Mirrors & Shadows

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝐈𝐈𝐈

յօ 𝔪𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔥𝔰 𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔯 ~ 𝔞𝔫 𝔞𝔴𝔨𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯

The days that followed, she caught an expected cold along with a throbbing migraine and went to the pharmacy. The last time when she caught pneumonia and had to take time off work, she fell into a long period of depression from staying home alone, in bed for so long. So this time, she bought the medication against headaches that the pharmacist recommended and determined as she was not to go on sick-leave, kept it in her satchel in case she needed it at work. However, a few days later, she vomited about four times and lost three kilos. And eventually called in sick for work. Though the guy that sat in her class staring at her for hours without taking a single note might have been part of what made her decide to avoid work.

She did fall into a lethargic state for a while which cost her two entire ice cream pots of Ben&Jerry's, one chocolate browny the other cookie dough and caramel (which eventually ended up in the toilet looking way less tasty). However, luckily she recovered quickly this time. She went back to work and changed her alarm clock ringtone to 'Beat it' thinking it would motivate her to get out of bed in the morning but instead of feeling motivated, the new ringtone that was set off every morning at 6:00 am only made her want to yell at Michael Jackson to "just shut it, shut it...".

Meanwhile, her schedule went back to normal. The young professor took advantage of her evenings to watch the neighbor's tv with binoculars and microwaved pop corn by the side of the window, practicing lip-reading. During the night, she would lie in bed fighting with her cat over the pillow. Then she would spend at least an entire hour trying to come up with creative ways to muffle the sound of the concierge shouting at neighbors to "keep it down".

One particular night when the fight was louder and lasted longer than usual, Luna remembered the concierge retorting:
"You've gone too far. You damn people never stop pushing my buttons."And Luna opened the window and yelled back:
"Oh sorry I didn't mean to push your buttons I was just looking for mute."
Afterwards, she couldn't help laughing and crying at the same time because she really didn't imagine she was that type of person but on the other hand, the joke was funny.

Then, another time she recorded the conversation one of her neighbors had on the phone with their cousin and then later bought a speaker to broadcast it at high volume so that her chatty neighbor might realize how annoying it is to hear their squeaky little voice yapping throughout the courtyard from midnight until one am. She giggled alone thinking of how embarrassing it must be to wake up to the sound of the concierge yelling his lungs out at someone only to realize he's yelling at your voice (talking about types of shampoo with your cousin) all the while realizing you're not actually speaking.

Other nights, always at exactly two in the morning, her brain would decide it was time to solve complicated math equations at high speed. That's why she kept a white board near her nightstand. Though, that night, she unconsciously used the window instead of the white board. That night was a normal night. Or at least what would have been a typical sleepless night to Luna.

She was wandering about Paris like she would do when when avoiding going home. The clouds were dark in the night sky, rain was on its way. She had forgotten her umbrella but she really wasn't in the mood to go home. Instead, without paying attention to where she was headed, she found herself entering this park under moonlit trees. Was this the Buttes-Chaumont? She wondered while intentionally getting lost on the different paths. The park began to look more and more like a majestic forest. She could hear the sweet trickle and hum of running water near by. Indeed there was a small river that split through the forest like a graceful scar. The bright moon reflected at the rippling surface. She reached out toward the gleaming circular shape. Her hand was met with the soothing caress of the stream. And there she saw it, a rose in its delicate velvet dress, floating serenely, helpless against the current. She suddenly felt the need to rescue it from its unknown fate. However, when she grabbed the rose by the stem, sharp thorns split through her skin. She gasped. Liquid as crimson as the rose's petals trickled down her wrist, spilling into the river's clear water.