Dark Lines

Bitter Reality

“Two pills shall be enough to get rid of this headache”, Peter thought, he woke up at 7:00 a.m. with a huge headache, so he washed his face, took the pills and will make some coffee, this shall do the job.

The scent of the coffee can be a cure on it’s own, it is a true mate of the individual, no pain just joy, pure joy!, next to him, there is a big bowl of fresh fruit, that are cut into tiny pieces, with the honey covering the top. Peter was also creative in Crystal’s breakfast, he put some honey on her cookies, that were placed in an adorable way.

Peter realized that he never did take a picture of sweet Crystal, so he brought his phone and started capturing photos of her in a spontaneous way, but when she saw the flash turning on, she quickly ran away, however Peter was persistent so bad, so he kept following her, and taking random pictures of her, that some were funny and some were just creepy, but he saved them in the memory of the phone anyways.

At 5:05 p.m. fire workers were launched into the sky by the government, so it can show the citizens it’s gratitude of their commitment, and that they can feel motivated and appreciated for the great efforts that they were doing, even though they are just staying home, but they suffering emotionally, so far from their loved ones, they are missing out so much, but all of it is just to survive this horrible period.

The government knows that it’s the citizen’s duty to save their own lives, but it also knows how it’s tempting not to wait the day when the citizens can go out and live again, and accept the fact that they are living just by breathing and eating, not much achievements, no rendez-vous, they have temptation to live the real life out there, because they don’t know if this will end soon, or if they will be still alive till then.

Then he sat on the chair, while sipping his tea, after checking the mail box, that didn’t have anything inside, Peter was just enjoying some peace of mind, while Crystal was laying on the couch.

Suddenly, he felt that something was crawling on his lap, like ants or something, so he touched his pants but didn't feel anything on it. After a while, he really felt that something is sitting between his legs, and trying to stand as if it was using his knees as support to do that, so he felt terrified and looked up at the level of his face, something hit his nose, he stood in fright, and searched with his hands for anything that might be infront of him, but there was nothing.

He went to wash his face, he washed it five times, then drunk a cup of water, but he quickly threw it off his mind, it’s silly, it’s a hallucination for sure, or his legs were numb then. Peter headed for the living room again with a blanket, played some relaxing music, while boosting his energy with dinner.

**********************

23/February/2021

Hello Peter,

Today I made a chocolate cake, it was delicious, I remember that you love this dessert, it’s bad that you aren’t here to taste it, but don’t worry, I will make it again when we meet. I imagined that you were sitting and eating with me, I believe it’s your birthday today, so I had to make a cake, plus a bought something for you, it isn’t that fancy, but I think you will like it, you must be curious now, aren’t you?, it is flash memory that contains our pictures from we where little, there isn’t plenty of them, so I added some pictures of me, and the cake as well. Please don’t think that I’m creepy or something like that, I just appreciate you being in my life.

Happy birthday Peter!

-ENAJ-

“What was that?”, Peter said, just after reading the first part of the letter, then when he continued, he felt weird, like it’s a confusing thing to do, what Jane did, he didn’t know what to think, is she fine?, is this a bit much?, or is he overthinking the matter?, but then when he reread it again, it seemed questionable, Jane definitely meant to send him a coded message, like that she is still crushing on him, or it’s even much more than a crush, or she might just be desperate, and lonely, so she really appreciated her initiation of sending those messages.

Peter felt somewhat flattered, if he observed the matter with good intentions, for himself have forgotten his birthday, before his friends sent him a congratulations messages, with virtual postcards. But as an old friend, he really appreciated her deeds, with the hope that there isn’t any hidden extensions behind this.

He already has his breakfast, and now he will have a small lunch; boiled eggs and potatoes, Crystal got jealous of his food, so he made some for her, and both enjoyed it, while watching television.

At 6:00 p.m. Peter headed to the balcony, and decided to smoke, which he doesn’t usually do, and promised himself that this won’t go too far, maybe two cigarettes a week. But this was a small refuge for him, and a calming moment to refresh his mind, and be at inner peace.

********************

Today, Peter has an online meeting with his boss, and colleagues, so he woke up early, around 7:00 a.m., even though the meeting is at 4:10 in the after noon, but Peter wanted to be psychologically ready, and be active all the day, before his meeting, so he can feel like it is just a fun thing, not a mandatory thing, that may make him be anxious or bored.

He got into the shower, brushed his teeth, fixed his hair, choose a suitable outfit, neither sportive, nor too formal, just a blue buttoned t-shirt, with a navy pants in case he accidentally stood up during the meeting, and he will wear a watch too.

He made his usual breakfast, with a bigger cup of coffee, to stay hyper and focused, he also tidied up the living room, in order to seem presentable in the meeting, and sat with Crystal next to his feet drinking her milk.

