Routine

'I had ordered one black coffee with no sugar!' she says to the canteen-guy a little irritably.

How on earth people make such mistake with such a simple order!

She hates to break her routine that her coffee- the way she likes it, kicks off every morning.

She throws the coffee away and turns to the vending machine in office to help herself to green tea, taking two minutes to search for her usual brand of tea.

She is so particular about everything, never moving an inch from her planned routine.

It's never 09:00 am until cubicles in her office hear the sharp sound of her high heels. Always the same hairstyle, hair twisted in a tight bun as if she never lets her hair down. Literally and figuratively.

No breakfast at office, it isn't a part of her routine.

Her daily meetings and status calls, always at the same predefined time, the same 'good morning's and 'thank you very much's in the same tone as everyday. Without a change.

Lunch at exactly 02:00 pm. Tossed Salad only. As planned. Again routine.

Every evening she is home at 08:00 pm.
Every night- 09:00 pm, dinner. Simple light dinner because you know- She is health conscious.

And as per her routine she gets into the bed at 10:30 pm. Never late.

Then lying in bed, she remembers him.

Memories march towards her with sharp footsteps.

Tik-Tok. Tik-Tok. Tik-Tok.

Like sound of her stilettoes around the cubicles at 09:00 am.

She tries to figure out what she could have done differently to make him stay.

Every night.

Every night, her routine is ruined like this when she goes to sleep at the wee hours of the morning.

And what an irony it is, even her memories have routine.

Every night, 10:30 pm. Tik-Tok. Tik-Tok.