Anarameha

Chapter 5

After the obligatory stops on the way home, Ana was ready to wind down. Rather than going straight to bed, she always took the time to relax and soak in the goodness in her life. She was alive. She was free. Her life wasn't easy, but she knew it was better than many. Ana didn't always make the right decisions, but the steps that she'd taken in the days after her life was thrown into chaos had proved to be good ones.

Sitting on a catwalk near her window, Ana leaned on the rail and looked at the glowing light surrounding the buildings. If she wanted to see the sun as it rose, she could take a few steps past the end of her building and find it. For now, though, she was happy to watch the land and how that silvery blue began to change to a soft yellow as the morning consumed the land.

Hearing she had company, Ana turned and watched her neighbour's cat approach. At least, she thought that he belonged to one of her neighbours. Ana had no idea who, though. She believed that it was a single woman living two floors up. When Jingles approached, it was always from above. He'd jump from the window sills to the catwalks, utilising gaps in between to reach the next level.

Ana had called him Jingles because the bell he wore on the collar jingled. There was no name on it, just a phone number. The cat was clearly a pet, not skinny and appeared to be well fed.

The cat meowed as he approached, purring as he rubbed his silvery body over the pole. When Ana beckoned him, the cat sat beside her and enjoyed a good scratching behind the ear and under the chin.

"And what have you been up to since our last meeting? Beating up the other toms, loving your ladies, pinching waste food from the restaurants?"

The cat didn't meow, just purring from the attention. Ana could feel the lethargy begin to weigh her down, so she reached into her apartment and pulled out the plate that she'd set aside for the cat. Ana didn't always feed him because she figured that he was already fat enough, but occasionally, she'd pick up a cat food capsule and bring it home for him. While the cat ate, Ana ran her hand over the soft fur on his back.

"You are such a good boy."

When he was done, the tongue licked the sides until his ears pricked up. Ana could hear someone calling out to Mister Tinkles.

"So that's your name, eh? You could have told me that I got it wrong. Better get going, tinkly boy. Your mama's calling you."

The cat sauntered off, in no hurry to climb up several levels to his owner.

Taking the plate inside, Ana shut the window and pulled down the shutters. Locked in for another night. The cat's dish was in the washer, and Ana lumped herself on the lounge. Hunger gnawed at her, but she'd returned home late, and her routine was shot. Did she care? No.

Deciding on what to eat was the most challenging part of making a meal. She flicked through the canister and found the lasagna.

"Well, I suppose something in my stomach would be a good idea."

Getting up, she cracked open the case, dumped the capsule onto the plate and loaded it into the chamber. Once the code was punched into the panel, the chamber began cooking the food. While it was cooking, Ana stripped out of her black suit and showered.

In the small apartment, Ana didn't have to go far to get to the other side. It was vastly different to what she was used to when she was growing up, but Ana wasn't about to complain.

The apartment had a kitchen, not that it could be considered one anyway. It was a standard design cupboard that was home to the chamber and had cabinets above and below to store cutlery, plates, cups and capsules. Because of this, most apartments didn't need a large kitchen.

Even the bathroom was a stark contrast to the past. When she first walked into this place, Ana was stunned at how small the room was. Just a shower and a toilet that had a sink above the cistern. Ana gritted her teeth as the building manager gushed about how amazing this bathroom model was because it had a self-cleaning function. One press of the button and the door would shut, and the machine would clean itself. 

At the time, Ana lamented that the world was consumed by machines, but now, she was grateful that she didn't have to clean the bathroom. The entire apartment was automated, self-cleaning and ideal for the girl who had never lifted a cleaning brush in her whole life.

Small apartments were standard in the city that was home to far too many people. It needed to be expanded, and there was a time when that was planned, but the militia leader decided that it was a waste of money. So, there was no expansion for Geniprea.

Dressing for bed, Ana ate her dinner on the lounge chair while watching the morning news. She always liked to know what was going on. It's the reason why she spent a lot of hours on the laptop, searching for the latest information about what the militia was up to.

When the lethargy began to hit Ana hard, she switched the television off and cleaned up. By the time she was in bed, the lethargy had passed, but Ana didn't mind. It gave her time to think about the day and night that had just passed. About how she met someone that was like a spark in the dark world. Ana didn't think that anyone would ever repair the past or make her believe that there was something as simple as a second chance. Everyone she knew and loved was dead. She had been alone for too long. Now, life has thrown her an opportunity to start again.

Ana stared at the ceiling while waiting for sleep to find her. She had a smile on her face, and Ana knew that it had been the first in many years.