02.13.828, 8:00 AM Bayport Time (8:00 PM Standard Sirius Time)
A massive silhouette stretched out in the open watery vastness. It's sheer size blotted out the sun, the majestic figure slowly floated by. The deep beneath suddenly painted black. "A rare sight. These colossuses are the biggest mammals known to man." His calm, yet aged voice could be heard in many wild life documentaries, one that was playing on Trish's TV screen is no exception.
She was in no hurry. Her house was ready for her friend's visit this time: cookies were already on a table, instant water boiler filled, tea and coffee were out of the bar counter, floors swept clean, brooms and buckets - away in a closet.
She lied on a couch, wearing a slightly oversized cyan t-shirt and black shirts - her most preferable home attire. The documentary she had once considered "boring" was now the central point of her attention. However, not all of her senses were directed at the screen.
Her hangar door was open as always, with both of her ships resting on the inside. Yet the landing pad remained active. She was waiting...
"One five three... ugh... dot three was it..? Ughhhh..." Isla scratched her head as she had just walked into her Eagle, ready to set off for Trish's place. She had about ten or so minutes to spare since she took care to get herself ready earlier than what was needed, in case anything unexpected happened. She grabbed her PDA and tapped a few buttons, accessing the most recent comms.
"A-ha! I knew it had something to do with dot three! It was dot two though. One five three dot two Ocean Ave, Bayport. Beautiful." She muttered to herself once again before typing down the address on her ship's computer and setting it to auto-pilot. In the meantime, she reached into one of her mini jeans shorts' pockets and fished out a ping-colored lipstick, applying it to her lips. After having finished, she put the crayon back in the pocket and sat back, relaxing, knowing the auto-pilot would let her know once they're there.
"Damn, not so hard to find after all," she muttered to herself about ten minutes later, as she was looking out the cockpit while sitting back, noticing that -one- house that looked different to any other, "what a beautiful garden," she continued, bringing her body upright to look at the amazing view as the Eagle was slowly approaching the place.
The automatic docking sequence begun as Isla got up from the cockpit, grabbing her PDA and walking to the back of the ship. The autopilot conveniently let Isla know that the ship successfully docked with a few beeps and she opened the door on the back of the ship, walking out through the cargo bay. "Damn, arrived just one minute late! A shame." She noted, tapping a few buttons on her PDA and setting it on 'do not disturb'. She closed the cargo bay door behind her and looked for the elevator that Trish had spoke of in that one comm, locating it almost immediately.
She entered the elevator which, conveniently, was already there and hit the button corresponding to the guest room. The elevator informed her that she had arrived to the floor she requested with a loud ping before the doors opened in front of her. Her eyes quickly scanned through the very welcoming place and eventually landed on Trish who was laying on the couch and was about to get up and come greet Isla.
"Hey there!" She happily shouted at Trish as she walked towards her. She was dressed quite casually, wearing a white shoulder-revealing t-shirt with a stamp on it as well as her most comfortable mini blue jeans shorts. "How are you? Nice place, looks sooo comfortable to be in!" She noted once more with a smile on her face, before hugging Trish.
As she heard the elevator arriving, with a beaming smile, Tricia leaped over the couch and embraced Isla in a tight hug, kissing her gently on her cheek. "Hiii!" The excitement in her voice was surreal for someone such as her. And it wasn't faked in any way - a genuine happiness of meeting another person. "Looking lovely today! Let's go, I'll show you something!"
She took Isla's hand and guided her to the backyard door. On the other side, a view unlike any other opened to them. Her garden has improved noticeably since the time she met Sun. Four Cambridge White Lilies were resting under a cherry tree in the middle. To its right - Desert Roses, Wine White Windflowers and Red Dahlias, placed accurately near the bushes, forming a widely stretching Maroon-Whitey gradient. On the opposite side - Flaming Katies, Red-White Chrysanthemums and Belladonna Lilies, resting in the most sunny spot in her garden. And just by the door - Moraea Aristatas and Columbine flowers, spread evenly on both sides in big, white flowerpots.
The place where she was spending most of her time for the last few weeks. Seeing it this way,- showing it not just to anybody, but to her friend, - it filled her heart with joy and pride. "Beautiful, aren't they?"
