Rivers of Fate

Where Only Wishes May Travel

Xia stood before her unmade bed, eyes closed. A slow exhale between pursed lips as she gently tugged and... There. Her helmet was on. She wiggled the base of her thick, waist length braid to sit flat against the back of her neck.

No pain. No dizziness. So far so good.

That last dose of pills seemed to have finally done the trick. The migraine was gone. She snapped the chin buckle closed without even pinching her skin. Win-win.

It probably wasn't the smartest thing to take her bike this morning. She'd barely slept the night before. But biking to the sandwich shop would only take her a fraction of the time walking would. Besides, fresh air blowing in her face would do her good. The radio announcer just said the forecast called for a cool, sunny day.

A shrill chirp called her attention across the room.

The chickadee on the kitchen table ruffled out its feathers. The bird tilted its puffed head at Xia before pecking sharply at the thin wicker bars of its cage.

"I know. You're not happy I'm leaving. But someone's got to bring home the birdseed." The chickadee's wing stretched and flapped in sync with its uninjured counterpart. Xia figured another day or two and she'd be able to set the bird free outside again.

Shouldering her knapsack, Xia headed for the apartment door.

Her keys. She patted the back pockets of her shorts. Where were her keys? Her gaze swept back over the table.

Like a fortress surrounded by walled defenses, the thrift shop birdcage was encircled by turreted piles of sandwich shop napkins, scattered magazines and newspapers, cut up coupon booklets, and wadded up grocery receipts. Xia's secondhand textbooks sat on one of the two chairs. Her old laptop with its on again-off again screen sat upon the other. If she could scrounge a little more from tips this month, she might be able to put down a deposit on a new refurbished one.

Angling her head, Xia spied the glint of the kitchen light upon something metallic. The keys were where she'd tossed them the night before, next to the stack of newly printed copies of her resume to include her recent certificate under 'Education'. She'd gotten the resumes printed for two cents a copy at the office supply store thanks to a discount coupon.

Xia snatched up the keys. The chickadee was ignoring her now, having turned its back to preen its tail feathers.

She passed the kitchenette sink, oblivious to the milky waft that rose. Her gaze barely registered the crooked tower of cereal bowls in it, each bowl resting awkwardly slanted on jutting spoon handles.

A crunch beneath her feet made her pause however. Xia clasped the edge of the counter to slap off crumbs stuck to the soles of her socks.

I really should clean up. She frowned at the countertop that was littered with breadcrumbs. A trail led from the toaster over to a stack of old Bon Jovi CDs that kept company with the battered cd-radio player she had found at a garage sale. The radio only worked on one channel, the local news station. But Xia didn't care. As long as the CDs worked.

Nimbly hopping over the mound of clothes in front of the bathroom to get in --she could have sworn that mound was smaller not an hour ago-- she stole a quick peek behind the shower curtain to make sure she'd shut the taps off properly. They tended to drip if not turned off just right. The hooks of her wet bras clicked against her helmet when she lifted her head back up. Xia sighed as she readjusted her unmentionables drying on the pole.

There were only so many things she could wash by hand in the sink, or with herself in the bath or shower. That growing mound of dirty clothes could only be ignored so long. Like it or not, she thought as she hopped back out, she'd have to make a trip to the laundromat either tonight or tomorrow to have something to wear for her interview on Friday.