The Arrival
It's just another day at work for Daphne, another day in which she struggles to regain a normal life after her chaotic breakup with her ex.
She wakes up early, switching off her mobile alarm, trying not to wake her younger sister sleeping on the lower bed of their bunk bed.
She gets ready for work, reluctantly combing her short ashy blonde bob and applying some makeup to her face to avoid any uncomfortable questions about whether she's okay. Not that she does a great job with her make-up, but it does at least disguise her under-eye circles and camouflage the appearance of those pesky pimples that crop up on her skin, which she hates but understands as a consequence of her monthly cycle. After grabbing her belongings and stuffing them into a backpack, she checks her reflection in the mirror, confirming her outfit - a pair of mid-rise blue jeans, a black top, and all-black converse shoes.
While sipping her heavily sweetened and strong morning coffee - her quick version of breakfast - she checks that she has everything she needs in her backpack. All the while listening to the annoying noise of her mom's dogs barking like crazy from the backyard. She does not understand her family's obsession with adopting so many dogs. They're loud and irritating, but this is no longer her home. It stopped being so when she moved in with Aidan, and her return is only temporary - or so she expects, so she can't complain about the pesky pets.
Still half-asleep, she walks to the bus stop which will take her to work. She can't really complain - at least she landed a job as an intern at a research center. That had been one of her goals ever since she graduated as a biologist barely a year ago. Well, one of her goals - her plans were generally different, but Aidan, her ex, had decided to destroy them, along with her feelings.
The pain of losing her first and only boyfriend still clenches her chest. Aidan had been sweet and considerate to her, even romantic, all through their six years together, but ever since they started living together four months ago, he had turned into a complete jerk, shattering Daphne's heart in the process.
This destroyed Daphne's ability to trust anyone beyond herself. She should have learned from her childhood experiences, but she was in love and thought Aidan was her destiny, finally rewarding her for always turning the other cheek.
Her experience with Aidan still hurts her - she had expected something different, nothing big, just that he would keep his promises to always love and take care of her. Aidan loved making promises of eternal love, telling her how much he loved her and that despite her being in a significantly lower economic situation than him, he would ensure in the future she would not lack anything.
Those damning promises are what hurt Daphne the most. After all, when Aidan had the opportunity to fulfill them, he began to distance himself. Apparently, her ex had no intention of respecting his own words.
Daphne sighs and turns up the volume of her wireless headphones, letting the music drown out the complaints of her mind.
She lets herself be carried away by the melodious voice of Evanescence's singer. She's always liked that band since she first heard them at the age of 14. Even with her scant, almost limited understanding of English back then, the voice and melody of their songs filled her mind and stirred impulses in her heart.
That soothes her, but in her current situation, it isn't enough to calm the anxiety in her chest. More so considering the dreams that have started to haunt her for several days.
Upon arriving at her workplace, she steps off the bus and heads to the entry booth, showing her provisional pass to the security guard.
Flashing an awkward smile, as a newbie, nobody knows her, and she feels uncomfortable interacting with people who apparently can't remember her face, despite her being there for a month now.
The security guard suspiciously reads her ID card for the fourth time this week before granting access.
Daphne sighs, adjusting her backpack on her shoulder as she starts to stroll through the parking lot and along the road that leads to her department.
The research center is quite large, consisting of separate buildings spaced apart. In her case, she needs to head to the last department. In general, everyone here commutes by car, so the travel isn't uncomfortable for them, but she as a low-resource intern can only dream of having such luxury. Barely what she earns covers her bus fare.The place is quite relaxing, with paradise trees lining the street, perfuming the cloudy landscape. The long walk to her research apartment allows her to unwind and start her day.
Her work is simple, as a doctoral intern in the field of entomology, she is dedicated to classifying insects extracted from various sectors and cataloging them. It may sound somewhat boring, but she loves insects and the hours fly by as she works behind her magnifying glass.
It's not a well-paying job, but it's what she likes and fights for. She really fights, these days people only value your degree depending on how much it fills your wallet, she could have been a doctor, as her mother wanted so much, but it's not what she wanted. Nevertheless, she tried, it was good that she decided to give up before wasting time on something she didn't like. One thing is to like the sciences, but she couldn't imagine herself curing people. And a doctor who doesn't cure people would make little sense to her. Even so, her decision caused chaos in her family, no one understood her choice given her capability they believed her capable of "better" things, alias better paid. But she doesn't need the approval of people who only want to criticize, she only needs her own approval, she approves of her life, or what's left of it.
Now just a few meters to get to her apartment, and Daphne takes a deep breath feeling the breeze that blows from the impending storm forming in her head. But the sky shows an unusually cleared area where a huge full moon is still visible despite the day... For some reason, looking there disturbs Daphne's heart, reminding her of confusing fragments of her dream. That night she dreamt of warm arms wrapping around her body, she wanted to believe it was just her mind complaining about missing Aidan, but something in the dream told her it wasn't him hugging her. Neither Aidan nor anyone has caused what the mystery of her dream caused in her. Security. Being surrounded by muscular and warm protective arms. With frustration, Daphne pushes her mind away from these thoughts, thinking about it does her no good.
Thankfully she's almost there, just a few steps. Seeing the entrance of the place, she extends her arm to press the buzzer and waits for someone to come down and open it, since her workspace is on the second floor. But the buzzer never rang, and the place where Daphne was standing a moment ago is now empty, occupied only by the leaves carried by the wind.