"Damn, and I thought -I- was the one who missed you a lot," she chuckled, "you beat me to it!" Isla blushed just slightly as Trish kissed her cheek, smiling and kissing hers back as she hugged her tightly. She took a small step back so Trish could see her attire better. "You like it? Was literally the simplest clothing I could go for! I picked something nice, everyday and comfy!"
Isla was surprised by just how hyped Trish was, and frankly she enjoyed every second of it. She followed her towards the backyard door, keeping her hand tightly tucked in hers the whole time, not wanting to let go. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she stared at the beyond beautiful view in front of her. The garden looked nice from her cockpit, but from up close it was a completely different story. All the flowers, all the colors just mixing in creating what looked like paradise. She could literally sit here all day just staring at this glorious view.
"I've... never seen a real garden before. I've seen places with some amount of plants and stuff but nothing of -this- scale. That's just.. I can't describe it Trish!" She turned to look into her eyes for a split second before staring back at the garden. "Time well spent, Trish, all of it." A cute and silly smile along with a blush followed Isla's words as she gave Trish another sneaky kiss on her cheek.
"I kinda want to go smell them all! Are you planning to add even more in the future?"
"Go." She smiled, as she let go of Isla's hand and slowly walked towards the tree. It was a very rare moment for her - someone appreciating her work. Yet she couldn't give any reaction, because she could never know how. She felt uneasy, conflicted - so many genuine compliments, from a person she cares about. It wasn't the Tricia Reyes everybody knew. She wouldn't had given any significance to Isla's words - were they positive or negative, it would mean nothing to her. Yet today, she finds such reactions warming. "I think the garden looks just fine. It's the way I want it to be, you know..." She lowered down to the lilies and carefully caressed them with her hand. "I spent two days taking care of these. Planting them, finding a correct spot, making sure they live to bloom another day... "
Without a second of hesitation Isla rushed to the gardens and carefully walked by the flowers and various plants that were spread left and right, being careful not to break any. A huge smile covered her face as she smelled the flowers around the garden, kneeling down near Tricia to caress the same lilies with her.
"They look very nice," she said with a giggle, "not -just- them, your entire garden does." She paused for a moment to look at Tricia, and then back to the garden. She took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling slowly.
She spent a few seconds that felt like an eternity like this, just thinking. Her eyes were fixed on a certain flower that she had no clue what it was, but she wasn't looking at it. She was just staring into nothing, lost in her thoughts. This really didn't feel like Manhattan, it didn't feel like she was even still in New York. The atmosphere, the smells, the view, Tricia's company. It all felt like it was out of a dream.
"You did a good job here, Trish." She whispered a few seconds later, adjusting her eyes to look at Tricia. "I'm proud of you for this! All it's missing is the grass on the soil to grow more so we can lay down on it and look at the stars!"
"So ah.. got anything to eat?" She continued, chuckling. "I didn't manage my time all that properly, and I ended up not having enough time to eat before I left. Whoops!"
Food. Tricia snapped back and briefly went over the contents of her kitchen she could remember. Salad, strawberries, apples, pine nuts, oil... Should do for a few bowls of fruit mix. "Mhm. Come."
Her kitchen wasn't as spacious as the rest of the house, but it still retained that white-black-wooden color scheme with a wide window showing an oceanic landscape. Aligned with the rest of her kitchen lockers, a motion-sensory fridge, hidden behind a black wooden door, was the most regular thing anyone had in their house. At least on Manhattan. Another locker by the fridge had a refreshing ventilation and climate control - a perfect place to keep fruits, vegetables and berries fresh.
She pointed at a chair by the counter, inviting Isla to sit and watch. After washing her hands, she took out two glassy bowls out of the locker above the sink. Salad, apples and strawberries have retained their freshness and moisture. She placed them on a cutting board and looked for a fitting knife. "That's... Pretty much everything I have. Are you allergic to strawberries or nuts?"
Isla followed Tricia to the kitchen, looking around the house and admiring all the effort she had gone through for all this. Isla was happy that Tricia had found such a nice place to settle in with stuff to keep her busy. She hadn't really looked for any nice place to stay at, back to about half a year ago she owned a place at Erie where she'd spend most her chilling time, but low funds forced her to sell her home there. On the other hand, her home at Manhattan was nothing to be jealous of, just a simple apartment with all the necessities required to live.
