EPISODE ONE
1533 Words
By six in the morning, Lira was already awake. Not because she wanted to be. But because the roof was leaking again.
Water dropped steadily into the metal bowl she had placed beneath the hole the previous night. The repetitive sound echoed softly through the tiny apartment, blending with the distant noise of traffic outside.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Lira stared blankly at the stained ceiling for a moment before slowly sitting up from the thin mattress on the floor. The cold immediately greeted her bare feet.
It was another day.
Another shift.
Another endless circle of surviving.
She rubbed a tired hand over her face before glancing toward the sofa of the room where her adoptive mother sat near the stove, quietly preparing tea in the dim morning light.
“You're awake already?” the older woman asked softly.
Lira nodded. “Couldn't sleep.”
“That roof kept dripping all night.”
She gave a faint hum of agreement before standing. The apartment was painfully small one bedroom shared between all three of them, a tiny bathroom with a broken lock, a kitchen barely large enough for one person to stand comfortably.
But despite everything, it was home. And unlike many people in this world, Lira had learned long ago not to complain about having one.
Her adoptive parents had taken her in when she was nine years old after the deaths of her biological parents. Nobody knew why they did it. Especially considering they could barely survive themselves.
Mr. And Mrs. Rowan were ordinary people.
Tired people.
People who worked too hard for too little.
Her adoptive father spent most of his days repairing generators in a tiny roadside workshop, while her mother sold homemade food near a bus stop downtown.
Some days, they earned enough to eat comfortably.
While other days, they didn't. But they had still made room for her. Even when life already gave them too little.
Lira walked toward the small sink and splashed water on her face.
“You have work early today?” Mrs. Rowan asked.
“Yes.”
“You worked late yesterday too.”
“I'm fine, ma”
The older woman looked unconvinced, but decided not to push further. That was how things worked in this house. Nobody complained too much because everyone was already carrying enough.
Lira quickly tied her dark hair into a loose ponytail before grabbing her backpack from the corner.
“You should eat first.” Mrs. Rowan spoke again.
“I'll grab something later.”
“Lira.”
The warning in her adoptive mother's voice made her sigh quietly.
“There's barely enough bread left.”
“And whose fault is that?” Mrs. Rowan asked gently. “Sit.”
Lira hesitated before obeying.
A small plate of bread and tea was placed in front of her moments later.
She stared at it silently. It wasn't much. But somehow, her mother always made sure everyone else ate before she did.
And Lira really hated that.
“You should keep some for yourself,” she muttered.
Mrs. Rowan smiled faintly. “I already ate.”
That was probably a lie.
Lira looked down quietly before forcing herself to eat.
The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable.
Just familiar.
Outside, the city has already begun waking.
People rushing.
Cars honking.
Another exhausting day beginning for everyone trying desperately to survive. By seven thirty, Lira was out the door. The walk to the bus stop took nearly twenty minutes. Her shoes were old enough that water seeped through the soles whenever it rained, but buying another pair wasn't currently important. Rent came first.
Always rent first.
She stood quietly among the crowd waiting for the bus, already mentally preparing herself for work.
She hated her job. Not because the work itself was terrible.
But because of the people.
“Move.”
A shoulder slammed roughly into hers. Lira stumbled slightly before catching herself. The woman who shoved past her didn't bother apologizing.
She didn't even look back.
Lira simply signed quietly.
Normal.
People have always treated her that way. Like she occupied too much space simply by existing.
The bus eventually arrived overcrowded as usual.
Lira squeezed inside anyway.
A man besides her clicked his tongue in annoyance when her bag brushed his arm.
“Watch it.”
“Sorry.”
She moved immediately despite barely having room to breathe.
The rest of the ride passes in suffocating silence.
By the time she finally arrived downtown, exhaustion had already begun creeping into her bones. Her workplace stood between a pharmacy and a laundromat a medium-sized café trying too hard to look expensive, despite being average at best.
Lira pushed open the door and immediately heard her manager's voice.
