HOUSE OF MANDI
1294 Words
She kept the phone screen on as she walked toward the bathroom. Just as she was about to
step inside, another message came in.
Her phone vibrated softly.
She raised it and read:
“And Elara… I am glad you stayed.”
Elara approached the bathroom still wearing her pink nightwear. She picked up her towel, which
was just an arm’s length away from the bathroom door, and hung it around her neck, her phone
still in her left hand. She held the bathroom doorknob with her right hand and proceeded to open
it.
She stepped inside and immediately caught her reflection in the mirror.
Slowly, she dropped her phone on the sink and placed her hands on the sides of the cold white
ceramic basin mounted against the wall. She stared at her reflection.
A thought she hadn’t planned for entered her head.
“And Elara… I am glad you stayed.”
Her eyes widened slightly, and the right corner of her mouth lifted.
“He called me by my name,” she whispered almost silently.
That’s new.
Maybe he calls everyone by their name on a regular basis. Nothing serious, she thought as she
glanced down at the sink.
Her expression returned to normal. Calm. Controlled.
She pressed her palms more firmly against the sink and looked at herself one more time before
turning toward the shower area, leaving her phone behind.
She removed her clothes and hung them on the bathroom bar just above the entrance. Stepping
under the shower, she turned on the water. It began to run steadily.
Elara tilted her head forward as the water poured down from her hair to her shoulders. The last
message A had sent kept replaying in her mind.
“I am glad you stayed.”
It looked like a normal, regular sentence. But in her mind, it felt like more than that.
Stayed where? In the conversation? In his life? In the moment?
She tried convincing herself it was just a sentence.
Yet, without meaning to, she smiled.
After finishing her shower, she wrapped herself in her towel and reached for her phone on the
sink. She caught her reflection once more before heading out.
Back in her bedroom, she sat before the mirror and picked up her half-empty bottle of lotion,
shaking it lightly to check how much was left. She exhaled and began applying it from her legs
up to her arms, moving quickly because she was already behind time.
When she finished, she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled softly.
She hurried to her wardrobe — her room was too small for a proper closet. She picked out black
pants and a beige short-sleeved shirt. After putting on her undergarments, she stepped into the
pants and slipped on the shirt, buttoning it carefully.
She tried smoothing the fabric when she realized she had missed a button.
She paused.
Unbuttoned.
Buttoned it properly this time.Fully dressed, she picked up her phone from the table and glanced at herself in the mirror
again. Her hair was neatly arranged behind her ears. She wore shiny black cover shoes and
carried a black handbag that matched them.
She looked smart.
A small, proud smile formed on her lips.
Then she felt the weight of her phone in her palm.
A thought rushed in.
She considered replying to A’s message.
“Why?”
“That’s dramatic.”
“Stayed?”
But she didn’t type anything. It remained just a thought.
She lifted the phone to check the time.
7:40 a.m.
She thought about responding again, but before she fully registered the decision, she had
already slipped the phone into her bag.
She decided not to respond. Not now.
She needed a clear head at work.
Elara sat at her desk, still looking at the road as people passed. It was almost like she could
hear every footstep, every laugh, every honk, and every conversation happening around her.
She sat still, her hands resting on her desk while her legs moved lightly underneath, as if they
refused to be completely still.
Elara took a deep breath to regain herself. She looked at the time.
12:00 p.m.
She remained seated, as if nothing had happened.
A colleague noticed her blank stare at the clock and walked over.
“It’s lunch break, girl. I don’t get why you’re staring at the clock so deeply.”
Elara let out a small laugh.
“I thought the clock had stopped moving there.”
They both laughed softly.
Elara began closing the register and adjusting the papers on her desk. She wanted to arrange
everything properly before stepping out, just in case the boss walked in during her break. As the
thought of A’s message crossed her mind, she murmured quietly to herself, “It can wait.”
She kept arranging her desk calmly, carefully. When she finished, it looked neat—almost like
she was just arriving for work, not leaving it.
She picked up her bag and stepped out for her lunch break.
Elara walked to her favorite bench just outside the office building. She loved that bench so much
that whenever she returned late from lunch, her colleagues always knew exactly where to find
her.
When she reached it, she felt an immense sense of relaxation travel down her spine. She let out
a slow sigh of relief, dropped her bag beside her, and sat down.
Elara reached into her bag for her food, but her hand brushed lightly against her phone. She
paused slightly, then pulled both out at once. She placed the food on her lap and held the phone
in her hands.She unlocked it immediately and tapped on the Tinder app.
At this point, Elara felt more comfortable opening the chat, as though it belonged to someone
familiar, someone normal. The app opened with its usual soft animation before revealing the
home screen. She glanced toward the top of the screen.
No new messages.
She lifted one shoulder slightly, then let it drop.
She tapped the chat icon.
It opened.
She read the message again.
“Don’t let work distract you from thinking.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“What does he mean?” she wondered quietly. “Distract me from thinking about what exactly?”
She tapped the message box, unsure of what to say. She typed something.
Paused.
Deleted it.
Typed again.
Edited.
Stopped.
Deleted.
Elara wasn’t sure what the message truly meant, and she wasn’t sure what response it
deserved.
Finally, she typed:
“Depends on what’s worth thinking about.”
Her thumb hit send before she could stop herself or even reread it.
The message was delivered.
She locked her phone and placed it beside her on the bench.
A cool breeze passed through, and she allowed herself to enjoy it. She opened her food and
began eating slowly, appreciating the quiet serenity around her.
A moment later, her phone buzzed softly beside her.
She turned and looked down.
A Tinder notification.
She picked up the phone, unlocked it, and opened the message.
“You sound careful.”
Elara nodded slightly to herself.
She locked the phone and placed it back down.
She didn’t continue the conversation. She knew it could easily become endless, and she still
had work to return to. For now, finishing her food was more important.
Lunch was almost over, and she began eating faster.
When she finished, she stood up, threw the disposable container into a nearby trash bin, and
picked up her bag. She slipped her phone inside and made her way back to the office.
Elara returned to her desk and sat down quietly.
Work looked the same.
Everything looked the same.
But she didn’t feel alone in her thoughts anymore.
- Writer
