"Note" (2020)

𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖊;⁣

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An oppressive headache greeted Donna as she woke. Confusing dreams left the thirty-two year old exhausted despite her rest, disoriented and sluggish as she squinted at the clock blinking 9:30am on her bedside table. Ugh. Time for pancakes.⁣

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But upon entering the kitchen, glancing out across the adjacent living room of her apartment, Donna's slate grey eyes landed on a most jarring, neon sight.⁣

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Lurid pink, yellow and green squares littered Donna's lounge, stuck haphazardly to furniture and walls. The notes were scrawled in black ink... in handwriting that 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 hers. ⁣

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"ᗪOᑎ'T TEᒪᒪ TᕼE ᒪᗩᑎᗪᒪOᖇᗪ."⁣

"ᗯE ᑎEEᗪ ᗰEᗩT."⁣

"ᕼEᒪᒪO, TᖇEᗩᑕᒪE!"⁣

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Half a shopping list, the beginning of a thought, an ominous greeting. Was it a dumb prank pulled by her boorish brother? Intruders? She'd heard stories of deranged individuals taking up residence in people's attics. Was it one of those? Donna's sleep-addled mind whirred through a thousand possibilities before she grabbed her phone to desperately tap a concerned text to her best friend.⁣

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Within an hour and a half, Donna's closest friend, Theresa, had arrived to save the day. One doctors appointment, a carbon monoxide detector and a terse call to the landlord had confirmed that the mysterious notes were most likely left by Donna herself. A mild case of monoxide poisoning had caused her to scrawl confused notes in ragged letters leaving no memory of her night-time tryst. ⁣

The following day, leak discovered, fixed and the apartment deemed safe, Donna was back, safely ensconced in her post-it and carbon monoxide-free home. That night, she slept better than she had in 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴.⁣

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When 9:30am blinked the following morning, Donna was already half-way to the kitchen. Pancakes. Finally, pancakes.⁣

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But upon entering the kitchen, glancing out across the adjacent living room of her apartment, Donna's slate grey eyes landed on a most jarring, neon sight.⁣

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𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭.⁣

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"ᗯE'ᖇE ᔕTIᒪᒪ ᕼEᖇE..."⁣

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Originally written and shared as part of Verbuary 2020: https://tinyurl.com/ucprdf9w