by M. H. Laskar
3. LATE WORKINGS
The clock chimed the lateness of the hour. The office was almost completely deserted now. A lone figure sat in one corner, papers spread out adamantly across the oversized desk, broken pencils lying defeated on the carpet. The woman barely registered the chime as she sat with her head resting in her hand, an undigested folder in front of her, eyes scanning frantically from left to right as she read the same line over and over. A sigh of frustration parted her lips as she stabbed a fountain pen into the page and watched the ink blot. Several minutes passed in silence before she looked up and gazed out of the tall watchful windows.
Darkness had settled comfortably and the streetlights were glowing solemnly in the street below. One of the fleet flickered on and off erratically, as it had been doing for the past several weeks. When ever would that be fixed? she pondered, irritated. She became even more irritated when she realised her long evenings in the office were so numerous as of late that she was able to notice that the rebellious streetlamp had not been repaired for so long. As she sat there looking out, deep in thought, her eyes shifted focus and fell upon her own reflection in the window.
Her long dark brown hair fell playfully to her shoulders, in an array of graceful swirls. They tickled across her slender cheekbones and round her sweet, soft ears which were somewhat crimson in the warmth of the office. Her features were warm and kind, her lips a rosy pink, her skin tone a soft brown. They contrasted beautifully with her eyes – emerald green. Right now, those eyes were heavy with fatigue. As she looked at them, she smiled tenderly and turned to the photo frame that sat prized on her desk. In it sat a young girl perched on a wall, holding an oversized multicoloured ice cream, her nose creased up in a cheeky grin as she glanced sheepishly towards the camera with her emerald eyes.
Ariyana stood up and stretched pleasantly before putting on her coat and throwing her essentials into her bag. She swiftly headed towards the corridor, leaving the papers sprawled over her desk – after all, she would be back early the following morning no doubt. As she walked down the corridor, she turned to say goodbye to the caretaker but he was not in his usual place so she continued down it, gently humming to herself. A playful yawn escaped her mouth as she glanced at her watch. Her I.D. tag would not work at this late hour, so she headed towards the security office to call upon the warden.
It took her longer than it should have to sense she was being followed.
She did not know how she knew, for she heard no footsteps and saw no shadow. Without so much haste as to arouse suspicion of awareness she quickened her pace and proceeded cautiously to the lift. As she stood waiting impatiently for it to arrive an unnatural uneasiness descended on her and she peered through the corner of her eyes to gauge her suspiciously silent surroundings. The light directly above her suddenly started humming, causing her to gasp in her newfound state of paranoia. The lift abruptly rang in front as the doors slid open and she swiftly jumped in and punched the button for the ground floor. The cold metal of the button was reassuring against her warm fingers. She punched it again in her impatience and the doors sluggishly started to rattle closed. She stared firmly at the narrowing gap between the lift doors with increasing relief but just before the gap closed a gnarled hand stuck its way through it. Ariyana screamed as the fingers prised the doors open and she came face to face with its owner.
A toothless and wrinkled old man with oversized thick-rimmed glasses grinned back at her in his faded blue overalls, holding a long battered broom in one hand. “Sorry ma’am, I mean nought to scare you. I saw you did gone and left them keys, I did, so I picked them up I did and brought them to you. Didn’t mean to startle you m’dear!”
“Oh my gosh, it’s you, such a relief! Sorry, I just... it’s late and my mind’s all frazzled from work, you just made me jump that’s all. Thanks so much, you’re such a sweetheart, I would’ve had to come back for these!” she smiled warmly at him, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“No problem ma’am, anything, no problem at all, not at all”. The caretaker bowed politely and waddled off back down the corridor.
Ariyana watched him walk away cheerily through the closing doors. “Control yourself woman!” she muttered quietly to herself as the lift descended lethargically. The pressure of work was clearly taking its toll on her, she mused. Too much on her mind and too little time for her most important commitments.
As she churned her thoughts and priorities over on the drive home her eyes kept fluttering nervously to the rear-view mirror as she eyed the road behind her. She still could not shake off the feeling of being watched, but the soft beams of car headlights on the motorway was comforting. Her eyelids were getting heavier and it was with a sigh of relief that she drove past forested marshes and dense tree-lined overgrowth and entered the village that befriended it, pulling up onto a cobbled driveway. As she did so, she wondered what mysterious happenings might be taking place beyond her familiar surroundings that cool and unassuming night.