Far and beyond

Just another day in the office

Viktoria was once again looking at a night spent in the office. She ordered a fresh uniform to be delivered to her. She also needed a shower. And a coffee. Oh, how desperately she could use a cup of coffee. The plan was set. She would shower, change into street clothes, go for a coffee and some food and then go back to her office. It would be the first time she would leave the square room in 48 hours. She needed some time to have her mind be relaxed. Usually she would be speaking to her wife at moments like these, however, they had a slightly large argument the day before so she was withholding on that sentiment. The more she tried to remember what the argument was about the further away it seemed to get from her. It must have been something about furniture or about laundry. That is all they argued about. They never had any serious issues, issues that other people have. They both agreed on the major things. They both knew where they stood career wise. They both knew what they wanted in a family. They agreed that it was too early for kids. That they were too busy with their work to raise children. They both agreed on where they would go on vacation and when they would do it. All of those big things. They also made good money. Better than most people. And yet, there were always some petty arguments. Sometimes it was about someone picking up the wrong flavor of ice cream. Sometimes it was someone forgetting to put something in the fridge. Sometimes it was about a towel that hadn't been washed. Sometimes it was about the wine, about the shoes, about charging the car, about warm water. It was about everything. Everything that one person did seemed to annoy the other. Sometimes Viktoria wondered if they were doing it on porpoise. If they were fabricating tension. She also wondered if both of them had something that was eating at them deep inside, and this is how it was managing to find a way out. But what was that? She kept asking herself sometimes why she had acted a certain way, and she could not explain it. Not to herself, let alone to others. 

After Viktoria showered, she left the huge building that was acting as her home to have some food. She went to a takeout place she really liked. She chose from the projected menu outside of the building and waited to be called. When that happened she went to the window where she took a white square box. The clerk took a scanner and pointed it at a bracelet she was wearing on her left hand. It beeped and she walked away. The food here was really cheep and really fast made, but apart from that, it was also really good. Viktoria could afford to go to any restaurant she wanted and order whatever she wanted. The bracelet that she paid with was a company belonging. She had all expenses paid. Nothing was coming out of her pocket. And still, she never spent that much. She was raised in modesty. Her parents were illiterate and worked whatever jobs they could find. Her father was a fisherman, a car cleaner, a miner, a lumberjack, a builder, an elevator installer and repairer and all kinds of things. Her mother cared for other peoples children, cleaned fish at the river docks, she was a house maid and even worked in a kindergarten for a while. She was born as an only child. In a world that had it's resources drained at an alarming pace, she knew she had to get out. All the other families in her area had multiple children, usually around four or five. She watched as they would play together, and how they would go to school in matching outfits and how they took care of one another. She always wanted siblings, but her parents couldn't afford to raise more than one child. They had neither the money or the time. She was raised as a loner. She never had many friends. She devoted herself to her studies. Excelling at every subject, she was highly recruited by several prestigious schools. The only problem is that they were all a significant distance from her home. When she was fourteen she left. Left and never came back to her home. 

She grew up all over the place. South America mostly, but Europe was also a big part of her later life. That is where she met the love of her life. She knew she liked women from a young age, but she wasn't sure how serious it would be. She experimented with both genders. But when she met Aurora, she knew that her experimenting days were over. She loved the fact that Aurora had soft hands, and that she made her laugh. She was one of the funniest people she had ever met. They would stay up all night on the rooftops and look at the night sky. They would talk about their dreams. Aurora was an astronomer. She would describe the universe to her. She would tell her about stars and planets and nebulas. She would speak with such passion about space flight. And then they would make love. Their bodies would come together perfectly. Their height and build was ideal for each other. Viktoria would always, when sad, picture the smile on Auroras face, the one she had with her eyes were closed. It would always brighten her mood. Anyone who has seen Aurora smile would know that she had the most beautiful smile. When they came here they imagined a life filled with adventure and passion. And that is how it started. They roamed the unknown city, watched it grow so fast that it was hard to believe. The urban sprawl saw new buildings being erected in a blink of an eye. Coffee shops, restaurants, museums, galleries and rock cafes were popping up on every corner. They promised to each other to visit every last one of them. And after they did all they did, they came to the conclusion. There was no place that they loved more than Mrs. Cheng. The traditional Chinese fast food place where Viktoria just got her meal from. That is the reason why she would always eat from there, and why no other place would ever come close. Because it reminded her of the days that now seemed left behind. The days that were buried in a pile of needless petty arguments. It always brought a tear to her eye. Mostly because she knew how beautiful life could be, and how easy she was loosing a grip on it. Despite her best efforts, it was slipping. She could feel it, but she could not do anything to prevent it.

After she finished her food on a bench overlooking a river, she went for coffee. This time she did not spare any expense. She went to treat herself to the best coffee she had ever tasted. It reminded her of the black liquid she used to drink at home. The richness of it. All the dimensions of flavor that every sip of it brought. The shiver it sent down her body all the way to her toes. It was strong coffee, and it cost almost five times more than the delicious meal she had just finished. While walking back to the office she also got herself something sweet. Nothing special this time, just a regular sweet thing from a vendor on the street. She hadn't had any sweets in a while, she was keeping a strict diet, or at least trying to, so it was no surprise that her tongue was pleasantly surprised by the long absent sensation. The crystal sugar crackled in her teeth. The thick cream stuck to the inside of her cheeks. She enjoyed every little bit of it. It made her forget about all the things that were on her mind. 

Of course, when you have so much weight on your shoulders, it is nice to unwind sometimes. Sadly for Viktoria, that usually lasted only for a short while. Even before she could fully finish enjoying her treat, she got a call. 

- What happened? What? That mother fucker. What about the rest of the mission? Yes. Okay. How long? Good. Make sure that when they have a confirmed position I am to be informed. Do not authorize anything to enter the atmosphere before that. Are we clear? - there was some sort of objection from the other side of the line that made her angry. First they interrupt her moment and now this s**t. - Look asshole, let me make it clear, the reasons why I said what I said do not need to be explained to a worm like you. If you were someone that needed to know why I said what I said, you would have known it by now. So, are you going to give me more s**t or are you just going to shut up and keep your job? I will take your silence that we are on the clear about this. Again, when they have a confirmation you call me. Not before, and not after. Now, I would like to thank you for the information and wish you a good day.

Viktoria lashed out without need. She knew that. As soon as she did, she knew that. She felt that it was not needed. But events in her life were making it just so hard. She had to keep her cool at all times and some people really liked the idea of pushing her. If only some people knew when to shut up...