"Ah.." Isla replied a little confused as she quickly snapped out of her thoughts. "No, not at all. I actually love strawberries and literally any chocolate containing nuts! I'm only allergic to vinegar as far as I remember right now." She continued, sitting down at the chair that was by the kitchen counter.
"Are you sure you don't need any help? I can prepare my own bowl if you want, no need for you to do everything." Isla giggled, she didn't feel good to come over and have Tricia do everything herself. "I can even wash the dishes afterwards!" She commented in a jokingly manner but she was being entirely serious about it.
She looked at Isla with a small shock in her eyes. "I'm gonna pretend like I never heard that." Clearly not letting Isla do anything but sit and watch her cook, Tricia reached out to a fine batch of lettuce, tearing it leaf by leaf, washing and cutting them individually. She put a big, whole leaf on the bottom of each bowl to serve as an underlay. "Isla, we live in age of space travel, when I can get from here to Nauru just in 5 minutes." She placed both of the bowls on a counter, right in front of Isla. "You think I don't have a dishwasher?" - She asked, looking her in the eyes. After that brief moment, she tossed in some cut strawberries and pine nuts. And finally - a grated apple with a splash of olive oil. Both bowls were full of fresh greens. "You... Get a finishing touch. A salad tastes better when you mix it yourself." - She said as she gently put forks into bowls. "Enjoy".
She took her own bowl and started mixing. Olive oil gave the mix a proper consistency, apples and strawberries accommodated lettuce, and pine nuts were giving that necessary piquant touch. She cooked rarely, oftentimes relying on restaurant food. But when she did, she liked it more than anything else.
"Ugh..! Fiiiine!" Isla replied back with a rather cute voice as she kept sitting down and looking at Tricia as she prepared their meals. Watching her tear each leaf of the lettuce had Isla wonder how long it has been since last time she actually ate homemade food. It was... long enough ago that she did not remember. Her daily 'diet' consisted of either simple stuff such as sandwiches, mostly bought from outside, ordered meal or nothing at all.
"Do you happen to have peaches?" Isla -loved- peaches, she brought peaches with her even at space, preferring them from the usual Sunbucks that almost every officer carried with them. Unfortunately she completely forgot some before she left home. Isla had no clue what Nauru was, she couldn't even wrap her head around if it was a planet, a station or a system, but it didn't really matter all that much at this point in time.
"I've got a hairdryer too bu-.." she cut herself short, what the hell was she on about, she just mis-said hairdryer instead of dishwasher. She giggled slightly, realizing that the week's tiredness is slowly getting to her, before continuing, "ugh.. a dishwasher... I have a -dishwasher- too, but I rarely use it considering I rarely have any plates to wash, but when I do I almost always wash them by hand. I kind of like it, to be honest, washing plates by hand is quite relaxing especially while listening to music."
"Thank you! I rarely eat salads, but mixing them yourself definitely helps in making them taste better somehow.. Mind games!" She happily commented, looking into Tricia's eyes.
She begun mixing her salad for about a minute, dying to take a bite out of it. She looked up at Tricia for a second before she picked up a bit of every ingredient with her fork and took a bite. "Mhmm," her expression was more than enough to describe just how amazing the salad tasted, Isla didn't usually eat lettuce but in this specific salad and with those ingredients in she loved it, "it really is amazing, Trish!" She continued, after swallowing and looking up at Tricia again.
"I should make salads more often. Or have you make salads for me more often..!" She giggled softly before diving back in.
A few minutes went by before the two of them finished eating.
"Oh my, they disappeared!" Isla noted as she looked at their dishes, "must be the work of some sorcerer, what kind of dark magic is this?" She continued, chuckling as she turned her head to look out the window, staring at the beautiful oceanic landscape. She yawned, covering her mouth.
"Didn't sleep that well at night... again." Her voice sounded a lot more melancholic than earlier. "Going to sleep every night is like a bet; you never know what to expect. Is it gonna be a good sleep, a night filled with nightmares or just another one of -those- nights where I can't sleep at all." Isla sighed, "I wish I could just turn my brain off sometimes, can get quite overwhelming," she continued.
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