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Zyrah Paler
WRITER

miloveender
Year 2023
WRITING AGAIN

DAY ONE
Date: 4th of February 2023 – 4th of August 2023 -

Title: The Cube

written by: Zyrah Paler

The past few days have been unpredicted for me. I can feel myself go blind just because a tiny
beam of sunlight went through my closed curtain. When was the last time I breathe the outside
air again? The only thing that kept me from thinking that the world hasn’t come to an end is the
sound of cars passing by and people’s chattering. I hate to admit that the last time I stepped into
my bathroom is when I only need it for the toilet. Nevertheless, I’m used to it, isolating myself
from the other beings outside this cube.

I groaned looking at the clock on my desk, 11:00 pm. Guess it’s time for my daily trip down the
kitchen. If only I’m still with my parents, they would question my questionable way of living.
Lucky me, I’m not, can I really consider that lucky? My thought was cut off as I curve down the
hallway, making my way downstairs. With a more bearable exposure of sunlight if I’m like other
humans. My ears picked up the faint sound of people laughing and music in the background
coming from outside at the back. Without hesitation I made my way through the house, feeling
the warmth of summer as I approach the unfamiliar, twisting the doorknob open. I was greeted
with the scorching sun, making me close my eyes.

“Oh hey!” An unfamiliar voice called from my left. Slowly opening my eyes, I was greeted with
a waving young lady, well not so young compared to me. Mid 20s maybe? Is she new here? I’ve
never seen her before or maybe I just spend my whole time inside that I didn’t realize her
moving in. I observed her again. She has this light in her eyes, complimenting her perfect smile.
Shit, what am I doing?

Shaking my head lightly as I felt my throat go dry. Mind blank and I’m stoned. I watched her
furrow her eyebrows at me in confusion. I am not trying to be in her list of ‘Rude Neighbors to
Avoid’ so I tried to move my arms to waved back at her. That’s when her friends that I didn’t
notice before came into view and waved at me which made me unconscious of how I look right
now.

“Hey neighbor! If only I didn’t see you right now, I would think that a weird, retired old man is
living in your house. How come that I didn’t see you after moving in? I just moved in four days
ago!” Her energy is unbeatable. Weirdly enough I don’t find it annoying but instead answered
her with a chuckle.

“Welcome to the neighborhood I supposed,” I replied still looking at her. Trying to avoid the
question as much as possible. The unfamiliar girl nodded and gestured at me that she’s going
back to what she’s doing. Not being a weird neighbor but is this how people with friends live?
Couldn’t be me. I shrugged and went back inside. Ah, yes, the feeling of privacy. That’s like the
first interaction with people after weeks of isolation.

I don’t know how I survived until the evening with my neighbor blasting ungodly amount of
unfamiliar pop songs in her yard. Did I mention all the noise coming from their mouths? The
laughter, gossips, etc. My younger self would enjoy that, but not the me right now. Help me. I
groaned as I pulled my pillow out from my face for the third time and stared at the ceiling. This
is going to be a long night.

As if my evening’s not getting worst already, I heard my bell rang which made me flinch. Out of
my despite, I still got up and made my way downstairs. Flicking the light switch on before
answering the door. Finding the same girl from before in front of me, she’s a lot smaller than I
anticipated her to be. Leaning my body on the door frame waiting for her to open her mouth.

“Okay, I know this is not the ideal timing for me to ring you up, but my friends are eager to get
to know you as much as I do…” She explained, she’s nervous or is it just the cold air of the
night? I stared at her. How am I supposed to reply to that? Them? Wanting to know me? Out of
all the people? Please no. The more I stare at her, the more I notice how her hair was now in a
ponytail. The light in my porch making the color of her strawberry blonde hair much visible than
before. She still has this smile plastered across her face. And her eyes, her eyes speak at me with
hope of me to say yes.

“What do you mean exactly?” That’s so dumb, is this how I’m really going to react in front of
every pretty girl I meet? Give me a break. I’m trying to avoid people as much as I can, “Would
you like to come over? Have fun, you know?”
Looking back inside my house as I released a heavy sigh before turning my head at her again and
nodded. I think it’s time for me to open up my cube slowly, but not completely. It’s just her eyes
and smile which made me want to know her more. Despite of being nervous she didn’t fail to
smile at me again. I went inside to pick up a cardigan which she took the hint and waited for me.