He charged the laptop, then turned the television on, and made another cup of coffee, it has been four hours since he drunk the first cup, so it’s now 12:08 p.m., and he noticed that the weather wasn’t bright, and full of energy as he had expected, so he crossed his fingers that this won’t make him feel gloomy, and the electricity won’t be gone with the internet.

Peter decided to have a look on the channels, so he decides which one is displaying the most peaceful and optimistic program. He reached channel fifty, still nothing, so he continued changing the channels, then he noticed something that has appeared on some channel, it seemed like an old man yet has a long yet very thin black hair with an oval shaped head, yellowish eyes and teeth, who was dancing quickly, and disturbingly while looking right at the screen, so he returned to that channel, but a kid’s channel appeared rather than what he thought that he had saw.

“Weird channels!”, Peter said, then he turned it off, he didn’t want anything to annoy and distract him now, so he started petting Crystal, and playing with her, then they both had lunch on the balcony when the weather was good enough just for an hour or so, before it started raining again.

It’s 4:00 p.m. now, he went to the room to check his outfit and his hair, then joined the big meeting. There were only five people, because it was only for the head workers there, they discussed the possibilities of growing the business, and maintaining it’s productivity, as well as making it a comfortable place, where the staff feel almost at home, letting go of the stress, so they will work better. Peter suggested to elongate the break hour, or divide the break into two, and adding more types of food and drinks on the menu, with very affordable prices.

The meeting is over, it’s now 6:00 p.m., Peter had fun then, for the fact that he expressed his knowledge and skills, and allowed him to test his social abilities too, as well as passing some jokes and having a light mood during it, they always were funny, and easygoing with each other, and now that most of the people are craving for a cheer, they definitely seized the chance in the meeting too.

At last, the boss thanked all of them, appreciated their efforts and wished them good luck, till they meet again in person.

Peter was in a good mood afterwards, he felt accomplished and vibrant, finally he dealt with humans, and precisely with his friends, such a wonderful feeling. Then he put some music, and made himself a cup of delicious latté and some pancakes, and put some for Crystal. This was the perfect idea of celebrating, music and food with his favorite creature.

He was moving all the time with the rhythm of the music, then when he finished his food and drinks, he got up and started dancing like a maniac, and Crystal joined him in her own way, which is trying to stand on her back feet, then Peter held her, and started dancing again.

At 11:07 p.m. they were feeling sleepy, so this time he did the dishes right after he placed them in the sink, then did his night checkup chore, and went to his room, while holding Crystal who fell asleep on the couch.

There is thirty pages left in the book he’s reading, so he decided to slow down a bit, and minimize the pages he reads to three every night, because he really enjoyed that book, so he grabbed his glasses, and started.

******************** 25/February/2021

Hello Peter,

Our neighbor came to visit us , it was the first one in about two years, we are such an introvert family. I went to the living room and smiled at her, but she ignored me, I guess I really am a piece of furniture in my own house, can’t work, can’t speak what I want, can’t do what I feel like doing, I’m being more and more introvert and neglected by my surrounding. Anyway, I stayed in my room and was overhearing everything they were saying, same boring and fake conversation, but the woman was wearing a black shirt with a black jeans, so much for the gloomy days we are living, perfect choice!

-ENAJ-

“Paying visits during all this?, really?”, Peter said with anger, the neighbor could have get away with that illegal action because she might be living in the same building with Jane’s family, or so near to their house.

“Oh and rude too!”, he added while shaking his head in disbelief, when Jane said that she ignored her, anyway she doesn’t need such kind of people near her, it’s bad enough that she had to deal with her parents.

He got up off his couch, letting it all go out of his mind, he can’t handle feeling down, he is still astonished by the meeting he had, so he will preserve this kind of feelings, and hold on to it, because they really make a difference, simple spark of hope and fun does get into you.

He was going for a roasted chicken and potatoes for lunch, he read the recipe online too, step by step for assuring that won’t be eating burnt food today, then when he finished two hours later, he poured himself a fresh juice, and put

Crystal’s lunch infront if her, then took a picture of his plate, just for memories and to prove to himself that he is kind of cool now, then started eating right away, till the last piece of chicken and finishing every tiny slice of the potatoes, with every drop of the juice.

At 7:10 p.m. he went to the bathroom to shave his beard, or he called it that way, for it was much thinner, maybe an armature beard, just a few hair there. Then he was so hungry, so quickly made his dinner, and ate it slowly to enjoy every bit of it, and feel more satisfied, with a football match live on the television.

After three hours, he went to sleep but with the earphones in his left ear, since the right is apparently damaged, with Crystal laying down beside him on the bed