissed out a stream of swear words in her native Tagalog, certain phrases that would have gotten her whacked by her lola.

It had spilled on her foot too, and grumbling under her breath, she hobbled toward the bathroom to take a shower, not realising how much more embarrassing the day was going to get.

The lights of her home flickered to life, as she snatched up her bag, shoved her wallet and ID inside, before checking the time.

7 A.M. She had, inevitably, fallen asleep in the shower.

She would probably get some time to eat peacefully at the café only a few blocks away from the precinct where she worked, and make it to morning briefing at 8.

Dragging her feet, she picked up her badge, and clipped it to her belt, before stumbling out the door, like she was a newborn deer. Except for the fact that newborn deer had more balance, and, arguably, more grace.

The sharp morning sunlight glared down on Houston, making long shadows against the gritty sidewalk.

Traffic crawled slowly, as she felt gravel roll under her feet, and made her way to the coffee shop, her stomach grumbling with the promise of warm, sugary food, and coffee that would not burn her tongue.

"Hey, Mini," Jackie, the cashier, called, waving at her.

"Hi," she said, rubbing her eyes.

"The usual?"

She hummed in response, pulling out her credit card and swiping it against the contactless reader.

Jackie handed her the receipt, and the sandwich and coffee that constituted her 'usual'.

She had just sat down on one of the polished wood chairs, unwrapping the sandwich, when she saw several, white news vans pull up.

"What are they doing here?" she asked, pausing in the middle of eating her sandwich.

"You didn't hear?" Jackie asked, sounding slightly shocked.

"...No? What's going on?"

Jackie drew herself up to her height of five-two, and said, "They found a pool of blood there."

Jackie paused a beat for added dramatic effect, and Mini waited, using this moment to take a bite of her sandwich.

Mini wrapped her sandwich, while checking her watch. This new piece of news had made her appetite disappear, and she took all the food, and said a perfunctory, "Bye", to Jackie, while walking out of the coffeeshop.