Out the Window

Hey there! Here's another short story for you to enjoy from my brain, inspired by another album cover.

Art by Ioannis, 1999

Out the Window

Keiko Watanabe loved looking out the window at the city this time of year. The dark blue clouds against the purple skies of Tornax V had always been a treat for her eyes, as far back as her childhood.

She grew up on this world, a descendant of the original Earth-born colonists. Humans were the first intelligent life to come to this planet, this world having none beforehand. But that was the general policy of Earth colonization. Doing so on worlds that had other sapient life forms was strictly forbidden. The Earth had learned from its mistakes of the past.

Hard to believe we managed to accomplish all this in only three hundred years. Keiko thought. In the center of her view was a trio of tall skyscrapers, piercing through the clouds like an earring through an earlobe. The big building blocked some of the light from the moon behind it, making it almost look like a big slab of black granite. Small colored lights started to turn on

The building's internal lights came in a variety of colors. Keiko found herself imagining what the people in those buildings were doing in those buildings. After all, there was a variety of things they could be doing. Holding parties, doing some work, just chilling out and watching the holovision. Maybe even some of them were doing the same thing she was, just looking out at the sky, enjoying the view.

It was something the young woman enjoyed doing. After a busy day at work, she enjoyed watching the sunsets here. It helped her relax.

Keiko sipped some tea from the cup in her hands. She savored the taste of the warm liquid before swallowing it. She heard a ringing. The woman turned and walked towards the door of her apartment. Keiko peeked through the door's small hole. It showed a neatly-dressed man with blue skin and green eyes. She smiled and pressed a yellow button next to the door. A small screen above the button displayed the word “Unlocked” in yellow letters. She then pressed a green button. The word “Open” appeared on the screen in green letters, and the door slid open.

“Hey, Worg.” She greeted with a smile.

“Hey there, Keiko.” Worg greeted back, a smile on his own face. “You doing anything at the moment?”

“Just enjoying the sunset.”

“That's nice. Hey, guess what?” Worg asked.

“What?”

“You know about Yorfun?” Keiko nodded in response to Worg's question. “He just got promoted.”

Keiko lit up. “Oh, that's awesome! I'm so happy for him! He earned that promotion.”

“Yes, he's holding a celebratory party at his apartment.” Worg informed. “He'd love to have you come by. I know you like to just, what's the term you Earthers use? Chill?” Keiko nodded. “Yes, chill. I know you like to 'chill' out in your apartment and watch the sunsets, but Yorfun would love to have you there...”

Why not? Keiko smiled. Mom always said I should go out more. “Sure. Just let me get changed.”