When I woke up it was long past midnight. I looked around me and found Angela already fast asleep in her bed opposite mine. I didn't turn on the lights as I was afraid to wake her up. Walking on the tip of my toes, I quietly made my way to the bathroom.

I left the water running to fill the bathtub while I brushed my teeth. Gazing into the mirror, I reached out my hand, stroking my own reflection. Why, I wonder. Why did I have this strange feeling? Did I dream about something again? What was it though? I couldn't remember. But I had this inkling feeling that I should. This wasn't the first time it happened. Although rarely, I always had this feeling since I was young.

I gurgled my mouth and stopped the water from running. One by one, I took off my clothes. Lifting my leg, I dipped the tip of my toe into the water. A warm sensation enveloped me. Perfect. The temperature was just to my liking. I lay down into the tub, stretching my limbs out as I washed away my remaining drowsiness.

Tomorrow, I had at least four classes. Exams were just around the corner and I had already memorized all the lessons we had so far. Now, I just hope I wouldn't get any sleep attacks during that period. I really do wonder sometimes why I get so sleepy without warning. My mom had once taken me to see a therapist to see what was wrong, but everything was normal according to my therapist.

I sighed as I thought about my mother. The last time I saw her face to face was the end of winter break. Although we often exchanged phone calls or texts, I can't help but wonder how she's doing. She never told me about her love life, but I know she and her colleague are seeing each other. Honestly, I don't see why she's keeping it from me. Father already passed away and I don't have any siblings, I appreciate her trying to respect her marriage with father, but I can't blame her for wanting to experience love again since I'm not there to support her. I just hope whoever the other person is that he would treat my mother sincerely and not hurt her.

After having soaked long enough, I got out of the tub and emptied the water. My hair was dripping wet so I twisted it upwards with my towel. I turned on my desk lamp and started my computer, my fingers tapping away on the keyboard. Before I noticed, dawn arrived.

Angela woke up on her own and sluggishly brew herself some coffee. I continued to tap away on my keyboard. A small hand rested on my shoulder as Angela rested her chin on the other to peer onto my screen. "What are you doing so early in the morning?"

"Nothing important. I just couldn't sleep anymore last night."

"Hmm, writing again?"

"Yeah."

"Sigh, why do you even bother going to university if you're either writing or daydreaming all day? Just become an official writer and be done with it."

"No can do." I replied without even needing to think, "Mum sent me to university precisely because she wanted me to get a stable job."

"Like?"

"Who knows?"

-ring~

The sound of my phone's ringtone interrupted our conversation. My fingers finally left my keyboard as I reached out on the desk to search for my phone which was buried under a pile of books I had yet to organize.

"Hello?"

[Good morning Lulu. Did you sleep well?]

"Good morning." "It's my mother." I whispered to Angela, who then left to take a shower. "I'm fine. Why did you call so early in the morning? Did something happen?"

I could hear her laugh on the other side of the phone, along with a voice I didn't recognize, [You see honey, you know my old co-worker who often visited us during your winter break?]

"Yeah. Why? Did something happen?"

[In short, we're dating. You're surprised right?]

"Y-yeah. Wow! I completely didn't expect that. Haha." truth is, I had already noticed long ago. I mean, he kept glancing your way with that strange look in his eyes. It was impossible not to notice. But, I pretended not to have known since she just sounds so enthusiastic explaining the details.

[And then, ....] I patiently listened as she told me everything or most of it anyway. What I didn't know thought was that the two of them had already started their relationship since half a year ago. Shockers. [So, after we got permission for leave from work, the two of us will be going on a vacation trip! We won't be back for a month, so if there's anything you need, contact Angela's mom. I've already arranged things in case...let's hope for the best. Anyway, love you honey! Say hello to Angela for me. Bye.]

"I will. Love you too mom, and have fun." Our conversation lasted a lot longer than usual, so my ear had already turned slightly red. I placed down my cell phone while rubbing my right ear. "Crap." When my eyes casually swept past my clock, I just noticed the sun had already risen and it was almost 8 o'clock!

"Ange, I'm heading out!" I grabbed my bag and dashed out the door. Today's first class is English philosophy. If I'm late, gah, unlike the other professors, this one is a pain to deal with. I ran down the stairs as I had no time to wait for the elevator to arrive. With the same speed, I ran to class, hoping the professor had yet to arrive. I crossed my fingers, chanting a mantra that the professor gets delayed by something and arrive late for class.

"I m-made it...phew..." I was out of breath, panting as my arms rested on my knee. I quickly sat down on an empty seat, placing all my tools I would need on my desk. Just as I placed down my pen on the desk, the door opened and the professor walked in.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

It was a quarter before 12. After giving Angela a quick call to tell her I would probably get back late, I stood in front of the campus's gate and waited for my editor to pick me up. Precisely at 12 when the sun stood at its peak, a white RAV car stopped in front of me. The car's window lowered and revealed a woman wearing glasses who seemed to be in her early thirties.

"12 on the dot, as always."

"Thanks for going to the trouble of picking me up Miss West." I opened the car's door and sat down, immediately buckling as Miss West sped off.

Miss West is my official editor at the company I signed a contract with. Ever since my first publishment of [Eclipse] which was quite successful and honestly unexpected, my chief editor requested another story. At first, I declined, saying I wrote [Eclipse] on a whim. Then he changed his request into creating an epilogue of my first book instead.

