Work and Withering [Afternoon/Work]

The flowers on the window sill were starting to wilt. The edges of the soft petals were turning brown, wrinkling like old flesh. The light of the sun was filtering in on them, casting a vibrant, youthful glow on the decrepit carnations.

Sitting on the edge of the room's untidy bed, Nadia's eyes focused on the flowers, wondering what story had left them behind in this room. It wasn't unusual for guests to leave things behind when they went along their way, although it was usually trash, plastic wrappers...receipts. But then, now that the beauty was fading from the small bouquet, it was trash now too, she supposed. She wished fleetingly that she'd brought her sketchbook. But no, she'd been scolded the last time she'd been caught drawing when she was supposed to be cleaning a room, and as this was how she earned the roof over her head, she wasn't about to repeat the same misstep a second time.

Standing after her momentary reverie, the thin girl patted out the creases of her white apron and went about her work, changing the sheets of the bed and tossing the bedding and pillows into the basket that made up the bottom of her rolling cart. She gathered up trash, dusted and wiped down the shelves and dressers, the chest of drawers.

Every few moments she paused to look back at the flowers on the sill, still sitting there, still wilting, while the day wore on outside, changing softly from day to dusk. It was times like these where it was hard to imagine that demons lurked just outside. They'd be out again soon, not that Nadia had ever seen them. But there were rumors, whispers around school about missing students, underground terrorists, cadets she'd seen around that supposedly wielded a kind of power that was dangerous. She wished she could see that terrible power at least once. With any luck, she'd have a chance to draw one of those demons some day.

A knock at the door alerted Nadia to the fact that she was staring at the flowers again, and she busied her fingers with tightening the laces of her apron as she turned her attention to the door.

Another of the housekeeping girls poked her head in through the doorway then. It was a round-faced girl with light brown wavy hair caught up in a loose bun at the back of her head. Nadia always thought it looked a bit like a bird's nest, but the airy way it bounced when she walked hinted more at the consistency of cotton candy. Nadia wanted to put her fingers in it and find out. But that would likely be a breech of social and professional decorum.

"Oh, you're almost done. That's pretty quick for you." The girl noted with a glance around the room that made the ball of cotton bounce. Bridgett was her name, and she was the maid in charge of giving her tasks when she was 'on the clock.'

A flicker of light in the girl's eyes gave Nadia the impression that it was her turn to say something. "Pretty quick for you." Was that supposed to be a compliment? "Thank you." She settled on finally, nodding.

Bridgett smile ruefully, but there was a mocking curve to her lips that unsettled Nadia. "You're a strange girl, Nadia. I can never tell what you're thinking."

I can tell what you're thinking. You think there's something wrong with me, because I didn't respond to your question the way you expected. "If you say so." Nadia replied blankly.

"Anyway, I finished my last room a bit ahead of schedule and I'll handle the last room so, when you're done with this one, you're off the hook, okay? You should go out, you know, get a date or something." Bridgett winked at her before slipping back out of the room and closing the door softly behind her. The silence that followed in Bridgett's wake was like a breath of fresh air. Date? like something like that was going to happen. But...

Nadia glanced back to the flowers on the window. One of the petals had fallen off and was now resting on the sill, a single sinking ship in an ocean of yellow-cast wood. Nadia smiled fondly. When she had finished cleaning the remainder of the room, she gently picked up the flowers, the cheap vase they had been brought in with, and the few scattered petals. She set the vase on the edge of her cart, moved silently through the door, and turned out the light behind her.