Stillness settled into her veins by the second cup of chamomile and jasmine. The view from her balcony still continued to soothe, even after several years of living in the hills. And the sunset was spectacular this evening. The day had been grueling...unrelenting in its capacity to confuse and oppress. Those noises on the phone persisted, making communication virtually impossible. It also made work hell. It wouldn't have been so bad if people had just chilled out about it, instead of becoming more frazzled about meeting those damn deadlines!
"You kidding me?" she blurted out loud, surprising herself, almost knocking over her hot concoction. "Those deadlines don't mean Jack Schitt anymore!" and she let out the biggest laugh she'd had in over a week.
With a deep sigh, Martina got up and walked into her condo and got some kava-kava jello out of the fridge."Tomorrow is gonna suck too." Rummaging through her thoughts, she tried to make sense of things (too much internet had actually taken away the ability to do that). She thought about swiping her card at CVS this afternoon. Those self-checkout machines...and that sound...like the sound...on the phones... Was there a connection? She needed someone to talk to. Her foreign counterparts were no longer reachable, and Rally...well, last time she saw Rally he was far too high on some street drug. She had taken him to her place for the night, but he refused to stay, opting to "run free as a bird" through the hot night. Wonder if he's okay? She walked to the land line, only to remember Rally didn't have one. She'd stop and see him on her way to her mother's, tomorrow after work. Work... What was she doing there again? Oh right, getting news out to the masses. Right...
"You kidding me?" she blurted out loud, surprising herself, almost knocking over her hot concoction. "Those deadlines don't mean Jack Schitt anymore!" and she let out the biggest laugh she'd had in over a week.
With a deep sigh, Martina got up and walked into her condo and got some kava-kava jello out of the fridge."Tomorrow is gonna suck too." Rummaging through her thoughts, she tried to make sense of things (too much internet had actually taken away the ability to do that). She thought about swiping her card at CVS this afternoon. Those self-checkout machines...and that sound...like the sound...on the phones... Was there a connection? She needed someone to talk to. Her foreign counterparts were no longer reachable, and Rally...well, last time she saw Rally he was far too high on some street drug. She had taken him to her place for the night, but he refused to stay, opting to "run free as a bird" through the hot night. Wonder if he's okay? She walked to the land line, only to remember Rally didn't have one. She'd stop and see him on her way to her mother's, tomorrow after work. Work... What was she doing there again? Oh right, getting news out to the masses. Right...
The sunset had gone from a blistering pink to an astoundingly deep purple. Martina had never seen anything like it. It looked like the goddam Apocalypse. What on earth would make it do that? It was a sight to behold, though, casting a million different hues upon sea and land. Walking back out onto her balcony, she noticed others outside taking notice as well. For the most part, people were indulging in the romance. No one went inside until the shade had darkened into an almost-black indigo. It made the palm trees and neon lights look as they must have in Hollywood's hey day. Or even more surreal than that. Like one the movies itself, a painted backdrop. Not surreal, but totally unreal. That's right. This isn't real. It can't be.
She was worried. Maybe she should pack a bag. Maybe she'll want to spend the night at her mother's. She should take booze.
And tonight she'd take a sleeping pill.
