___
Diarmid quickly stands.
“This is, as I said not only extremely unprofessional, but very
petty, that after Six
months of working at this firm. To have this internal investigation
of my original application. And I don’t know what you are trying
to achieve with this, and why you are accusing me of misleading
information. I’m going to complain.”
“You
can complain if you like Aria, all I am asking is clarification.
That’s all,” Abigail replies, as she remains sitting.
“I
know why you are doing this. The economy is shot and you are looking
to lay off workers at this firm.” Diarmid studies the woman
opposite
her, narrowing
her eyes,
noticing
the small
faded finger tattoos on her right and left index fingers.
Closing
the file, Abigail looks up at Diarmid. “If you say so.”
“Whatever,
I can’t be bothered with this.” Diarmid quickly leaves the
woman’s office.
Returning
back to her own office, she gathers up all her personal items,
lifting her tote bag. Quickly making her way to the foyer, in a
hurried and determined manner she exits
the firm walking towards the elevators. The lift doors open, she
steps into the elevator, tapping with her left index finger the
ground floor button. The lift descends.
“Did
you ever meet her before the incident today?” D’adri asks,
sitting back in a blush dark gray modernist style chair, opposite him
is Diarmid, also sitting in a similar designed chair.
“Once,
when she first started. About a month after I was hired. Very
brief. Just an introduction.”
“That’s
all it takes sometimes,” D’adri replies, leaning forward pouring
from a stylized metallic decanter into Two
small ceramic cups of Vin Chaud, mulled
wine
with cardamom and cloves. Handing one to Diarmid.
“Thanks...”
she says, sipping the spiced
wine. Closing her eyes, she inhales the fragrance. “...I love
the scent of cloves,
that spicy sweetness…” She has another sip, placing the cup onto
a small coaster on the table in front of her. She sits back into her
chair. “...I mean, how the fuck did this idiot figure it out.”
“Some,
depending on their personalities, are hard to convince. You must
have seen something in her that gave it away...” D’adri asks,
also sipping the wine. “...In this new recipe my dear Aria, I
added some black pepper and saffron. To help with the visions
later...” He also places his
cup onto a separate
coaster. “...So, what were her expressions like?”
“Blank,
like she was trying to read faces. In a nervy manner, she would
stare and then look away. I think she’s bipolar.”
“Rumination
with dashes of paranoia, can create a glitch. Even if they don’t
release it…” D’adri with his right index finger points
to the side of his head. “...A scrambled brain, potluck and a self
fulling prophecy.”
“A
fucking coke head or amphetamines, either way. Just my luck hey?”
Diarmid replies,
sipping
the
wine.
“It
is the nature
of the beast Aria, you
must let it
go. Was there
a parting shot?”
Diarmid
nods. “Yeah, I
sent off a
complaint to the
Management. I wanna squeeze her into oblivion. It was good letter.
I envisioned that it would send her crazy. And she jumps down an
empty elevator shaft.”
“After
the incident with her, I suspect that she did collapse into
a heap. With your directed anger at her, it
would have
been sufficient. Although, she may not have
killed
herself. As I said Aria, let it go,” D’adri says, looking into
Diarmid’s hazel eyes, as she shuts then, inhaling slowly, then
exhaling through her nose. Her eyes remains closed, as she slows
down her breathing. She opens her eyes.
“I’m
good…” She has
another sip
of
the mulled wine. “...Moving on.”
“Are
you going out tonight?” D’adri asks, as Diarmid looks around his
large studio apartment, filled with various pieces of art, books,
with an alter at the far end of the room, near a collection of
pillows and a foldout bed.
“I
am, just wanna be calm. I don’t care…” She exhales again,
trying to settle her thoughts. Turning away, she looks at D’adri’s
alter, sensing a fragrance in the air of incense. She returns her
gaze to the man in front of her. “...What are you doing tonight?”
___
Reading: "Rituals of the Antithetical" from RITUALS of the ANTITHETICAL (A.Glass 2023)
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