She was going for the longest time. Still, she didn’t get anywhere. Bed, desk, window, bed, desk, window – Alice collapsed on the bed. She hugged Bartholomew tight. ‘I am cuddling a teddy bear!’ she thought.
She got up, and stepped to the desk. She sat down, pushed her chair in, opened her laptop, her fingers hovered over the keys.
She closed the laptop, put her hands on her desk, pushed her chair back.
Some light shone in the square. I only felt it as if someone prickled my forehead with a needle, swiftly but gently. I lifted my head. It was awfully cold. I had no idea how long I had been sitting motionless on the pavement.
I looked around, sleepily, just to check whether I had left something behind. There were a lot of crumpled tissues around the place where I had been sitting. Have I been crying? I couldn’t recall.
(Wednesday morning)
‘Peeeter! Peeeter!’
Pete pulled the blanket over his head and hugged Leo even tighter. Leo, unlike his name might suggest, was a friendly teddy bear, Peter’s trusted companion at all times.
‘Peeeter! Come! NOW!’ Mum shouted.
‘I won’t,’ Pete hissed under the blanket.
‘Pete!’ that was Dad though. Peter knew this was bad news. He shouted back, ‘If Mum comes upstairs, I’ll go down with her.’
‘I’ve already did,’ Mum shouted back, ‘and you still haven’t.’
The alarm sounds. I climb over John and switch it off.
I sit on the toilet with my eyes still closed, the bright light hurts them.
I take a deep breath and push my face in the icy water I gathered in my hands. I rub my eyes. I start the morning exercise automatically, I watch my muscles moving in the mirror. Then, I let my arms fall.
I put the kettle under the tap, I switch the cooker on. In the meantime, I put my jeans on, click my bra, I look for some socks. The water overflows. I turn the tap off, pour some out, so the water is under the line, then I put the kettle on.
I don’t know what happened to me. My last memory: I speed towards the city centre on my yellow moped. Then, nothing. Next scene: I open my eyes, but still cannot see anything. Have I lost my sight? I can definitely hear. I hear beeping. And an artificial voice:
‘Item D-012 is awake.’
What? Am I item D-012?
The roof is opening above me. Am I in a coffin? The bright light hurts my eyes. There are a lot of things above me: lights, magnifying glasses, machine arms. No people though.
