The Sad Man

7.3.5 SW
Early Evening SW-CP-Local Time
Crowning Point > Hex 7 Residential > Maryam's & Nila's Shared Apartment

Nila walked into her and her friend's apartment, the lights were on and the fragrance of tomato soup was in the air. "Someone's hungry," Nila commented as she removed her raincoat and threw it over a chair.

"Starving! You okay?"

"A bit wet, it's been a long day. But an interesting one."

"What happened?" Maryam asked as she took the closest seat to Nila, she perched her bowl of soup between her legs and started to dip her spoon into the hot red liquid.

"Discovered a new species of fish, said fish then bit off the finger of a coworker."

"Shit, which one?"

"Erikson. You've met him I think?"

"The one with the strong accent, that we went out for a drink with one time with Osman. The funny guy?"

"Yeah, that's him- the funny guy." Nila removed the clip from her rain-soaked hair, placing it on the coffee table. "But yeah he seems okay, I checked up with him after I reported the new fish to the science team. How's your day been?"

"Alright, I guess. But to be honest, I'm a little worried about one of my guys too," Maryam said with the spoon still in her mouth.

"Why?" Nila asked.

"He just seems off lately, he's always been quiet. But today it was different like he was hiding something from me."

"Who is he?"

"Well, we all call him sad old Shusett. Irving Shusett!"

"I saw a technician guy at Hex 10 today when I was reporting to the science team. He was fixing a vending machine, he seemed a bit sad."

"What did he look like?"

Nila thought for a moment, she tried to visualize him in her head from the quick look she had taken at him earlier in the day. "Well he honestly looked quite ill: bald, a withered face, tired eyes. That sort of thing!"

"Oh my god, that's him! What are the chances of that?" Maryam pulled up a fuzzy picture of Irving on her Sutter-Lynk device to confirm his identity.

"That's him!" Nila exclaimed. "Maybe you should ask him if he's alright, maybe he's lonely. Maybe he needs someone special," Nila winked with a giggle.

"You can have him!"

"I'll pass thanks," Nila smiled. "But seriously check up on that guy. Sometimes a talk can help someone."

"Yeah, I'll have a word with him tomorrow. Maybe he's just burnt out from the work he does do a lot of jobs, he's good at it too."

"You're meant to be the head, you need to improve your boss-employee work relationship. Amateur!" Nila chuckled. "Anyway, I'll be in my room, just going to lie down. If you need anything just knock, I mean it: knock! Don't just let yourself in."

"Alright understood," Maryam laughed. Nila stretched her arms as she slowly went over to her room, she wasn't too tired but she couldn't wait to bask in the comfort of her bed.

TBC