It was Tuesday already when Borislav woke up on his chair to find his cellphone vibrating in his pocket. It was unexpectedly relaxing, but as stipulates the second rule of "10 Rules For Life", "2. Never Put Comfort Before Duty", and so he picked it up. It was Fabius calling, of course. Who else would call him? Reminiscent of all the times he had been woken up by this man, Borislav exhaled. This time at least, he only had to deal with his voice, it was better than seeing his stupid face that made any nightmare seem like a dream upon getting up.
"That didn't take too long" sarcastically expressed Fabius, "Check your texts, my guy. It's got the identifiers to a professional email address and all the shit you need to get to work. You'll find your CV in there". Borislav didn't do anything except yawning. "Anyways how are you? Any questions?" Fabius asked before Borislav simply hung up. It was only 6 am. What was Fabius doing so early in the morning? Was he finally given real responsibilities in HeroKorp this time? That would be good news for him, although extremely bad for the corporation. Nepotism only gets one so far.
Checking his texts, Borislav did indeed see an email's identifiers. He recklessly turned on his laptop in a nanosecond. He turned his attention briefly towards his bed and was surprised to find Doggo still laying down, although with its eyes wide open and gazing at him. He didn't mind it that much, as long as he wasn't getting bullied into giving his food, everything seemed fine. He found his curriculum vitae to the name of Borislav Azurfin in his new inbox. He didn't bother reading it of course, and simply sent it to potential employers, along with a motivation letter that he spent writing till 6:45. It went like this:
"Sir. (Name Of Employer), I realize that I might not be the most qualified or most gifted among the respondents to your offer. However, I would like to say this: since I was a boy in a foreign land, I heard of the (Products sold by the employer.) from (Name Of Company), as though they were gifts from god. I wondered what it would be like to one day, bring such joy to people by participating in the process of getting those heavenly (Products sold by the employer) to them. Now that I am in Janisbure, it would be my great honor to serve my new country and its people by assisting you in delivering joy as you have been doing for the last decades. I might not be the most qualified, or the most gifted, but I am surely the most devoted.
With immense respect,
Borislav Azurfin.
(Phone Number)"
He might not have known much about the lives of ordinary people, but Borislav knew this piece of wisdom; "Always lie on job interviews". He applied it to the letter. HR managers from Burger chains and bars, some of which opened recently and hadn't existed for 'decades' all received this application, which surely touched their hearts.
Indecisive about what to do next, Borislav went into the kitchen and made himself a coffee, pouring bottled water onto the kettle as he had done for the soup. As he opened the window, the sound of the city penetrated the apartment, and the kettle whistled. He made up his mind to check the second floor to see if the 'building manager' was to be found, although he doubted she'd be there so early. Having prepared his coffee, he found it tasted like ash. Still, he chugged it down impulsively, desperate for his daily dose of caffeine.
After spraying himself thoroughly with "Speculoos" flavored deodorant, and having gathered the housing form, Borislav left for the doorway. Turning back to close the door, he realized he had been trailed by Doggo. "What do you want?" he asked, already exhausted. Receiving no response from the Pit-Bull-Dog's expressionless face, he simply went along with it and closed the door. Going down the stairs, Doggo still trailed him, emitting no sounds besides heavy breathing. On the 2nd floor, they arrived at a door with two plaques next to it, one spelling "Genie Opler. Housing Secretary" and the other, "Dr.Genie Opler, Psychiatrist". As they entered, they found themselves in a fairly big room, decorated with flowery wallpapers, ornaments, and ancient paintings. A raven-haired lady was sitting behind a cozy desk, reading Ivan Lockal's latest work; "White Night On Sveta's Bed".
She had skeletal hands and body, her old stretched skin tightly attached to her bones. Her thick veins stood out, highly contrasted by the paleness of her skin. "Who's here?" she asked in her tarr-ified voice, as she ceased to hide her worn-out face behind the book. Borislav put up his housing form, not feeling the need to respond with his voice. "Oh so you're the new tenant," she uttered, as he walked up to her to drop it on her desk. She examined the paper, and almost interrogated him when she took note of the Race box, which left her open-mouthed and confused. Bulbazid, Kanakid, Sorkid...what language was that? She, however, didn't inquire about it. She wasn't paid enough for that.
