Glass
Eli likes to stare at them; she likes to see her partial reflection on the transparent screen.
Sometimes she sees it and sometimes she don't, but she'll always see Nozomi standing behind her.
You know how glasses only show clear reflections when it's truly dark outside?
Eli likes to believe that she can see Nozomi as clear as glass when it's pitch black outside her windows, always silently supporting her whenever she is facing troubles.
And Eli is always glad to have her nearby, her companion whenever she is lonely, her listener whenever she is down and her lover when she has no one.
There's a colleague that Eli really likes, a good friend and a very kind soul.
Sonoda Umi is her name, with hair the shade of midnight blue and the temperament of the calming sea.
Umi has that effect on her for some reason, just like the classical music Umi plays in her office.
Umi likes to visit her at her own office, sometimes bringing in books during breaks and they will spend the time just sipping coffee while reading.
Eli thinks Nozomi will surely like this person as well, as her car screeches to a stop outside her house.
"It's a nice house," Umi says as the lamp posts on the streets lights up, signaling the start of the night.
The windows betray the light inside, no doubt Nozomi had turned it on earlier.
The smell of the home hits her nose as soon as she opens the door.
Umi wonders why are there so many glasses in Eli's house.
There are glass windows, glass mirrors, glass walls, glass cups and glass tables.
Eli lies down plates of cold bread, a little sorry that Nozomi forgets to cook.
They eat in silence, one that is soon broken, because Eli doesn't really stop talking about Nozomi ever.
Maybe she is in love, Eli thinks, as she whispers to Umi.
Umi agrees, though she says that she is no love expert.
The house is clean and spotless, Umi realises as Eli brings her around, though Eli jokes that it is partially Alisa's fault that it is void of dust.
They meet Nozomi in Eli's room, the little lamp that Umi is holding providing the light to guide the way.
"My god Nozomi, turn on the lights."
Umi gives an awkward smile as the light turns on, and Nozomi gives one in return.
"Umm Umi will just be staying here for dinner."
Eli doesn't miss the tiny pout that Nozomi gives when she ushers Umi out of the room.
"She must be jealous… Maybe we should stop with bringing all the work to your house?"
Nozomi has been ignoring her, sometimes not even home at all, and even when she is home, the lack of acknowledgment makes Eli's heart sink.
"Should we? Though we have to finish this work no matter what…"
Eli looks upon the pile of papers in disdain, having only gone through half of the stack.
The endless piles of papers that Umi brings in only serves to increase her frustrations, the angry mash of lines irks her.
"The window in my room shattered last night, cracking a little." Eli sighs, as she notes down what else she has to fix.
"Should I call someone over?"
"It's okay. Let's finish this."
Umi's steady hand reaches over, gently patting, the soothing voice easing her frustrations somehow.
"We can do this together," she says, as the classical music pours over.
Eli pops the pills, her headache doesn't seem to reside though, because Nozomi isn't home again today.
The little note on the table says "remember to take your medicine", scrawled in a hurry, Eli wonders if Nozomi is meeting someone else outside.
The door creaks open then, Nozomi slowly walking in.
Eli swears she almost cried in relief, it has been a while since Nozomi is back.
"Nozomi, are you seeing anyone else?" And Eli asks the first question on her mind, the words hounding her endlessly.
"Don't be silly Elicchi, I will never leave your side."
Her beating heart seems to calm then, Nozomi never lies, not to her anyway.
"Though I will be gone for a while maybe… It's okay, be good friends with Umi!"
Eli doesn't miss the tears that slides down Nozomi's cheeks, as her glass heart shatters.
"We are just good friends! Nozomi, I love you! Don't leave me please."
She doesn't understand why Nozomi is making such a huge deal, her hands too slow to stop her purple haired girlfriend from leaving.
Nozomi disappears again, and this time Eli wonders how long she will take to come back.
They spend most of their time in the office now, the endless work seemly consuming their very soul.
The boring walls of Umi's office becomes a daily scene, and Eli decides to just camp in Umi's spare bedroom, filing away the stacks of paper.
She has lesser time to go home now, and she hardly even sees Nozomi.
Eli wonders if Nozomi will be lonely.
"You should install some windows at least," she remarked to Umi one day, and the ever gentle soul gives her a smile in return.
"Maybe one day, when you're not so obsessed with glass,"
They both laughed, it is pretty well known that Eli is a lover of that material, and sometimes their colleagues will pop by with some prisms, making a show of the light work.
It is only after two weeks of almost not returning home, when Umi gives her a paper, signed in her own neat signature, apparently the office decides to fire her.
"Congratulations Eli, you're discharged, though I will always be here," Umi smiles, be it a little sad, the violin in the background vibrates around the room.
Umi's desk is filled with Eli's paperwork, the angry lines of red, blue and black mashing together.
It reminds her of the day when the glass shattered, the angry red lines across the broken glass, Nozomi's blood painting it a bright red.
"You never threw those away?"
"No," there was a gentle smile, a calming hand upon her shoulder.
And Eli feels like she can do this again, as she walks out of the therapist's office.
Her car screeches to a stop outside her house, as the lamp posts on the streets lights up, signaling the start of the night.
The windows betray the light inside, no doubt Nozomi had turned it on earlier.
The smell of the home hits her nose as soon as she opens the door.
"Am I sane again?" Her voice echoes around the four walls, the paper crumbling within her hands.
The glass shards on the ground reflects Nozomi's presence as Eli throws her bottle of pills at the fragile material.
And Eli believes so, because Nozomi says she is.
Nozomi is back, and if Nozomi is here, Eli believes she doesn't care if she is sane or not.
"Welcome home Elicchi."
A/N: I'm too lazy to upload my fics on FF tbh~ Sorry if I was gone for a long while.