This might come out as weird but Kat quite enjoyed vomiting. The gag before the vomit came out and the energy poured out of her mouth set her soul free. She felt like screaming out all her stress and worries through the vomit. The substances were the most disturbing part that Kat had not found the beauty of them, yet. Kat was not the person who cared much about how other people would think of her, but she supposed the sound of her vomiting would scare some of the people in her corridor. She thought about apologising to her neighbours but did not quite sure how to start. Maybe hi I’m sorry I vomited. But when Kat thought of all the noises that disturbed her 24/7, she felt like there was no need to be sorry. They did not quite deserve it. It’s just that her noises were a little bit gross.

Kat tried to think of how long had she been living in this apartment but her memory was vague. Time should have been linear but when she could not put any event in chronological order. The day she moved in felt like it was the same day her pot plants died. At least she could still tell that it was yesterday she drowned her face in her vomit.

The black cat was still absent. She wanted to ask the old lady about him but she felt like she was a stranger to her. There were 12 rooms in this corridor, 6 rooms on the opposite. Kat’s room was the 3rd room from the left and the old lady’s room was on the opposite and 1 room to the right of hers. They’d never met in the corridor. The old lady seemed to be in her room most of the time, just like Kat.

Before she realised, Kat was in front of the old lady’s room. The bourbon vanilla scent was so strong she could smell it just by standing there with the door closed. There were other rotten smells mixed with the vanilla too. She was about to turn back to her room but, suddenly, the door opened.

“Hi” The old lady sounded cunning. Kat could smell a secret just by one word from her. The door did not open wide, just a small space enough to see her two eyes which were too close to the door. Kat involuntarily stepped back.

“Um, hi, I’m Kat. I lived in this corridor and just wondering if the black cat is yours? ” Kat stuttered and finished the sentence as fast as she could.

“He was.” The old lady smiled. “He is free now.”

Kat did not know how to continue this conversation. Technically, the old lady answered what she asked. Even though Kat did not get any concrete information from her, she was not quite sure if she should ask more. The awkwardness clung in the air with the vanilla.

The old lady was still smiling. It started to make Kat felt her face’s muscles were exhausted from looking at her. She decided to leave.

“I’m La-or (ละออ) , by the way.”

Kat could not tell if La-or read minds or her body languages were too easy to read, but she definitely felt uncomfortable being here.

“Nice to officially meet you, I think I need to go.”

“No worries, I’m no stranger to you. I’m just another neighbour.”

Kat preferred to be a stranger.

Kat was now back in her room. She missed the black cat. She thought she would call him Dark since La-or said he was free. It’s stupid, she knew. At least she’s not calling him grass jelly. Dark was cool enough for her.

Her room did not smell like anything. She had finished her breakfast and cleaned the room afterwards. Today was not very hot and the rain was drizzling, so she did not open the window. It’s June, and climate change made everything confusing. She was glad nothing in her room smelled like vanilla. She was sure the particles were still in her nose. The thought just freaked her out she went to a bathroom to wash her nose with tap water.

Kat stared at herself in the mirror. She got light skin, but it’s so unhealthy it made her looked pale and sick than pretty. Many people found light skin pretty but it did not mean anything to her. It did not make her feel superior but she never felt inferior because of her skin, so it might count as a privilege. Her eyes got a dark circle and they had been there since forever. She kept staring at them and they seemed to sink deeper than they used to be. They almost flatten to her eye sockets.

Something was lurking In the corner of her right eye. She didn’t want to turn away from or turn to look directly at whatever it was. The thing seemed to swirl and move closer to her. Then she thought it might be Dark and spun her head to see if it was him. It was just a pile of black clothes she forgot to put in the laundry that was no longer moving. Kat was disappointed.

Kat was back in her bed. She did not have a sofa so she did almost everything in her bed. The rain was pouring stronger and she could not almost hear her neighbours. Everyone seemed to be tired and not felt like shouting. It was a normal day. People took being normal for granted, but without Dark, she did not quite enjoy it.