Those Glistening Golden Eyes

My hand slid down the murky window, tracing the glistening wakes of the raindrops. This only leaves me with a murky feeling of procrastination and slacking corruption. I feel sick but not in the I-am-going-to-throw-up way but in the three-is-no-way-I-am-meeting-these-deadlines. The point of my index finger bristled slightly, and I pulled away from the window in profound boredom. My only boundary. In thinking this, I felt like I had been transported, to another mystical world, where I was the bedazzled princess locked away, rosy cheeks that were wistful for the sun and thin lips that longed to embrace the wind.  

I extend my feet and kicked off the heavy oak desk, spinning in vapid, squeaky circles, plummeting into a deeper hole of self-pity.  The chair protested loudly while my stomach lurched but at least the desk stayed quiet. My father's stiff voice echoed in my head, office job, be successful, OFFICE JOB. The desk was bolted to the tiled floor, so it wasn’t like I could knock it over anyway and this thought assured me as I pushed my glasses higher up my nose.   

I pinched my forehead and blinked rapidly. Every single god-forsaken day, especially these days, felt like they were passing in a daze and not a happy one at that. The computer console whirred softly every couple minutes or so and I yawned along with it, my body obviously expressing that I was now a former shell of my gutsy self, who would probably be concerned if I had yawned. But that was in the past now.

 I glanced over at the window in between clicks of the mouse, the faint sticking of computer keys, and a familiar sound that was the sole base of innocence.   

The soft padding sound came again, and I rolled my eyes fiercely before tightening my loose ponytail that rests against my neck and brushing my hands against my crumpled clothes.   

“Spicy, baby, what the hell do you want?” I rapped sharply on the bottom crevice of the door, just to prove how annoying it is. I could hear Spicy hiss from behind the door before softly treading away. If I could live in my fairytale world, my darling Spicy would probably end up being the witch, as she was seemingly distracting me from my goal. The goal at hand but...what was my goal anyway?   

As I pondered this, the artificial light that emanated from the screen framed my face and I heard a soft ding. I ignored it for a moment before another ding, slightly louder, followed. I sighed and wheeled the chair over to the computer. My eyes flitted over the screen, scanning for something new.   

“More work?” My voice rose in a whine and I pulled my blanket closer around me. The files had popped up with due dates and reminders to complete. My email dinged with notices and alerts. My eyes began to burn with frustration. I stared down at my pedicure that was slowly being ebbed away and a small shiver dashed up to my spine. Perhaps enlightening something because the next thing I knew, I was unlocking the “dungeon” door and softly walking up the carpeted stairs of the basement.   

                                    ***  

A dark shape blurred across the marble counters that rested somberly in the kitchen. The dark bundle gracefully leaped from a countertop and weaved between my ankles, only pausing to glance up in prestige impatience. I crouched low and obnoxiously pursed my lips to the whiskered face. Spicy widened her golden eyes and edged back slightly. I giggled and touched her nose with my nose before rising again and stretching.   

Why are dogs a man's best friend, as they commonly say?  More like world's greatest distraction and I don’t give a fuck about diamonds, no matter how the saying goes. Cats are my thing, for sure. Spicy primly sat upon the glossy top and watched her tail flick to and fro. I smiled and stroked her head gently, tracing my fingers down past her mattered ears. Her head slowly drooped forward, and her eyes became dreamy. She erupted in a vibrating trance and her shoulders rumbled backward.  

I walked toward the fridge and reached to pull out some leftovers for an early lunch, but I decided that I should probably cut down on this excessive eating habit that’s been going on.  Instead, I shut the shiny door and faced Spicy who stiffened her spine and met my eyes.  I held her gaze for a moment before throwing my hands up in the air.  

“How DARE they continue to assign this work? I have a life you know!”  

Spicy let out a contented purr and I continued with my rant.  

“Do they do this to everyone? Why in the world does dad think this would make me feel successful? Do you think I'm successful?”

I turned in agony to face Spicy and anger licked at my heart.   

My phone gave a soft ping from my pocket, not to be forgotten, and brought me back to the painful reality that I still had work to do. My head whipped accusingly toward Spicy who glanced up at me with innocent eyes. Her long black tail swayed like the hands of mantle clock and I turned away, running back over the chilly tiled floor back to the basement.  “office”.   

I could feel Spicy’s golden eyes boring into the door, etching themselves into my skin. I couldn’t help gazing into the cold whiteness of the walls immediately before me, feeling like a songbird whose wings had been clipped and who was hurling herself at the bars of her cage.   

I was a broken record, the crack of dawn, a glitchy robot, an email, a shivering failure. The air holds the heavy notes of Spicy’s whining at being left alone, her longing until it retreats to noise hovering in the background.   

A single droplet of sweat slinks down my face and I know. I know, instantly. I stare grimly at the computer screen and my lips pull themselves into a tight line.   

 “This is going to be dramatic, isn’t it.” I plainly state as I walk to the door, the old door to my office, and pull hard. It flings open and Spicy bounds in, her golden eyes quickly encircling the room. She releases a loud hiss and leaps at my computer. A loud clunk followed by the sound of a faint whirr makes me wince and I slowly open my eyes. My computer lays in ruins, but not after I had succeeded in sending job applications to four websites. The screen emits an eerie flicker and I crouch down, resting my wrists on my knees and cock my head to the left.   

“See ya, old friend. Glad it’s over because the adventures weren't fun anyway.”   

I turn to Spicy, who is sitting proudly on top of the rectangular console, treating it as though it is her throne. I croon and coo softly before wrapping both arms around her soft belly and letting her front legs rest on my shoulder her whiskers tickling my cheeks. I hold her warm, furry body tightly and whirl around to face the interior of the worse-for-wear office before shutting the door with Spicy’s meow of approval.