A cup of Hot SunDeer and an Email
The white stallion sighed with boredom as the chrome doors opened, exiting the elevator and turning a hard right, walking to his office with a cup of coffee in one hand, holding his olive-green backpack strap against his chest with the other. He passed each cubicle, occasionally glancing inside of them. The sound of fingers typing on the standard white keyboards, the unforgettable mechanical screech of the printer printing paper, the tapping of pens on the standard white tabletops; all had completely bored Star out of his mind long ago. The smell of the freshly ground coffee beans filled his noise as the wind pushed the smell against him.
Finally, after walking past the potted plant that he had forgotten long ago, he took a left and entered the Corner office that he was assigned to. Containing a small black leather couch, a wooden desk made of maple that had a sweet but dizzying aroma whenever he sat near it, and two clear windows that overlooked the street corner below, the office was, for him, near perfect. He closed the door behind him and took a deep breath, smelling the faint maple scent in one nostril, the coffee in the other. He unslung his backpack, which contained his homemade lunch, two apples and a peach, and tossed it aside onto the couch.
He placed the cup of SunDeers coffee on the table, walked around the desk and sat down on his chair. Scooting the chair in like a foal in kindergarten scooting the chair to the table, he reached down and pushed the power button for his computer with his left index finger. He reached for the cup and took a sip of the hot steaming liquid, savoring the flavor as it touched his tongue and watched the screen as the computer booted up. Placing the cup back down, away from his elbows, he dragged the keyboard close and entered his password for the profile.
The screen dimmed as the small speakers on each side of the display that Star had bought before began to play a drum and acoustic guitar driven song. While Star waited, he moved his black hair away from his eyes and tapped his fingers on the table to the rhythmic beat. The side of his thumb hit the table, acting like the main beat while the rest of his fingers danced to the music.
He reached for the mouse, dragging it to the icon for his email account and double-clicked it. It opened and his eyes skimmed the emails that he had received after he left work.
“Spam. Spam. More Spam. Even More Spam.” Star muttered to himself as he skimmed through. He spun the middle mouse wheel down and skimmed through the mess. His Spinach-green eyes locked on a particular email: Therapy for a teen colt. Double-clicking the title, another window popped up containing its contents. Star began to read the email, slowly moving the mouse so that the cursor hovered above the words as he read just in case he lost track where he was.
It read:
“TO: Star Gazer
FROM: The Department of the Wellbeing of Society. TDWS
Hello Mr. Star,
We hope your vacation at The Crystal Kingdom was a pleasant one but now it’s time to get back to work. I’d continue to talk about what you have missed but knowing you, I’ll just give you the facts.
Room: 2436
Serial-Tag: 0858919
Name: Singularity Nebula
Gender: Male
Age: Eighteen
Birthdate: October 5th, 1996
Type: Earth Pony
Disorders: Attention Deficit Disorder, Possibly Clinical Depression, Learning Disorder
Cutie-Mark: N/A
Summary: Singularity Nebula is an 18 year old earth pony colt with a different view on society. He has a full head of curly-white hair and a straight white tail. Problems of making and continuing friendly relationships at school with peers have left Singularity in an isolated state, although he seems to have no issue with this.”
Star heard a small shuffle and looked up from his monitor and at the sofa. Nothing had moved, although he thought his backpack seemed a bit bigger. He shook his head, clearing any thoughts, and went back to the email.
“Nebula was found in his room after Police broke down his door that he had barricaded with chairs and pillows. He was found in the west corner of his room, rocking back and forth, hugging his knees. After a quick search, Police had found a box of small tapes and a tape recording lying beside the box.
Singularity did not resist being taken from his home. He was quiet and kept his gaze on the floor of the police car as he was driven to our facilities. He followed all requests without little fuss, although he did show discomfort when he was told to relinquish his mp3 and headphones.
Anyway, you know what to do. Help him. We are beginning to contact families that are willing to adopt such a colt.