She grabbed and lit a cigarette as she read the rest of the form, nodding slightly in approbation. She coughed out, "So I should uh, brief you about the rules," as she exhaled smoke from her thin lips, looking up at him. "Don't play loud music or party too hard, don't grow cannabis, don't do anything that would warrant an arrest, don't smash windows or balconies, and uh" she paused, "I believe that's it. Just don't be an idiot" she spewed in conclusion. Borislav nodded. She looked behind him, taking note of the dog jumping on the infamous "therapy couch". All of a sudden, she asked: "What's Flabby doing here?". Borislav turned in the same direction as her, retorting "Flabby? That's its name?". She sighed, "Yes. And he's a male and a very real being, he's an animal, not an object. Please don't call it 'it'." The bureaucrat had a heart, after all, it seemed, more than Borislav apparently. She began realizing Borislav had inherited the apartment of Flabby's owner, assuming he also took possession of its mascot. As for Borislav; he was just mindlessly staring at Flabby.
When he turned his attention back to Genie, she disposed of him with one simple hand gesture. Flabby seemed to be torn between leaving the room or sleeping on the couch, he looked pensively at the housing secretary scanning the document, before crushing it into a ball and throwing it in a bin. As the door closed behind Borislav, the dog rapidly made his choice; rejoining the stairs and growling in Borislav's direction as he went up. He was first ignored, but as the growling intensified and the barking started, Borislav was just too embarrassed not to turn back and see whatever the dog wanted from him. He just wanted him to stop making so much noise. The dog for the first time appeared satisfied, smiling slightly as his eyes got narrower. Flabby brought the hooman for a walk as he charged down the stairs and then outside. Borislav resigned himself to follow the dog closely wherever he was leading him; through ghost streets, Vayner avenue, at some point they even passed in front of Walnut Wharf's ferris wheel. It was only morning but the city was already vibrant, people of all ages and colors were heading to work, school or simply jogging. Vehicles from Buses to cars to minivans stormed the roads in joyous mayhem. Everything appeared fascinating and entirely new, yet familiar. One particular thing struck Borislav; as some minivans passed they were equipped with magnetophones, announcing "50 pals! 50 pals for fresh bread!". He wanted to try out these ambulant shops, but his master, the dog, didn't allow him to.
As the hour struck 8 am, Flabby let his slave rest as they had reached the Ten Wonders Park. The park was a reasonably big complex, having the size of two and a half soccer fields. It had stone pathways organized to draw a cross, all leading up to Zhasylbek Oshakbai's statue. Borislav knew nothing about him, except that he used to be the country's president and had his face plastered all over the city. In Janisbure, the Ten Wonders Park was considered a gift from him. He had overseen its construction and it was said that the idea behind the park; that of having trees harboring leaves of ten different colors, was one he came up with himself.
As Borislav followed Flabby beyond the park's steel gates, he was enamored by everything he saw; the plants, the grass, and the trees all blooming different colors. His amazement was however toned down as Flabby, being a dog, enjoyed doing his business all over the flora. They both walked along the stone path, yet at some point, the hound decided to follow his other instinct; that of mating. On a bench not so far away, a young chihuahua by the name of Lola was sitting next to her mistress, a lovely redhead with her long legs crossed, that happened to be reading Ivan Lockal's "White Night On Sveta's Bed." as well. Flabby crouched at the bench's feet like a true gentleman, delivering a soliloquy in dog language to the unimpressed chihuahua.
Borislav, realizing he had been abandoned, looked left and right in search of Flabby. Once his eyes caught him, he wheezed at the sight of the courtship taking place. He didn't want to attract the redhead beauty's attention, yet had to find a way to entice the dog back to him. He snapped his finger for a while, hoping to gain Flabby's attention. It didn't work in the slightest. Instead, becoming aware of the non-Chihuahuan dog sounds at her feet, the young lady put her book down and giggled at what was happening.