“You're late.”
She glanced towards the wall clock
7:58
Her shift was at eight.
“I'm two minutes early.”
“And yet somehow, still disappointing.” Her manager replied coldly.
Lira bit back her response instantly. Mr. Harlan was the kind of man who enjoyed humiliating people weaker than him. Especially employees who couldn't afford to quit.
Which meant people like Lira.
“I need table six cleaned,” he snapped. “And don't screw up any orders today.”
Lira nodded quietly.
The shift that day began.
For hours, she moved nonstop. Taking orders. Cleaning tables. Delivering drinks. Apologizing for things that weren't her fault.
“Excuse me?” a customer snapped sharply around noon.
Lira turned immediately. “Yes ma'am?”
“The coffee is cold.”
“I'm sorry ma'am, I'll replace it immediately.”
“It should've been correct the first time.”
Lira apologized, despite knowing the coffee had been made less than three minutes earlier.
The woman, on the other hand, rolled her eyes dramatically.
“Honestly, standards in places like this keep getting worse.”
Places like this.
Lira knew exactly what she meant by that.
Cheap café.
Cheap workers.
People beneath notice.
She quietly took the cup back towards the counter.
“You should smile more.” One of the male workers muttered while passing her.
Lira plainly ignored him.
Another waitress snorted softly nearby. “She always looks miserable. It's like makeup on her.”
“Well,” another replied carelessly, “her life is probably miserable.”
Laughter followed
Lira kept walking.
She learned long ago that reacting only made things worse.
People enjoyed seeing weakness. Especially in someone already beneath them.
By three in the afternoon, her feet ached terribly. But she still has another shift afterward at a convenience store across town.
Because one job was unfortunately not enough anymore. Not with rent increasing again next month.
Lira stepped outside briefly during the break, leaning against the wall while eating the cheapest snack she could afford from the vending machine nearby.
The city moved around her endlessly.
Busy.
Loud.
Uncaring.
Sometimes, she wondered what it felt like truly to live instead of merely surviving. To wake up without calculating expenses immediately.
To buy things without guilt.
To rest without feeling lazy.
A shadow suddenly appeared besides her. “You know people think you're weird, right?”
Lira looked up slowly.
One of the café workers, Nadia, stood there scrolling through her phone.
Lira sighed internally.
“What do I do now?”
Nadia shrugged. “You don't all much. You don't hang out with anyone. You act like you're better than people.”
Lira blinked in disbelief.
“I barely even speak.”
“Exactly my point.”
Without waiting for a response, Nadia walked away again.
Lira stared after her quietly before laughing under her breath.
Not because it was funny, but because she was tired.
So unbelievably tired.
No matter where she went, people always seemed to misunderstand her. Maybe because quiet people and poor people made others uncomfortable.
Or maybe because people simply needed someone beneath them.
And Lira had always looked like an easy target.
By the time her first shift ended, the sky outside had already darkened with approaching rain. She quickly made her way towards her second job.
The convenience store manager wasn't much better than the café one.
At least here, however, customers mostly ignored her entirely.
Sometimes, invisibility was preferable.
Around eighty thirty that evening, Lira finally finished restocking shelves and leaned briefly against the counter.
Her entire body hurt.
The older cashier besides her glanced over. “You should have quite one job.”
Lira smiled faintly.
“And starve?”
The woman chuckled softly.
“Fair point.”
The store suddenly fell quiet.
To quiet.
Lira noticed it immediately.
Then the front doors opened.
Three men entered, all dressed in black.
Not usual by itself. But something about them immediately felt wrong.
The tallest scanned the store slowly before his eyes landed directly on her.
Lira's stomach tightened instinctively. The men approached the counter while the other cashier besides her straightened nervously.
“Can… I help you gentlemen?”
The tall man ignored her completely. Instead, he looked directly at Lira.
“Lira Vale.”
Her pulse quickened slightly.
“...Yes?”
“We need to speak with you.”
Right then, something cold settled in her chest.
- Writer