His Belongings and the box of all the tape recordings that were found in the brief search of his room are already in your bag.
Good Luck.”
Star’s shoulders slumped down as he finished reading the email. Another colt that has a problem making friends…Great. He made a mental note of the room number and the colt’s name before shutting his computer down. The stallion took a deep breath and recollected his thoughts. He stood up, walked around his desk, grabbing his coffee and his backpack, noticing the extra weight. Star took one last look around, making sure he didn’t forget anything, turned off the lights and left.
A Fake Window and a Curious Colt
He stood at the closed door, waiting, gathering his thoughts before entering. Star scratched behind his ears and ran his hands through his black hair. He took off his backpack and unzipped it, taking out a clipboard and its pencil. He zipped it back up and held it by the handle.
The hallway was white, the door a sickly yellowish white. He hated this part, just knowing that once he entered this door, his life would just get worse as he tried to help another colt leave the dark hole they were in. He clutched the clipboard with the standard No.5 yellow Pencil closer to his chest, as if it was a shield of invisible magic that was about to protect him from whatever was behind this door.
The light on the side flashed green and the door's lock unlocked, allowing Star to enter. He reached out, squeezed the handle, twisted it counter-clockwise and pushed gently, opening the door.
The room wasn’t that big, which was normal for the facility that housed these types of teens. The room, ID 0858919, contained a single bed with bed sheets that was raised just a few inches above the floor, an oak bed stand on the bed’s right that held a lamp, a circular blue carpet for the colts, a tinted window on the room’s left and a window on its left that seemed to peer at a forest.
The colt in question sat on the bed, its bed sheets un-touched save near his flank, facing the window. He swung his legs, one by one, back and forth as he stared unblinking at the window.
“Hello.” Star began, closing the door behind him. He took off his backpack and left it next to the door.
The colt didn’t respond and continued to stare out of the window, seemingly unaware of his existence.
“My name is Star Gazer, mind me asking yours?”
The colt blinked, looked to the right, then at Star, blinking quite a few times as he noticed him. His lips moved, forming a somewhat opened smile, revealing the crooked, yellowish-tinted set of teeth within. “Name’s Singularity.” He said in a faint Canadian accent. “What’s yours?”
Star was taken back a bit, a faint confused smile pierced his lips. “Star.”
“Right../well don’t be offended in the future if I ask your name again, Star. I have a bad history of remembering names. What’s up?”
Star took the pencil in his hand and begun to write some notes down.
Bad memory (?)
“Watcha writing?” Singularity perked up.
“Notes.” Star chuckled.
“About me?”
He nodded.
“Are they good notes?”
“They aren’t bad if that’s what you are wondering.” Star replied, looking up at the teen. His face, although still etched with the smile that burned itself into his memory, was stitched up. Confused or curious, Star had no idea. “What’s wrong?”
“You haven’t listened to it yet, have you?”
Star let out a nervous chuckle. “Listened to what?”
“My tape recordings.” Singularity cheerfully spoke.
“No?” This didn’t make any sense. Star read on the email that Singularity was clinically depressed. So why didn’t he act like it? Was this supposed to be a shield- a mask? It was certainly working. Singularity moved himself to the edge of the bed that was facing the door. He brought up his legs and sat crisscrossed.
Star looked back down at his clipboard and began scribbling. Singularity, bored, looked at the window and stared out into space, daydreaming. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” Star replied as soon as he stopped taking notes and looked up.
“Why give me a window if I cannot open the window?” Singularity stood up and hopped off of the bed, walking slowly
towards the window.
“It’s just for you to look out.”
Singularity stood before the window, tapping the glass slightly. “I keep seeing the same butterfly pass by, as if it was going in a circle.”
“Truth be told, it isn’t a real view port. All you are witnessing is a TV that keeps playing back a simulated forest.”
“Why?” He asked, staring at the window.
“To make you feel at home.” Star admitted.