She soon took note of the weird, uptight frizzy-haired individual looking at her in despair. "Hey is this your dog?" she yelled at him, in a friendly way. He took several seconds to realize he was being spoken to. His mouth began opening but as he realized he would have to scream to get the message across, he preferred walking towards the scene of the incident. Shouting in a park just wasn't his thing. He was almost as much terrified to confront this tantalizing being, though. He took a deep breath in anticipation and went walking at an awkwardly fast pace towards her, sparking an intrigued expression. "Yes- He's uh kind-kind of my dog" he stuttered, unsure of what he was saying. He knew in his mind that he was lying. Flabby was a dog, but not *his* dog. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been bullied into giving him Sir Belly's tribute and following him up to this distant park.
"He seems to like Lola" she chuckled, before asking, "What's his name?". Borislav didn't know how to reply without sounding stupid, and simply concluded it was impossible to do so. "Uh. Flabby" he answered, expecting her blue eyes to put an even more weirded out look. Yet her expression didn't change, simply noting "That's a funny name for a pit bull", awaiting Borislav's response. None came, as the young man was frozen, internally screaming for Flabby to stop harassing this small dog. "Are you really walking him without a leash?" she uttered, quite worried about this man's sense of responsibility. Borislav blew out an excuse that really wasn't one; "He's well trained. I think." This feedback had her laughing. "And what's your name?" she asked afterwards, visibly entertained by this man. he dryly replied; "Azurfin, Borislav Azurfin". Strange name for a man with his skin complexion, she thought. Was he really from Slavlania? She didn't bother to ask, simply commenting as she smiled, "I knew you weren't from around here. My name's Nomia by the way".
Her friendliness baffled Borislav, who thought his presence was bothering her. The truth is, she was uncomfortable, but she also found him 'cute'. He reminded her of someone, someone who had left a while ago. She managed to accomplish the immense success of having Borislav strike a conversation, as both of them started talking about themselves. She learned through his awkwardly-tied-up words that he had just moved here, that he was looking for a job, and also that he 'inherited' Flabby. As for Borislav, he learned about her habit of going to the park to escape the toxic fumes of her studies, of her job, and insufferable roommates. She came here to read, draw and run sometimes. He also came to know that Lola wasn't hers, she simply took her annoying roommate's dog for a walk sometimes.
By the time their discussion had ended, Flabby had ceased all noises and was peacefully laying in the grass. "I should go now, I have to leave for work soon" she exclaimed, looking at her golden watch. Borislav nodded comprehensively, despite longing for her to stay more. He was experiencing strange feelings; so strong that Sir. Belly's voice rose once again; "Maketh those butterflies stand ho! maketh those stand ho!"
However, his plans were obstructed by Flabby once again. Re-energized, Doggo stood up and followed the two ladies on their way home, dragging Borislav along with him. It didn't displease Nomia that much, she even found the situation funny. "I'm sorry. I'll buy a leash soon, I guess."; the young man apologized. Bits of discussions happened as Borislav found himself accompanying her home. She mentioned that it's "not too bad" as it's "making" him see more of the city. They strolled up to her street, where they bid each other farewell. "It was nice to meet you" she giggled. "Yeah" he replied in a mild tone. He was about to muster up the courage to ask her a number, a first in his entire life.
He just...didn't want it to be the last time he saw her. He had found someone with whom he managed to get along, and didn't want it to be ruined by his shyness. "You know- If you want, you could..." Borislav began to ask, interrupted by the sound of a gigantic dog throwing up, on his shoe. He stared down, about to crack into tears. It was soup. Soup vomit, mixed with some flesh he didn't even want to know the source of. It was disgusting. The worse of it was the smell; only an undertaker would be able to stay neutral by that smell. Lola cried, hiding behind Nomia's legs. Nomia didn't say one word. All stayed silent, except Flabby, for he wasn't done. He wasn't done yet! Of course not! He just *had* to get his tongue out and clean his master's shoes. That was it, a tear ran down Borislav's cheek. He shut his eyes, trying to find a way to express how sorry he was. When he opened them, they turned entirely red. He saw Nomia staring in shock, her face entirely horrified by what was happening. Then he ran away, without saying anything, followed by the beast that had given him one of the most delightful moments in his life, and ruined it a mere 30 minutes later.