Maggy gathered herself. Or, at least, as much as she could gather herself whilst a tree waited impatiently for her response. “I’m sorry?” It was all she could manage to say. When she had begun her hike, she had been hoping for a sense of calmness in solitude. After months of improving her new house, a lot of which involved do-it-yourself renovations, she wasn’t used to any social interactions besides her coworkers and the cashier at the hardware store near Bayside. “Can I ask you for a favour?” The tree groaned again. It talked slowly, as though the conversation was taking even more of a toll on it than her. Pieces of bark splintered off and floated to the trail[…]
Month: January 2024
“Buddy, I’m home!” The scientist called out, entering the basement. Calling it a basement might have been an injustice. It was more like an entertainment and fitness space. Rows and rows of home gym equipment took up most of the front of the room next to the stairs. The exercise equipment, even including the VR exercise bike set-up, had been built himself. He hated the idea of his robot friend being stuck in the room, bored out of its mind, and had always made sure to build another invention for it to play with. “I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long,” he said, hurriedly weaving through the makeshift home gym to the rumpus room at the end of it. “I’ve[…]
Later that night, Jodi returned home with hot fish and chips for everyone, seemingly trying to make peace without mentioning the heater. I noticed that as soon as Jodi arrived, John’s warmth towards me vanished, and he became very affectionate with her. The next morning, I woke up to a boiling room. The cooling had stopped working overnight, and I couldn’t help but feel frustrated. At breakfast, Jodi made snide comments about how useless the air con was and how it had been a waste of time. Upset by her remarks, I decided to call the air conditioner repair company near Canberra to fix the issue. Unfortunately, I had to take the day off university to be home for the[…]