As light peaked above the horizon, each house door began to swing open. In long, endless rows, men began to step out into the morning and wave goodbye to their wives. Groans of car engines began to fill the air, for it was the start of a new day. The warm artificial sun gazed upon gray houses; each one looking identical to the other.
In one of these particular homes, a young woman was making breakfast for her two children. She stood above the countertop: a white apron covered the front of her body with a black blouse and white pencil skirt beneath it. Her skin looked like porcelain; almost too delicate to be real in this world of grey. Contrasting to that, her hair was a rich black; it was so dark that one could have gotten lost in it like a void. Brushing away strands of stray hairs from her face, the lady hummed an unknown tune to herself while whisking a few eggs together, planning to make an omelette out of them.
"Children! Time for breakfast!"
Gracefully, the woman laid out two egg laden plates with cups of juice to go with it. The lady had fine, dainty fingers that slid along the edge of the plates as she placed it down, never making a sound as they went.
Not quite long after she had set them down, two children by the ages of 6 and 9 came down the stairs, energetically sitting down and scooping up the food.
Though it was still early in the morning, the mother was a bit impatient with the boys sitting before her. It would soon be time for her favorite television program, and she didn't want to miss it. Everyday it would play at the same time, but today it was a two-hour special.
The lady began to pick up the empty plates when the phone rang loudly against the wall, making a shrill sound that bounced around the house. Briskly walking over, she picked up the receiver and hesitantly started to speak.
"Hello? Who is this?"
The line was silent— only a small buzz could be heard from the other end. A few seconds later, a perky voice spoke; maybe they were a child?
"Hey Marilyn! How could you have already forgotten my number? I'm your new neighbor, remember?"
The lady, now known as Marilyn, suddenly recalled a few days prior when she had met an odd woman next door. She was a very touchy person, which was uncomfortable for Marilyn, and introduced herself as Adeline.
"Ah," she rubbed her neck from embarrassment, "I'm sorry. I was busy that day and must've lost the paper you gave me. Do you need something, Adeline?"
"Well, I'm quite glad you at least remember my name. And honestly, it's alright, I didn't mean any harm by what I said."
Marilyn paused before answering and swiftly covered the receiver. "Arthur! Darien! Stop playing and go get ready for school! Shoo!" She made a flapping motion with her hands, signaling for the two boys to leave the room.
Although her attempts of muffling the noise were in vain for Adeline could hear all of this. She tried to stifle her laughs from reaching the ears of Marilyn, which proved to be a difficult task by itself as well. It had been quite a while since she had heard this much energy in the morning and it made her feel a bit warm inside.
"Is that your children in the background I hear?"
A deep shade of red crept along Marilyn's face as she realized that Adeline had heard her yelling at her children. She stammered into the phone, trying to brush it off as soon as possible.
"Oh, um, yes. Those are my two boys Arthur and Darien," she broke off slightly, thinking about what to say next. "They were playing in the living room but I needed to tell them to get ready for their classes."
Adeline smiled, imagining what a sight that could be. "Well, that sounds quite exciting indeed. I did call for a reason though. I need to tell you that—"
"Ah! I'm truly sorry but I need to take my children to the schoolhouse. Let's talk later, alright?"
"Yes, but—"
"Again, sorry! Goodbye!"
The phone clicked shut, leaving Adeline with only a quiet buzz on the other end. Sighing, she pursed her lips and debated on what to do next.