Flat 1305

Chapter 2

An alarm rang on the phone, tearing down the quiet moments of dawn with it. The early ray of sunshine was softly pouring in from behind the white cotton curtains in the room. Eden had always been a heavy sleeper, being scolded as a child for the trait and even sleeping through a few earthquakes in her hometown, back in the 1990s but for the past week, her nights were restless.

While Travis snored through the late hours, Eden tossed in the bedsheets and counted the amount of daisies in the painting next to the dressing table. The worst of it all was the fact that six hours of the late part of night were all she could devote to resting because everyone depended on her for everything, like a backbone. So her chores started at seven in the morning and ended at ten o'clock at night.

She tossed in her restless state, hands fumbling in the silent room and clasping onto the buzzing cellphone on the side table. She pressed a few buttons and shut it off only to avert her gaze to the rotating fan above them, spinning in an endless cycle like her life.

Turning to the snoring man beside her, "Wake up, Trav. Its seven am."

He grunted in his sleep, a trail of drool on his chin and tossed a few inches away. She shook his arm softly and told him to be up before she was out of the bathroom.

"Yes, I'm awake. Dont worry."

Off she went, stumbling into the tiled bathroom to do her daily business just quick enough. She pushed the door shut behind her, not locking it into place because sharing bathroom spaces was perfectly okay once you've shared 15 years as a married couple.

Eden hit the shower, a lukewarm stream of water rushing out the shower's nozzle onto her  olive skin. Like all women, she observed her skin under a harsh magnifying glass and counted every blemish that she could note without realizing the grace that came along with growing up. It was a daily ritual, a programmed habit to her.

The water soaked her auburn hair into clumps that rested against her wet shoulders and back. It was the moment to brace herself for what the day held, havoc and noise and a lot of back and forth with the kids. Not to mention, unpacking some boxes that remained untouched in the corner of the terrace.

The sound of splashing water wasn't loud enough to drown the knocking that followed next persistently. It was hurried and almost sounded urgent.

"Come in!" Eden yelled in response, shutting off the water to hear.

Nothing.

Eden turned back to shampoo her hair, running her fingers through the scalp and staring at the geometry in the mosaic tiles that were displayed on the walls through the slightly foggy air in the bathroom. Shades of grey, blue and white all intersecting and contrasting each other at some point or another.

The knocking happened again, this time louder than it did before. Eden faced the door, pinched her nose in annoyance and yelled again.

"The door's unlocked! Come in Trav!"

She stood there for a few seconds and observed the door knob, waiting to see it twist to the right. When it didn't, she hastily washed off the shampoo on her hands and stepped out of the bathtub with a huff. Little puddles of water formed behind her like a trail as she swung the door open and got greeted by a bust of cold air onto her naked wet body, sending a shiver down her spine.

She stuck her head out, peering into the bed frame where her husband lay snoring lazily. With squinted eyes, she searched for any sign of any child waking up early, only to find none.

"Travis! You'll make the kids late!"

And on that note, Travis woke up hurriedly, wiping his drool on the forearm and repeating his words in the half-woken state.