You stare at her until she speaks, 'This case isn't as important as you think it is.'
The woman walks in, slowly closes the door behind her. The sound of it closing makes you blink and shake your head. She gestures toward a cloud of dust motes, 'Could you turn on the AC please?' She makes a face and sneezes. "The 'Cleaner' is always complaining about how messy we are." Her voice is soft, velvety, like a captivating raspy whisper you don't want to listen to for fear it will end.You should have started the Air conditioner, but you are too distracted by this enigmatic woman to move. She is always here, always coming in, and always leaving with so much intensity that you feel eerie.
You quickly turn on the AC. She checks behind her, makes a face, and sneezes again. She motions to the thermos of hot tea in her hand, 'Oh, it's so warm. Do you have some Oolong tea?'
'I'll have to check.' You are now losing your train of thought.
She watches you silently, quietly, as you pour the tea. She sips the hot liquid, and sneezes, 'Oolong tea is the only tea I drink. I need something alroom, but not too strong.' She glances up at you. 'Oh, I'm sorry. Here, let me take that.' The woman places the cup on your desk, and then she turns to fill it again. Again, you are stunned when she mouths the word, 'Please' with a mouth so sad, you feel sorry for her.
When she turns to leave, you take it upon yourself to spout out 'Stay', and then you wish you hadn't. You think to yourself, 'She'll think you are a crazy old man.' You begin to feel flushed, so you shift in your seat, and brush the dust from your shirt. She smiles at you and raises a finger. Soon, she is filling up the cup once more.
She walks back to the door, and then turns around one last time. Your face is still flushed and your blood is pumping according to your heart, but out of everything, you feel excitement in your chest. She is here and she is talking to you. She says, 'your shirt is dusty.'
'Yeah...' You turn in your seat so that you cannot be seen in the mirror, but you still smell like pie.
'You should have vacumed.' She is holding up a small, round, bright red ball. 'I can do it. I'm very good at cleaning.' She holds up her finger, 'It will just take a second.'
The ball is now on your desk. She takes a black, thin object out; even more surprising is when she then pushes the object into the red sphere, out of nowhere, then twists it. The ball changes: it holds out like a hand, and then morphs into a mop. She lays it on your table, and begins to mop up the area. All of a sudden, she seems to be moving extremely fast and the room feels as though you are moving at a slower speed than you usually do.
She sighs, 'It's cold here in your office.' She grips the black object and it unfolds into a huge, white, fluffy sleeves. Next thing you know, she has taken out her long, white, gloves and is putting them on. Glasses are all over your desk; the area looks like there has been a break in. She also pulls out a black, flat object, and she keeps holding it while she walks around the room. All of a sudden, she pauses as she is mop your windows. She looks blind, because there was a thick white fog coming from out of the black, flat object. When you try to sniff it, it's only sharp. She seems to be able to hear every step you take, and she smiles as you slowly walk toward her. She smiles like a child, piecing together her first bear.
You are tired from all the things she has fixed and all the things she has said, so you ask her where she got those glasses. She looks at you, in a way that is almost familiar, almost affectionate, then looks down at her glasses. 'They are from the Cleaner...' Her voice trails off and she blinks a few times.
'Hm?' You try to say without showing how strange you feel, how disoriented you feel having her in your office.
She looks determined, 'Nothing. It's just that the Cleaner must wear these glasses because they are so bad at cleaning.' There is that sad smile again. She then continues -talking about her cleaning, or is she asking directions, or is this some strange dance of verbal ambiguity?-
'Do you have some flashlights I can use? I can see better with them. With the light the janitors have, I can barely see where I am going.'
You look around nervously. 'Uh... yes.'
You show her on the shelves where the flashlights are. You feel uneasy and excited all at the same time. You are up really late, and you know you are in a state of confusion and obsession, well, isn't everyone? You are about to ask her if she wants to stay for a cup of tea. You also know that you are too tired for this, and that you should not be talking this much. You don't know when you picked up the habit of talking this much. She takes the flashlights from you and the next thing you know, she has said that she is cleaning and will be back to thank you, and that she is only doing this for you. She is smiling her sad smile, once again, and she is looking at you with something that you don't understand.
src
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