⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚⋆

𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐇 𝐃𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐃 at the screen of her laptop, typing autonomously as her eyes darted over the browser. She scrolled down the page using the touchpad and grabbed the pen that laid idle beside her, scribbling rapidly in her notebook. Mars atmosphere: 95% carbon dioxide, temperatures range from -125°C to 20°C. Could human life plausibly be sustained in a fictional world? Check author's ideas on sustainability technology, specifically water and oxygen. She pulled back from her laptop, clasping her hands together and resting her chin against them. Habitually, she tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth, something she often did when thinking alone. She took in a deep breath and checked her notes on the manuscript she was editing.

Her phone buzzed next to her, its screen lighting up to show a new notification. She glanced at it, reading the preview message.

𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙨
𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝. 𝙵𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚜?

She grabbed her phone and quickly typed back a reply to her flatmate.

𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙇𝙞𝙗𝙗𝙞𝙚
𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚞𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐?

Maggie's reply was almost instantaneous.

𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙨
𝚃𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚗'.

Libbie placed her phone back down and stared back at her computer screen, letting her thoughts swirl around in her mind. Mars, dust storms, storms... rain. Cozy. Tea. She pursed her lips. Tea would be good. Tea would be great.

Pushing her chair back, she stood before meandering to the kitchen, flicking the switch down on her kettle. The water slowly began to bubble and boil as she stared out of the kitchen window, the sky dusted with pinks and oranges as the sun began to set. She smiled, her mind wondering what a sunset would look like on any other planet. "Write that down," she muttered, pouring the hot water from the kettle into her teacup, already awaiting with one teabag and a teaspoon of sugar. She grabbed the milk, filled her cup, then put the milk back in the fridge. "Sunsets," she reminded herself aloud, retrieving the teacup and heading back to her dining room table. She grabbed her pen and quickly wrote sunsets in her notes so that she wouldn't forget.

It had been just over an hour by the time Libbie looked up from her laptop again, and the sky outside was already dark. She leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms out in front of her and wriggling her fingers. Flipping through the manuscript she was researching for, she collected the summary of her notes, quickly emailing them off to the head of her publishing firm. She then closed her laptop and grabbed her empty teacup before walking through to the kitchen to place it carefully in the sink.

Letting her dark hair out of the ponytail it had been in for most of the day, she entered the bathroom that she shared with Maggie, shaking her hair out with her fingers. She reached into the shower, adjusting the water until it was a comfortable temperature. Finally stripping down, she stepped under the shower-head, letting the warm water wash away her tension and stress from the day.

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𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐁𝐈𝐄 𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌 with her pastel pink towel wrapped around her body, and a matching one wrapped around the top of her head to dry her hair. With one hand keeping the towel to her chest, she used the other to open the door to the living room, shrieking as she was met with the image of a tall man in a tweed suit sitting on her couch, one leg crossed over the other.

She stared at him for a moment. Would Maggie have allowed her latest fling to arrive unannounced while she was out?

The man, who had previously been aimlessly looking about the room, smiled at her. "Hello."

Libbie's brows frowned for a moment before replying with a polite "Hi."

He continued to smile at her, apparently not phased by the fact that she stood almost completely naked before him. Libbie's concern grew and she tightened her grip on her towel. "Um," she swallowed, "are you... are you here for Maggie?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

Libbie's chest tightened as her defence systems prepared to kick in. "I think you should leave..."

"You're right," he agreed, jumping up from the couch before digging into his inner pocket. "Here, take this." He handed Libbie a weird cylindrical device with a small green bulb on top. "It's my only one, so don't lose it."

Reluctantly, Libbie took it, not even daring to blink as she counted the seconds until he would leave. He smiled at her once more before winking and exiting through the front door.

Exhaling deeply, Libbie quickly hurried to lock the door. She was absolutely sure she had locked it when she came home, so she slipped the chain into the slide-lock for good measure.

Holding out the device, she stared at it, turning it over in her hand. The metal was cold against her skin, and all of the little parts were intricate and confusing. "Weird," she muttered, tossing it into the top drawer of the entryway table. She glanced back at the front door and nodded to herself, acknowledging that it was, indeed, locked.

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