“That isn’t what I meant.” Singularity turned around. “I want to know why you would put a window when nopony would even be able to open it, and even if they could by smashing it, they wouldn’t get any fresh air.” He cracked his neck then looked up at Star with his tree-bark brown eyes. “Listen to Recording One, then talk to me.”
“Why?”
Singularity took a deep breath. “We ask questions to understand a subject that we want to know. I will answer your questions and spawn many more as you listen to it.”
Star looked down at his backpack and sat next to it, unzipping the bag and revealing a tape player with the first tape within. Singularity walked to Star and sat across from him, a few feet in front. He tracked Star’s hands as he showed him the player and held his thumb above the play button.
“Go ahead, play it.”
Star looked at the player, then at Singularity, then back at the player and pushed the button.
“Recording One.”
The voice coughed violently and breathed in before speaking again.
“If you are reading this then you were tasked to help me recover from what my peers and the teachers-slash-parents-slash-adults around me think is depression. True to their word I was depressed, now I am no longer depressed but instead curious out of my mind.”
Star looked past the player to see Singularity had his eyes closed and was mouthing each word with a smile from ear to ear.
“The next recordings will obviously be much longer than this one you are listening to.
My name, if we should begin would start here, is Singularity Nebula. As you may have noticed, I see the world around me differently. I consider that whatever happens to me doesn’t happen often or happens rarely.
Why?
Because it gives me an adventure like no other. I do not know that what happens in my life is normal and therefore I adventure into the deep and unknown, with the belief that where I am entering has no bounds, no rules, or limits.
I will enter this adventure with full knowledge of nothing, and that I will exit with it the same knowledge as everypony else around me. I, however, will have it in a more detailed sense than they.
I am slow because I want to know every detail. I am curious about the world around me because I love to learn. To you, listener, whoever you are, I wish that you, if you are helping me, will help me on this journey of mine and if you are not, to get out of my way knowing that you will NOT become an obstacle but more of a specimen. I WILL study you and I WILL find out why you will not help me.
If this is dramatic, be aware that my life is full of this dramatic style. I, unlike you, am used to it.
Good day.”
The player ceased to play. Star focused more on Singularity than the recorder, curious of what was in that mind of his than anything else. What do you know, Singularity? What is it that you want to ease your troubled mind?
The door opened, absolutely destroying Star’s thoughts in the process. A stallion’s head popped into the room. “Time’s up you two. Time for Singularity to go to sleep.”
Singularity looked up at the stallion. “Alright, do you have any melatonin pills?”
“You got problems sleeping, eh?”
“Not really.” Singularity admitted, standing up. “It’s just that my mind is running faster than Mach 5 and I doubt it’ll ever slow down.”
The stallion stared at Singularity with a face that looked as if he was just slapped then laughed in awe. “Nice choice of words, colt, hats off to you. I got some pills, gimme a minute.” He turned around and jogged down the hall.
Singularity looked down at Star and offered a hand. Star took it and helped himself up but continued to stare at Singularity in awe.
“What?” Singularity chuckled.
“Nothing.” Star replied, shaking the star struck expression away. He shook his head again and thought he saw Singularity’s head twitch.
“I noticed that you didn’t find my meds.”
“Meds? What meds?”
“I take medication for my ADD.”
Star subconsciously nodded. That makes a lot of sense. “No, we didn’t find them. Do you really need them or can you go without for a few days?”
“That depends, do you want me to be able to focus or just be hyper-slash-sleepy all day?” He said with a smile.
The stallion popped his head back in and offered two small white circular pills. “Here you go, hope this helps.” He watched as Singularity took them with a nod and popped them into his mouth, swallowing with ease.
“Thanks.” Singularity stretched his arms up in the air and covered his mouth as he yawned. The stallion moved away as Star entered. Before he closed the door, Star heard Singularity hit the bed with a deep THUMP!
The door closed, leaving the two in silence. Singularity, on the other hand, wasn’t asleep, not yet anyway. Too busy daydreaming.
