If You'd Let Me

Chapter 3

That afternoon I was working in the library again, after sleeping in my room at HQ and going to my apartment to get my stuff.

The woman from yesterday was here again. Of course she was listening to music, muttering to herself this time too.

I let her be and reviewed a job send to me by a client.

"There's no way this is right," she muttered.

I looked up and after seeing her buried in her work, I continued reading through the job offer. Then she looked up and caught me looking. "I'm so sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt you. Again."

"It's fine," I responded and flashed her a grin. I had just returned to my work, when she spoke up again.

"You're the guy from yesterday, right? You must think I'm the worst 'cause I keep bothering you."

I chuckled, "It's alright. Though I'd like to get some work done today."

"Of course. Wait what kinda work? Not that you have to tell me of course. I'm a total stranger. Who would tell a total stranger wha—"

"—Some freelance work," I cut her off.

"Anything interesting or super boring?"

I laughed, "It's a bit boring, but it's fine really. What are you working on that has you muttering confused the entire time I've been here."

She blushed, "Fuck. I didn't even notice. I'm working on a blueprint for an airplane. But there's something wrong with my calculations and I can't find what it is," she sighed frustrated.

"Sorry can't help you with that. Not really my area of expertise even if you wanted my help."

She smiled, "Yeah well, it's mine. Doesn't mean I don't make mistakes."

"Oh so true. Sometimes I get these project that are just idiotic. Like why are they even asking me about it, when any sane human can see from miles away that it's a bad idea."

"Finally," she threw her hands up in exasperation, "someone who understands. They want me to make this blueprint. But there is really no way this —" she gestured to her laptop "— airplane is gonna be airborne. Well at least not for long," she muttered.

I laughed at her and soon she joined.

"I'm Liz by the way," she smiled.

"Zivon."

Her eyes crinkled, "Oh fancy name. I like it."

I simply shrugged, "It's alright." I actually liked the name, but somewhere deep down the name wasn't really me. I'd had many names by now and they were just there to serve a purpose. But they didn't really describe the entirety of me.

Each single one of them was another carefully crafted identity. They were each a piece of the puzzle that was me. Some people knew one of the pieces. A few knew multiple pieces. Yet no one knew every single one of them.

It was lonely, but it was a path I had chosen long ago. There was no way back now.

The past was the past and the only thing I could do was continue forward. Down a path that created more and more identities as time flew by. I wondered if it would ever stop. But I could never have a normal life. That much was for sure.

I liked my life. I hated it. Both at the same time. But that was adulthood for you. Things weren't one or the other, but a blend of many factors. Life was complicated.

Zivon is a citizen of the state. Zivon spend his afternoons in the library doing freelance work. Zivon had an heavy accent from studying abroad for several years. That was all there was to Zivon. Zivon wasn't complicated.

"Hey crazy idea. Do you want to get a cup of coffee sometime? You seem like a genuinely nice person and I'd like to get to know you."

The idea was actually surprisingly nice. I knew my life was just a repetitive loop of the same damn actions. A new friend — a friend at all — would be really nice.

"Yeah, I'd love to."

She smiled at me, then suddenly looked concerned. "Are you okay, though? I know we barely know each oth—"

"It's fine, Liz. Slow down. What's your question."

"Are you okay?" She gestured to my hands and my face.

I looked down at my hands confused and saw my raw knuckles. I chuckled and observed them. "I'm okay, Liz. Totally fine. Just a friendly sparring match against a friend."

"Doesn't look friendly to me," she muttered under her breath. It was soft enough that she hadn't meant for me to overhear her. I had though.

"I know with the knuckles and eyebrow and the jaw — It isn't really believable, but I'm really alright. We just got at it quite," I searched for the right word, "enthusiastically," I decided in the end.

"Well you two must have been ecstatic then," she sassed me.

I grinned, "We were."

"Did you at least land a good one on your 'friend'?"

I chuckled, remembering the way I had landed some good hits on Rad. "I did," I responded smugly.

She laughed, "Alright then. That's reassuring, I think," she mumbled the last part.

"I should really finish this project proposal today, though. So if you don't mind, I'll get back to work."

"Oh yeah of course. I should also be working right now," she chuckled. "It was nice talking to you," she spoke sincerely, looking over her laptop.

"It really was. We should meet up soon for that cup of coffee."

"We should," she mused.

We both returned to our work in the utmost concentration. That afternoon I got quite some work done, so I was pleased with myself.

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