I felt his arms entwine around me. I listened to the slow ticking of the clock on the bedside table. I reached for it and read seven AM. I looked back at the man sleeping beside me. His blonde, curly hair was stuck on his forehead. His straight nose and his lips were tempting me to reach up and kiss him. I could hear his slow breathing. I reached for his cheeks and caressed it, liking the feel of his stubble on my hands.
His name is Chris. We've been husband and wife since a few months ago when I first came into his house. I pulled myself up and planted a quick kiss on his lips. He moaned and pulled me closer to him. I stayed in his embrace for a few more minutes until I could hear his slow breathing again.
I gently removed his hands and sat up. Without the lamp's meager light, it's eerily dark. It was always dark whether it's night or day. I left the bedroom. The lights along the hall was already opened. Near the door, I saw Tanya, Chris' sister, who was getting ready to leave the house. When she felt my presence, she turned towards me.
"Oh, Alyssa, something you have to do today?"
I nodded. "The food synthesizer. I wanted to add a new menu."
"Really?! Wow!" she ran towards me and hugged me. But it was more like she tackled me down the floor and gave me a sound kiss on my cheeks.
I groaned at the impact. Tanya was always strong. She worked in the government as a high ranking official. Because of her strength, she doesn't need to hire bodyguards especially with her proficiency in combat.
"Stop flirting with my wife," a hoarse voice said. It was Chris who was woken up from the noise.
Tanya let me go, stood up then exclaimed, "I'm late!"
She ran outside the house. I followed her but abruptly she stopped. I realized the reason why. There were no streetlights functioning and it was dark, so dark that I couldn't see a few meters away from me.
"Those idiots, being lax on their job again," Tanya complained as she took a lightbox from her bag and covered her face with a breathing face mask.
"Are you going to be alright?" I asked even if there was no reason to be. The lightbox could give her the needed light. The face mask could prevent her from inhaling too much of the air pollutants.
She smiled at me, "Don't worry love. Those thugs are afraid of me."
Tanya left. A few more steps and I could no longer see her. I looked up and like always the sun was nowhere to be seen. It was all blackness although once in a blue moon, few stars would grace us with its presence when pollution was as its minimum.
Suddenly, Chris pulled me away from the door and closed it. He started to kiss me and I felt tingles wherever his stubble brushed against my skin.
I pushed him away, "You need to work on that artificial sun. Tanya did her best so that the government would provide for that research."
He let go and sighed, "Okay," then gave me a quick kiss.
He left and I went in front of the food synthesizer. Like the name implies, it imitates menu creation. Select one from the available menu and it will automatically prepare the food based on its preprogrammed instructions.
It took me an hour to finish and ensured that the algorithm was correct. I knew Chris would be hungry. I pressed on the new menu and in a matter of minutes, it was already done. I tasted my own creation and smiled at the result. It was delicious. I am sure it would be the favorite of the siblings for the days to come. It was a shame that Tanya had already left. I went to call Chris for breakfast and found him crouching down on a huge machine. I was about to call for his name when I noticed the six feet capsule at the corner of his workroom.
