A young woman stood on a balcony at sunset, her eyes closed and her raven hair getting caught in the autumn breeze, the rusty railing she leaned against squealed in protest as the radio in the room behind her hummed its quiet tune dimly in the background.

"Aphmau! Get back to work!" The shrill voice of an old woman brought the quiet girl out of her trance, she turned, her caramel eyes dull and lazy as she took the broom leaning against the wall.

"Yes ma'am." The words were automatic, programmed into her after 5 years of being a housekeeper for the building.

She swept the soot away from the balcony, it was a futile exercise, tomorrow it would be as if she was never there, covered in a fresh blanket of pollution.

She walked back into the small apartment, the wood creaking and buckling under every step she took as if the building itself were berating her.

A tall, lanky old woman stood in the kitchen, her hair a dirty grey and her fingers a touch too long, she glided to stand in front of Aphmau, who looked miniscule under her piercing green eyed gaze.

"You are still much too slow!" The woman berated, her eyes shifting down and her mouth twisted into an intolerant scowl.

"Sorry, Mrs. Tursley, I was distracted." Aphmau replied softly, her voice dejected but expectant, like she'd done this all before.

"Oh yes yes I know, still grieving. I'm aware." Mrs. Tursley spat, swiping the broom violently out of Aphmau's hand.

"Pathetic." While the word was whispered under Mrs. Tursleys breath she made no real attempt to hide it, she glared at Aphmau as she stepped out of the tiny apartment into the hall like she didn't hear her.

She was used to it by now, but she got paid and roof over her head, it was more than she could say for many of the people walking the street.

She made her way up the creaking stairs to her room, the door protesting loudly on it's hinges as it slammed shut behind her on it's own.

The lights flickered on as she flicked the switch with her thumb, filling the room with a high, electric hum.

A deep sigh freed itself from Aphmau's very core, her face twisting into a scowl, she leaned against the shut door, pinching her nose between her fingers, trying to stave off a growing headache.

She slowly made her way to the pantry, nestled uncomfortably between the faded yellow fridge and the well-worn stove-top. It's door was lopsided, hanging down farther than what should've been allowed.

Her hands found a wrapped package of preserved meat and her eyes trained on the stale-half loaf of bread she'd bought a week ago.

As she began to make dinner with what little ingredients she could find she turned up the crackling radio collecting dust on the counter.

The room seemed the slightest bit bigger, with the soft notes of accostic guitar lifting the hard-etched frown on Aphmau's face.

The room was cramped, after the tiny kitchenette there was a small dining room, only one chair pulled out from the table and a fake yet fading red rose stuck in a garish looking old vase.

Her shelves held old toys or books that had gathered dust, but the only thing left in the room was her desk and the small twin bed shoved unceremoniously into the very corner of the room.

"This is just a reminder that curfew is in just 30 minutes, please, everyone finish up your tasks and get some rest."

The radio's announcement ended whatever atmosphere had settled in the room, Aphmau gazed longingly out one of the two windows as the sun disappeared and the street lights outside flickered to life.

Her mind wandered as she chewed on her sandwich, back to five years ago, before the world fell apart.

"So what are you going to do after this semester?" Aaron asked, his volcanic hair falling into his face, his eyes held laughter behind them, and his mouth was turned up into a small smile.

"Prepare for the next one." She had replied blandly, they were sitting on park bench, FCU campus around them as she chugged another energy drink and scribbled something on her notepad.

"Aside from that Aph." She met his gaze, huffing and leaning back into the bench.

"Honestly, I have no idea. Probably hang at your new place until I can figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life."
They both laughed at her sarcasm, he stole her drink from her hand and gave it a long sip.

"I'll be waiting for you then."

The memory was a fond one, and one of the last times she'd seen him since the union dissolved, he'd gone missing just days after they'd talked.

The sun had been long gone for awhile now. But the light in her eyes danced at the thought of her old freind. Any of her old friends.

She'd given up looking for them, many of her old friends had either fled the city or dropped off the face of the earth entirely.

She finished her measly dinner and dragged her feet to her claustrophobic indusing bathroom.

There was barely enough room to stand in the middle between the toilet, sink and shower. Aphmau was lucky to be as small as she was or it may have been an actual complaint.

She quickly took a cold shower, doing her best to conserve the water, the droplets chilled her skin, but at the very least washed away the dust and soot that came from being a housekeeper.

Yeah, went to college to become a damn housekeeper, she was still salty about wasting her days studying if this is what the world came to.

She slipped into a old shirt, it didn't belong to her, and it was far too big on her, but the feeling of it brushing against her skin made her smile as she made her way to bed, her joints and back cracking and relaxing as she tried not to think about how the next day would be just like this one.