Gasping for breath. Bathed in cold sweat. Throat hoarse from screaming (presumably, since I can’t hear myself when I’m sleeping). This is how I have been waking up in the mornings for the past week, inclusive of this very moment. I cannot remember the nightmare, however. Just like all the other nightmares. And each time I try to recall, I draw a blank. They have been getting worse as time passes, and I have been waking up feeling more and more afraid each time. I’m not sure if I should see a doctor for this because at this point, I’m not even sure if the cause of my nightmares is supernatural or not. It’s a good thing Sunny is away on a holiday with Summer. I don’t think I would be left alone otherwise.

Dragging myself out of bed, I wash up, head to the kitchen and make breakfast. The usual—cereal and milk poured over. It’s not much but it fills my stomach and gives me strength to get through the morning. Strength. Cereal? Who am I kidding? Cereal doesn’t cut it. I’m like a robot, chugging through the cereal on autopilot. The only thing that is keeping me going is a pink-eyed princess vampire who decided to up and disappear from my life sixty days ago.

Sixty.

Sixty?

I drop my spoon in the bowl of cereal and dash back into my room to check the calendar on my desk. I flip the months, noting the dots over each date and stop at today’s little box. There it is, circled in five shades of pink. Day Sixty. The nightmare must have taken a lot out of me because I had gone to bed earlier than usual last night, in hopes that Ms Pink might return to me a little sooner. Speaking of Ms Pink, where is she? The clock tells me I am ten hours into the sixtieth day but my princess vampire is nowhere in sight. The apartment’s windows are closed but they have never stopped Ms Pink from entering before so that can’t be the reason why she isn’t here yet. What if the whole two-month-break thing is just a way for her to break up with me? What if she never meant to come back to me?

Cold, slimy dread takes root in my heart. No. She has to come back. She has to. This break has done nothing but break my heart. I cannot forget her, no matter what I do. I think about her all the time, even during my job interviews (yes, I’m job hunting right now). What if Ms Pink is waiting for me to make a move? What if she’s waiting for me to call her? But what if I call her and get rejected? The scenarios that fill my head make me lose my appetite for breakfast. I return to the kitchen to drain the milk and dump the uneaten cereal. I’ll just try to have a bigger lunch later.

X

“What do you think of our company?”

It isn’t all pink like her. I meet the woman’s friendly gaze with steady eyes and try not to grin. “The work this company has done speaks to me. I aspire to impact through my designs and this company had done just that.”

The man with hair that has been lavished with swaths of gel taps his pen on the papers in front of him. “What’s your greatest accomplishment thus far?”

I saved Ms Pink from dying. I survived multiple vanguard attacks. I killed Praneso. I had with Ms Pink in front of a live audience. I got through sixty days without Ms Pink.“Winning the award for best logo design in the recent design competition—Big Green. I included the design in my portfolio.”

The woman picks up her portfolio and opens it.

“It’s the second one.”

“What was your inspiration for the design?” asks the man.

Ms Pink’s eyes. Ms Pink’s lips. Ms Pink’s scent. “True love,” I reply with gravel in my voice. . Do not cry. Do not cry. Do not cry.

“Abstract. But not too abstract.” The woman nods. “And perhaps a story to be told?”

I nod, tight-lipped.

“Don’t worry. We’re not going to pry. We like people who can inject a piece of themselves into their creations.”

“What’s your greatest weakness?” asks the man.

His gel-saturated hair is getting on my nerves. “I can get too emotional at times. But I am learning to manage my emotions better.” And I have Ms Pink to thank for that.

The rest of the question go by and before I know it, the interview is over. We shake hands and my fate is left in their hands.

I walk out of the building, realizing that it has been three months since the interview I did with Ms Pink. The interview that started everything. Funnily enough, three months later, I am the one being interviewed. I’ve been to six other interviews this past week and out of all the applications, this is the one I want the most. I was not peppering them up with praise when I said all those things. I actually do like the designs and products this company has done in the past and being part of this company would really make my day—my year, even.

But nothing can make me happier than Ms Pink’s return. Which I am still waiting for. The ache of losing Ms Pink is no longer as sharp and crippling as before. But I am still yearning. I am still longing.

X

Max calls me as I walk towards the administrative building and we enter together.

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter