𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐒 ~| 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘴

Fable

~'~

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲'𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐝 𝐝𝐨

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐫𝐧

𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬, "𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝"

𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧

‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

Cassi

The city felt softer at night. The edges blurred, the noise dulled, the neon haze settling over everything like a gentle kind of static. I liked it best then, when the world slowed down just enough for me to breathe.

The walk home was my favorite part of the day. Not that the day itself had been particularly terrible, or productive, just long. My feet ached from hours of pacing between interviews, my brain was overcooked from answering the same questions with the same overly rehearsed enthusiasm. What would you say is your greatest strength? What's your biggest weakness?

The job hunt had been... going.

Which is to say, it had not been going particularly well. The first interview had ended with the hiring manager telling me I "seemed wonderful" before immediately rejecting me in the same breath. The second was for a position so soul-crushingly dull I think a part of me died mid-conversation. And the third—well.

"Do you have experience in this field?"

"Not even a little bit."

I had not gotten that one.

Shocker, I know.

But it was fine. It had to be. I wasn't in any kind of crisis yet, I still had enough in my bank account to float for a while, and there was always the option of calling my family for help if things got really dire. That option ranked just slightly above selling my organs on the black market in terms of appeal, but still.

I wasn't stressed. Not really.

The interviews were exhausting, but I liked to think something would work out soon. And even if it didn't, I'd figure it out.

I always did, didn't I?

I didn't need anyone else.

At least the weather was nice. Warm enough to walk home without regretting it, just enough of a breeze to keep the city from feeling suffocating. The sky above was a deep, endless kind of navy, the streetlights casting pools of gold onto the pavement. Everything smelled like rain, though it hadn't rained at all. That may be a sign of madness but I'll move past it. Let's not linger on thoughts like that.

I liked nights like this. When my mind felt lighter. When the city, for all its mess and noise, felt almost kind.

It wasn't until I reached my building that I noticed it, the door across from mine, slightly ajar. A crack of light spilling into the dimly lit hallway. Boxes stacked just inside.