In Her Room
1845 Words
We took the elevator and it's so cramped in here. A lot of busy people are hurrying to go around the building. It's a mixed-use building, after all. As we're shoulder to shoulder and with the wall behind us, she is preoccupied with her phone. I was too late to pull out my phone from my pocket. I can't pull it out of my pocket because it's very cramped. I feel suffocating!
The elevator stops at almost every floor as it goes up. She didn't tell me which floor we are going but she just chills and scrolls down on Acebook. Maybe we already passed by the floor we're supposed to be and she didn't notice it. I couldn't ask her because a whisper could be heard by everyone. Waiting, I get impatient until the elevator doors open and most of the people leave the elevator.
“Which floor is your room?” I ask.
“31st,” she answers, still scrolling down her phone.
I look at the floor we are on right now and we're still on the 23rd floor. Just a few floors more. I don't get how she manages to be so early if the elevator is always crowded like this. She must be waking up so early.
Before I knew it, the elevator doors open for the 31st floor. We come out in a hard way, going through the standing people because we're at the back. She walks at a fast pace, probably seeking comfort in her space. I follow her through the hallways and then she stops at this door, labeled “3116.” I guess we have arrived. She opens it and something brushingly swishes on the tiles followed by a bark. It's a dog!
“Come to papa, Sora!” Eli calls out, bending forward, and holds out her hand for the dog.
Its breed is Akita Inu—the typical Japanese dog breed. She rubs its head with her hands and says something in Japanese that I couldn't understand. It looks at me for a second and growls. I step back, worried it would bite me. I had an experience getting bitten by a dog and I tell you, it wasn't a fun experience!
“No,” she says.
It settles down, sits, wiggles its tail, panting, and with its tongue hanging from the side of its mouth. It goes inside I discover that it's a male dog. She lets me in first and she closes the door after she comes in. Her place is so fancy. She has grey sofas in the living room facing the wide smart TV. The glass pane windows show the whole city from up here. The air smells fragrant and cool. Shiny floors that almost look like mirrors. And walls that are painted finely with the color of caramel.
“Ya got a nice place,” I tell her.
“Well, it's not much.”
“Not much—my a*s. I bet this place costs ten times my monthly allowance.”
She giggles as she walks to the door of her bedroom. “Wait here for a moment,” she says, gesturing to the sofa. “There's a remote for the TV there. Feel free to watch while you wait.”
Sitting down, I tell her, “Okay.”
She nods before opening the door to her bedroom and closing it. I'm alone here in the living room with her dog. He's looking at me like it's piercing my soul. I look away because I'm afraid I might intimidate him. He sniffs my knees and my feet. I couldn't move at all. I'm afraid that it will bite me suddenly. Then I swallow my fear thinking about trying to pet him.
Slowly, I draw in my hand over his head. He looks at it like it's ready to bite anytime. He returns sniffing my knee until I got a hold of his head. I rub his head and I can tail by his wiggling tail that he likes it.
“Woah, he likes you,” says Eli, coming out of her bedroom.
“He's so cute. Is he from Japan too?” He licks my palm and I feel ticklish.
“Yeah,” she answers, kneeling on the floor next to him. She caresses his back.
“Did you travel by plane with him?” He starts to show its belly and she rubs it to his heart's content. Its back foot is twitching in pleasure.
“Yeah.”
“How?”
“Well, there are paperwork and rules to follow.”
“Was it difficult?”
“Not that much.”
With nothing more to ask or say, I end the conversation with, “Uh-huh...”
“Can you introduce me to a good anime you watched recently?”
With a lot of anime that I like in my mind, I couldn't decide which one I should recommend to her. “Uh... Attack on Titan, I guess.”
“Oh, I heard that one! Is it good as they say?”
“Yeah, so good. The animation is sick too.”
“Where can I watch it?”
“I have the whole season in my USB drive.”
“Wow! Really?” she asks and her face is so close to mine.
I look to the side and answer, “Yeah. Just let me get it from my bag.”
She sits beside me with Sora on her lap. They look comfortable with each other and I wish I was the dog. Uh, no... this sh*tty mind of mine.
