There are always those little things you can never forget.
A friendly smile, a small wave, or maybe when someone saves your life.
Chell, however, never really made a big deal out of those things. Sure, the little things were always great and all, but they aren't worth celebrating or dwelling over. She always saved that for bigger things, like keeping her job, paying bills, and living her life. Those are the things that really matter, and the little things could wait until the "Three Big Important Life Principles" were fulfilled. Then, who knows! Maybe she would give someone her best impression of a friendly smile. But right now, responsibilities exist, so she never had the time to appreciate those things, even less notice them.
So she was absolutely speechless when one of those things happened to her.
It was the average day in Chell's life. She walked to work along the bustling city streets, the atmosphere of gasoline and loud chatter filling the air. Everything she was used to, and she wouldn't intend on changing a thing. It was a Spring day in May, with the perfect weather for a pleasant stroll to work. Her spirits high and her mood bright, she went about her business at work. It was a typical desk job, too easy for her, even. She typed articles and saw where she went with them, proofread, and published. Once she even made the front page, which was the little thing that she was able to appreciate, and even celebrate, but that's about it. Simple, but it managed to pay the bills and it was something that she could have fun with, explore. She had a fair audience and an overall average career. Her life was stable, just the way she wanted it.
Nothing too crazy, and that was okay.
The biggest highlight of Chell's career, maybe even her life, was actually the one front page article she wrote; "Three Big Important Life Principles" which was what her life revolved around. According to her readers, she wasn't the only one. The article was about the three things that can lead to any person having a normal, happy life, no more and no less. It covered three points that mattered to her, job, bills, and a pinch of fun to add some flavor. After it was published, she received an anonymous review that kept her thinking.
"What about love?"
Love was something she never really thought over that much. She can't actually remember falling in love, but for some reason she knew what it felt like. It was an odd feeling of déjà vu that came to her on some occasions, and was actually pretty common in her life. Chell just shrugs it off, and goes back to whatever it is she was doing before.
She shut down the computer and gathered her things, barely noticing the small stains her coffee cup left behind on the napkins. Then, she glanced back sharply and stared at them for a few moments. The stains ignited some of that déjà vu, and big time. It made her stop to catch her breath, and she had no idea why. This symbol was somehow important to her. It was shaped like a circle, which was broken into some sorts of triangles along the inside. The center was empty. She turned the napkin into different angles, hoping that her brain would just tell her what it was, but unfortunately it was symmetrical, and nothing of the sort happened.
She stared at the symbol for a few more seconds before swiftly grabbing it off her desk and folding it up into small squares. She felt lightheaded. Dizzy, even. But why? Why could a simple cut up circle mean so much? That's it. She decided. I'm going absolutely crazy. I knew it would lead to this someday.
She put it away and put on a straight face as she passed co-workers, pushing it to the back of her mind. It brought up some initials eventually. A.S. How the hell was she supposed to make something out of that? Writing an article on going mad because of circles and "the mysterious A.S." wasn't exactly going to change her life.
She stepped out of the building and paced down the sidewalk, reviewing and trying to connect the dots between the symbol and all of the other cases like this. It felt like remembering, but what was there to remember? Besides this occurrence, she remembered a moment when watching golf and watching a ball go through an orange circle and come out a blue one, which left many wondering if she had seen a ghost. White walls always freaked her out for some reason. And science. Science. It was a word that made her lose her mind. She couldn't take it. Whether it was television or the subject or even the poor guy who had to write the science column that seemed to be growing wary of her glares.
As a stoplight turned to red, she stepped onto the crosswalk thinking about cakes and science.
That was all she remembered before it faded to black.