Another Day at Work

Watching the orange-yellowish sunset from the comfort of her office in an administrative building, Lenora could only smile as she leaned against her seat and gazed at the beautiful scenery through the wide, glass window. With stacks of paper stacked on her desk, she felt relaxed after weeks and weeks of immense stress she faced with her boss.

It was the end of the summer solstice, and yet, Lenora found herself occupied with her duties as a state security to bring peace to the government. Her report had indicated that the number of people expressing their dissatisfaction against the government had risen, compared to the previous years. 

According to the graph she crafted based on a survey she had conducted, the majority of citizens felt that they were facing more oppression and that they were unable to express their thoughts towards the government without getting arrested. I don’t understand why they are so ungrateful towards us, she thought. We’ve given them everything they needed, and this is how they repay us? By protesting against us?

Yet earlier during the day, she was driving towards her office when she noticed banners and buntings hanging by the streetlight, signalling to her that it was the longest day of the year. The sun rose from 2 in the morning all the way up to midnight, and many people usually celebrate in the streets by witnessing the sunset. 

Lenora never enjoyed the longest day of the year, since it's always associated with pain and trauma. The earliest memory of her summer solstice was when her mother barged into her room unannounced, forcing her to wake up and do something productive for the whole day. 

While her fellow classmates spent their day playing in the sun, she was forced to study for the next year with her mother watching her every single move. Now that she’s no longer in contact with her, Lenora felt free as she watched the lilac-tangerine sky turn into a navy blue colour, with the full moon shining with the stars. 

Checking the time on her pastel purple clock, she sighed as she shifted her focus towards her laptop and continued to type her report when she heard a knock in front of her office. “Come in,” she responded, as she took a sip of her pomegranate tea beside her.

A man in his early thirties entered her office, holding a datapad in his hands. Lenora placed her cup on a saucer as she sat upright and faced him, her hands on her desk. “Admiral Anzus,” she greeted with a straight face. “How was your questioning with our prisoner?”

“Not so well, I'm afraid,” he answered with a frown. “He kept repeating his answers over and over again, even though we asked him a different question relating to the fiasco in the city this morning.”

Lenora let out a sigh. “Prisoners are hard to crack most of the time. Did you at least get something useful for us, or did you waste your time and energy torturing him, hoping you could extract something out of his swollen lips?”

“Well, it was necessary in order to crush the rebellion in Blanca,” Anzus gulped as he defended his actions. “You know how frustrating questioning can be. After all, you've been through this more than a million times.”

Rubbing between her temples, Lenora got up and marched away from her office, leaving his jaw hanging. With her hands behind her, the brunette-haired woman with almond eyes and flat nose walked along the hallway with a mix of pride and exhaustion, hoping she would be able to return home and soak herself in a warm bath, surrounded by scented candles and calming music.

Taking the elevator towards the lower level of the building, she entered a cell block, which was dimly-lit and chilly. She passed by each cell which was filled with prisoners that she was familiar with, most of them who clashed with her during a confrontation. The prisoners weren't too pleased with her, and she shared a mutual feeling with them as well.

As she reached towards the last cell in the room, Lenora took a deep breath and unlocked the cell door, facing a rebel that she had caught. With black hair and bruised skin, the man had hooded eyelids and a smaller nose, with a hair colour as bright as a cotton candy at a funfair. 

Facing her, the man took a deep breath as she locked the door behind her, with her lips curved upwards. “So, you must be the one who's having a hard time with Admiral Anzus,” she stated, taking a seat in front of him. “It is a pleasure to meet you again.”

“It's hardly a pleasure at all,” he noted, glaring at her. “He was too harsh with me, even when I was telling the truth to him.”

“My apologies for your unfair treatment,” she placed her hand on her chest and bowed. “I did inform him to be gentle with you, but it seems that he would rather do the hard way instead. He's rather too egoistic to listen to a lady like me, you know.”

“You're lying,” the pink-haired man pointed out. 

“Am I, though? I'm not the one who's all bruised up by an egotistical admiral.”

“And I'm not the one who's using a honey trap to make me talk.”

Lenora burst out laughing, and leaned closer to him, widening her smile. “And what makes you think I would seduce you just to get whatever I want?”

The man was tongue-tied, not knowing how to answer her. She observed his hands shaking in fear as he rubbed the back of his neck, taking note of his behaviour. Out of all the prisoners she questioned, this one stuck out the most to her, though she's not complaining.

“So, did you lose your train of thoughts earlier?” she teased, her head tilted slightly to the right. “Or are you trying to stall me just to give more time for your rebel friends to rescue you?”

“I work alone,” he told her. “And that's all you need to know about me. Now get lost, will you? You're only wasting your time.”

Lenora chuckled to herself as she left his cell for a minute or two, before returning with a first-aid kit. His brows furrowed as she soaked a cotton pad with a bottle of disinfectant, before rubbing them gently on his cheek. “What the hell are you trying to do?” the prisoner grabbed her arm, his eyes fixated on her.

“Don't you want your pain to just go away?” she said to him, in a honeyed voice. “After all, I'm just making up for what that horrible admiral had done to you.”

“How do I know that you're not manipulating me?” he raised his doubts. Lenora's smile did not fade as she gently held his hand and slathered a cotton pad on his wound, humming to a soft tune. 

“You will have to follow your gut instinct, of course,” Lenora assured him, as she put aside the cotton pad and reached for a wet cloth, wiping the blood off his lips. “After all, I’ve done nothing but treat you like a human being after all.”

The prisoner's face softened as she then bandaged his arm and torso, before clearing up the first-aid kit on the table.

“Why are you helping me?” he wondered, glancing at her. “Isn't it your job to extract information from people like you?”

Lenora placed her hand on his shoulder and leaned closer towards him. “You were in pain, so I thought it would be better to heal you first before I get to know you better, of course.”

He blinked and stared at her as she waved goodbye to him, locking his cell door. I should head out right now, she yawned, as she left the cell block. It's getting late out there.