I really didn't want to. The reason I wrote eclipse was because I often daydreamed or sometimes woke up while still remembering part of my dreams and I made them into a story. My original purpose for writing was just to get those thoughts finally out of my head. In a way, [eclipse] was a supernatural themed story that had a tragic ending with humanity almost being wiped out into extinction. Not a very bright story if I do say so myself.

Now, what should I write as an epilogue? The first book ended with an unclear fate for humanity where a group of individuals with super human abilities arrived as they fought against the monsters. I closed my eyes, blocking the view of the constant passing cars and buildings and entered the depths of my mind. Since I used my daydreams as a base for the first book, I would just use them again to write. Lately, I had been dozing off more frequently, still remembering some of the dreams, faintly, but I still remembered them.

I gathered the fragments that would seem useful in creating an epilogue and noted them down in my memory. By the time I sorted everything out in my head, I felt the car come to a stop. My eyes slowly opened as I peeked around me and I caught Miss West leaning her elbow on the steering wheel as she pierced her gaze into mine with a smile.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. I just thought that you really do sleep a lot like I heard."

Something about that didn't exactly sound right, "what do you mean you heard?" and I wasn't sleeping.

"Oh? You didn't know?"

"Know what?" if there was one thing I hated, it was when people spoke to me in a roundabout way.

"It seems like some people got a hold of information regarding the author of [eclipse] and there have been some gossips going around the net lately. You didn't know?" she asked as she saw my bewildered look. "Here, some students at your university even caught a few of your pictures." she showed me her phone, "Most of them were you half drooling though."

"I do not drool." I instantly retorted back. But, just as she said, there were quite a few posts about me. At that moment, I really started wondering if I should just make a living from writing. I mean, there are a lot more people reading my book than I thought.

I started getting excited at the thought. Determination filled my mind as I decided to put my all into the next book. After having seen enough, I handed Miss West's phone back to her and we finally stepped out of the car.

We entered the office where a man dressed in brown suit sat behind his desk, tapping away on his keyboard. "Glad you could make it Miss Z." He looked up from his screen and gestured for me to take a seat opposite him.

"Now then, about our previous discussion, are you up for it?" He handed me a few documents that were at least eight pages long. After having skimmed through them, reading the important details with extra care, I handed them back to him and earnestly spoke my thoughts, "The contract seems quite favorable and I honestly have no complaints, however, I can't guarantee that my next book will be as successful as the first one. I will also need at least a month to write, another month to refine and a week to edit for things I might not be satisfied with.'

"That's fine." He smiled, "Our Company is quite fond of your work, even the short stories you've written so far."

I smiled politely in response. "Alright then." After giving a verbal agreement I signed my name on the paper, sealing the deal.

As I wasn't an official member of this company, I could only follow Mrs. West into her office until she finished her work to drive me back. I took out my laptop, started it up and immediately resumed where I had left off this morning, completely immersed.

"Yeep!" A cold touch brought me back to reality as I jumped back. When I looked up I saw Mrs. West laughing at me endlessly. This is embarrassing. "Mrs. West...."

"Sorry. I was just tempted when I saw you like that." Mrs. West tried to hold her laughter in, clutching her stomach. Where did that professional business woman from a few moments ago go? "Right. I should probably take you back since it's getting late. Your boyfriend might get worried."

I placed my laptop back into my bag, frowning at her words, "Mrs. West, I don't have a boyfriend."

She raised her eyebrow at me suspiciously, then a look of realization flashed through her eyes before she lightly cleared her throat, "My bad. I just thought I might have been of some help. Looks like you really are hopeless." She shook her head regretfully.

Déjà vu?

I didn't think much of it as I got up, lightly massaging the bridge of my nose. A light yawn escapes my mouth. I swear I had slept for more than 12 hours yesterday. Was Angela right? Maybe moving my body would wake up my mind.

Just as those thoughts crossed my mind it left just as fast.

Who am I kidding? Me? Sports? Pshh, the only sport I'd be willing to do out of my own free will would be sleeping and eating. Hmm, now that I think about it, I'm really craving for something to eat right now...my stomach softly rumbled, like it had just been waiting for this moment.

Mrs. West didn't live too far from My University. In fact, she was just between the trip to the publishing company and my university, it was quite convenient. Mrs. West invited me for dinner at her home. Since it involved food, plus my stomach which sounded at the right moment, there was no way I would have refused.

Unlike back home, where it had turned somewhat quiet and lonely, Mrs. West's house was bright and full of life. She had two kids, a son and a daughter. The boy was 15 and quite the responsible older brother, while the girl was 13 and a cute little doll. Her husband, Mr. West, had just arrived home as well and the family sat together to eat.

In the beginning, I felt a bit awkward and intruding, but as the number of times I visited increased I felt more relaxed, to the point I forget I wasn't part of this family. It was just how welcoming they were. Of course, after dinner, the little doll would drag me away into her room to play house.

=

9pm.

I cautiously darted my sight left and right, carefully planning each step I took forward. In this dark, somewhat creepy hall, I quietly made my way to that familiar door.

*gulp*

Why are the lights still on? Someone, can anyone please tell me?

I was already breaking out into cold sweat. Crap I'm late again today. Countless thoughts stormed through my mind, all of them the worst possible scenarios I could think of that could befall me the moment I set foot back into that tigress's lair.

....wait. Silly me! I already informed her beforehand!

I pushed open the door. Unexpectedly, Angela didn't so much as cast me a glance. I walked over, glancing over her shoulder. "Studying this late at night?" How rare... "Ohmahgawd! What happened to your eyes?!"