Arrival

Sandra Gerz

by Sandra Gerz

Story

To her, arrival had always been something positive. Wandering aimlessly was never enjoyable. Getting to where she wanted to be and wanted to stay for at least a short while was the best feeling in this world, but this time it was different. She had wondered countless times what might happen, if she came home and now that she knew the answer, she was no longer quite sure, if it was what she truly wanted.

The screaming lady who had turned out to be her replacement had dragged her to the shift leader. All she had said was “Guess you believe me now. By the way, you are fired”

By then she had just made sure she and her cat got home fast. As she looked around her messy apartment, she noticed an open window she had forgotten about. Her other two cats were indeed alive and well. Both of them came by after a while, though they paid her no mind.

She had gotten herself a large bowl of ice cream from the freezer. It was by far the food she had missed the most. She closed her eyes and took a mouthful of ice cream. It was freezing cold and barely tasted of anything other than overwhelming sweetness. Her eyes snapped open. This couldn’t possibly be what she had missed for all this time. She put the bowl down. Even eating this small spoonful made her feel sick.

Her fridge didn’t have a lot more to offer other than the bottles of stolen champagne that had cost her her job. The food that had been inside it when she left was now mostly covered in mold. She ended up thawing a sausage she found at the bottom of her freezer.

The sausage tasted so salty she grimaced and spit it out. No, this wasn’t worth staying here for. She thought of the fluffy dust that would collect on basically any surface. If only she could lick her arm …

No. This was it. She got up and gathered her cats. On the way out she encountered one of the neighbors who stopped to complain to her about her not cleaning the staircase when it would have been her turn. She pretended to be in a hurry and left for the shopping center. She might not work there anymore, but she would still be allowed to use the bathroom. That was exactly what she was planning on doing.

Nobody was around as she entered the bathroom she had always loved to avoid. It was dirty as ever. The mirror was smeared and covered in all kinds of stuff.

She climbed the sink and extended a hand. The mirror gave way.

“Welcome to the other end of the galaxy, how can I help you?” a familiar voice asked.

She stepped inside the mirror. “Can I stay with you?”

© Sandra Gerz 2023-01-08

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