These Lights

One: The Man in the Elevator

My favorite music blasted through my headphones as a jogged to my apartment building in the center of the metropolitan area. Floor 7, room 514. I had to keep it in my head because if I forgot, it would be like Narnia, never to be found again.

The streets were full, as per usual, and I loved it, I grew up here, loved the sounds and the smells of the great city of New York I called my home. Some may call me an optimist, or crazy, but I was stubborn, and I could never think of another way to live.

I gave a wave to the doorman, who tipped his hat and opened the door for me. The secretary at the desk smiled in my direction, she was a kind old lady with little button eyes and long silver hair, she'd been there as long as I could ever remember.

"Hello Mrs. Dominic!" I bounced up to her, sliding my big purple headphones so they rested around my neck. Mrs. Dominic laughed, she sounded in a good mood, which made me happy.

"Oh hello Aphmau, coming back from your morning jog?" She asked and I nodded, I may have been only 4,7 but I liked to stay fit and healthy at all times.

"Of course, just checking in!" She nods and motions towards the elevator, I didn't have to check in with her, but she sometimes had gossip about the other tenants AKA my neighbors that I didn't know.

"Before you head up dear, I heard a young gentleman just moved to the same floor as you, make him feel welcome will you?" I wasn't really paying attention to her, but I nodded anyway and strolled off to the elevator and pushed the button to the seventh floor to my apartment.

Before the doors closed, Someone tall and unfamiliar joined me, looked at the buttons to find his floor, but then just stood there looking confused.

I assumed he was visiting someone and didn't really know how the elevator here worked, it was weird as the numbers were in no particular order.

"Having trouble? I know, the buttons can be confusing." He gave me this glare, like he wasn't expecting to be seen at all, much less talked to. And that's when I saw in more detail who this man was.

Well, as much as I could gather, as most of his face was covered by a large red bandana, the parts that weren't, however, were his black, volcanic hair and the bottom half of his face where some scruff covered his chin.

"Uh... No. I'm just going to floor seven." His voice was low and scratchy. He wore a black jacket with white and red blotches scattered across the surface, paired with faded grey pants with holes in them, he had fingerless gloves too, and black shoes.

"Oh! Are you that new tenant?" I ask excitedly. Meeting new people was always the highlight of my day even when said people looked a little sketchy.

"Yeah, I Uh... just moved here." He responded, I could tell that he wasn't into talking too much, but I at least wanted to get a name.

Alas, the door opened and he hurriedly left the elevator before I could even ask his name, he went down about seven doors from me before slamming the door quite hard behind him.

I stepped out of the elevator a little disappointed, but hey, maybe he was just shy? I shook it off and opened the hard wooden door into my apartment.

It wasn't much, a living room with a white couch and two purple arm chairs, those modern ones that look cool but aren't very comfortable, a TV hung on the wall that I barely watched because I had YouTube, and who really needs a TV when that exists. A black table with the same modern design, and a zebra print rug that I got for Christmas that I absolutely hated but kept because I had to.

To the left of that was a kitchen, I didn't have a table, just a counter with a couple purple stools. And then the door to the bathroom, and to the right of that was my bedroom that was almost completely purple, down to the sheets on the bed, I did have white curtains though, there is a thing as too much purple, it's rare though.