When I finally found it, I walk to the TV to find its USB port. It's on its left side. I sit back on the sofa next to her and I'm still trying to figure out the buttons on the remote. Like most TVs, it has a button to switch modes. I put it on USB mode. Then the folders familiar to me appear on the screen. I have many folders for sorting out the genre and how good the anime is.
“Wow, that's a lot!” she exclaims.
I continue to the folder, “Shonen” then to the folder, “Attack on Titan” then, “Season 1” and finally “Ep01.” I play it and it starts.
She becomes focused on it when I look at her. Petting her dog, she stares at the TV like being hypnotized. I'm hypnotized. I feel... glad that she still likes watching anime. Half an hour later, the episode ended.
“I like this,” she says. “I'm free today, so let me ask, can I watch the whole season in one day?”
“That would be possible, yeah.”
“Okay, I'll finish it today.”
“You're sure?”
“Yeah, it's so good!”
“Okay.” Pressing the button on the remote, I play the next episode. She's enjoying it and I enjoy rewatching it.
I feel kind of happy that she enjoys the show. It's one of my favorite shows, after all. Of course, I would be happy if others also enjoy it. Especially my childhood friend that hasn't watched anime for a long time. This day turned out to be great. I feel at ease because I'm sitting on a comfortable sofa after a workout. Her reactions are gold whenever an incredible scene appears. Like when Levi—a character from the show shows up, killing the ugly titans in one swoop.
“The animation is sick!” she exclaims.
“I know, right?” I answer, feeling tired. “The animators are so biased with Levi that he has all of the greatest fight scenes.”
“There's more of him?”
“Yeah, but I won't spoil it for you.”
“Okay! I think I'll watch it until the second season. How many seasons are there again?”
“Four but the number of episodes per season varies.”
“That's good then! I want more of this!”
She's enjoying the show as if she's a little child and like when I was alone watching this show too. Her place is too comfortable for me to stop getting drowsy. My exhaustion doesn't help to keep me awake. I wish to see more of her enjoying the show that I also enjoy but my body couldn't grant my wish.
“Can I take a nap in here for a moment?” I ask her before a yawn.
“Yeah, you can.”
“Take this.” I hand her the remote. “And don't pull pranks on me.”
“Sorry, but I couldn't guarantee that.”
“You're good as dead if you do.”
She laughs but I ignore her. I just close my eyes and lie sideways down the sofa, my legs folding and touching Sora's body as he sits beside her, and my head on the pillow. I feel so comfortable. The pillow smells freshly washed. Falling asleep is easy as ever. I can still make out what is happening in the show but my senses... fade away... as... time... goes...
-
*
Kevin falls asleep. Sora also naps beside Eli, leaving her the only one with eyes wide open, watching the TV. Unlike earlier, she is now peaceful and reacts lesser so she will not disturb their sleep. She feels bored all of a sudden because she is the only one watching now. Turning her gaze to Kevin's face, she stares then turns to look at the TV. The show has become less enjoyable for her.
*
-
Waking up, the TV plays the outro of AoT Season 2. I wonder why it's still playing. Sitting up, I found her sleeping while hugging her dog. They're calming to look at. I stretch and yawn, then look behind me. Looking at the sky through the glass pane, I widen my eyes. It's already afternoon! I slept for... over five hours! And... argh! My whole body feels weak. My muscles are sore.
Looking at the city through the glass pane, I wonder if I should leave now. Maybe it would be manners if I leave without telling her. Or I'll just leave a note that I already left. Yeah, I'll do that. Then she yawns like an old creaking door.
“You're awake,” I remark as I turn around. “I'll let you borrow the drive. You can return it-”
“Okay,” she says, rubbing her eyes. “but I want to watch them with you,”
“What?”
“It's boring watching alone.”
“No, it's not. I always watch them alone and I enjoy them as much as-” I realize that I'm trying to fan away people again. “Never mind, we'll watch them together—if possible.”
“Nice,” she says before standing up then stretching her back. Sora goes somewhere else. “Let's talk about the girls you like.”
- Writer
