Chapter 01 – Eleonor

The darkness envelops me again. I'm locked in, the doors won't open, my screams are lost in the void. No one hears me. No one comes. The darkness seems to swallow me… Until a distant sound cuts through the silence. An insistent beep, echoing louder and louder, pulling me back.

My alarm clock.

I open my eyes slowly, feeling my heart hammering inside my chest. My breathing is still heavy, fear clinging to my body like a persistent shadow. Another nightmare. I take a deep breath, trying to dispel the tightness in my chest, and look at the clock on the bedside table.

5:30 in the morning.

I force myself out of the sheets and place my feet on the cold floor, shivering at the icy contact. Winter is relentless. I go to the bathroom and turn on the shower, letting the hot water run over my skin, trying to wash away the suffocating feeling of a sleepless night.

When I get out, I wipe the fogged-up mirror with my hand. My reflection appears gradually, and what I see makes me sigh. Deep dark circles, pale skin, tired eyes. I look as worn out as I feel.

I go back to the bedroom and put on my usual clothes: worn-out jeans, a baggy sweatshirt, and the same old sneakers that should have been retired long ago. As I put on my shoes, I glance out the window. Snow is falling in soft flakes, covering the city in a white blanket. Beautiful… but not at all practical when you depend on public transport to cross the city.

In the kitchen, I make a quick coffee, feeling the warm, bitter aroma fill the small apartment. I grab my lunchbox from the fridge – food prepared over the weekend, since time and money are luxuries I can't afford.

I check my phone. 1% battery. Great. I stuff the charger into my backpack along with the phone, and when I look at the clock, I realize I've dallied too long.

Damn it.

I grab my jacket in a hurry and run to the door, feeling the cold air invade the apartment when I open it. Another day beginning. Another day of work that seems to never end.

Rushing down the stairs, I feel each step echo through the narrow corridors of the building. The elevator is out of order – as usual – and I'm already late.

Damn it, Eleonor, you can't be late again.

But then, halfway down, I see Mrs. Gusmao struggling to carry her baby stroller up the stairs. The other residents pass her by without even a glance, too hurried to notice her difficulty.

I close my eyes for a second, fighting against the urgency of my own lateness. You can't be late, you can't be late...

I sigh. But I can't ignore it either.

“Good morning, Mrs. Gusmao. Do you need help?” my voice comes out rushed, but gentle.

She sighs in relief, her face marked by exhaustion.

“Oh, Eleonor, thank you! This weight is killing me.”

I take the front of the stroller and help her up the steps, feeling the small jolts of effort. When we reach the top, little Sophia looks at me with bright eyes and gives a toothless smile.

My heart tightens slightly.

I return the smile without even thinking.

Few things in the world make me truly smile. But children... I just can't resist them.

I gently run my hand through her soft little hair before saying goodbye.

“Thank you, Eleonor, you’re an angel,” she smiles, clearly grateful.

“Have a good day, Mrs. Gusmao.”

And then I start running again, descending the last steps as quickly as possible. Tardiness awaits me, but for some reason, my chest feels a little lighter.

I run to the bus stop, the biting cold hitting me hard, but the wind doesn't seem to matter. I only think about getting to work. When I look down the street, my heart sinks as I see the bus pulling away. Damn it.

I take the next one, which drops me off a bit further away. Now I'll have to walk to the office. I look at my watch with a hint of desperation. 7:30.

I'm 30 minutes late.

And that means it's over. My boss, Ethan, is not going to like this at all.

I hurry through the streets, trying my best to ignore the anxiety growing inside me. Each step I take seems longer, heavier, as if the sidewalks stretch on endlessly.

I finally reach the building and, without wasting time, get into the elevator.

Soon, I hear quick footsteps behind me.

“Hold the door!” a female voice shouts.

My hand presses the button, and the door opens again. A woman enters. I recognize her. It's Sarah, a friend of my boss. She's always elegant and well-dressed, while I barely have time to look in the mirror in the morning.

She gives me a quick glance, a forced smile, and I'm quick to look away, trying not to care. I have enough to worry about.

The elevator starts to go up, but soon the sound of the overload bell echoes. The number of people exceeds the maximum allowed limit. The tension is palpable.

“Someone needs to get out for the elevator to go up,” the doorman's voice echoes through the sound system.

The atmosphere in the elevator becomes heavy. Sarah starts talking loudly, in her shrill voice.

“You, sir, can wait for the next one.”

I look at the elderly gentleman standing next to her, a small man with glasses, who is clearly uncomfortable with the situation. He says nothing, but his tense body is enough to show his irritation.

She can't possibly be doing this.

And then, my mouth starts talking without thinking.

“The one who should get out is you, who got in last. Leave the gentleman alone.”

Everyone in the elevator looks in my direction, some with surprised expressions, others with a smile of approval. But Sarah doesn't like this at all. She turns to me, her gaze cold and challenging.

“Who do you think you are?” She approaches me, her voice lower, but full of venom. “Behave yourself or this could cost you your job.”

And, in an abrupt movement, she pushes the little old man aside, without any respect. I can't contain my anger.

No, she's not going to do that.

I turn, ready to argue, but the gentleman is falling backward, and all I can do is lunge towards him.

“Are you all right, sir?” I ask, my hands touching his shoulder to make sure he stays balanced.

He seems a little dizzy, but nods, forcing a smile.

“Yes, yes, thank you, young lady.”

As the elevator starts to go up again, Sarah casts a disdainful look at me.

Soon the elevator doors close, and I stand there, next to the gentleman, waiting for the next one, making sure he'll be okay.

After a few minutes of waiting, the elevator finally arrives. The doors open, and the man, who already seemed calmer, smiles at me.

"What's your name, dear?" he asks, his voice soft and friendly.

"My name is Eleonor Ribas" I reply, smiling slightly, still a little embarrassed by the previous situation. "And you, sir?"

"Romero. You can call me Romero." He smiles, kindly, as if we were old acquaintances. "Do you work here?"

"Yes, I work for the company. In the IT department, I'm a programmer." I answer, adjusting the backpack on my shoulders as I look at him.

"A young, beautiful, polite, and intelligent woman." He says with an appreciative tone, his gaze affectionate, but not overdone. I'm a little surprised, but I feel flattered.

"I appreciate the compliment, sir." I reply, a little shy, but trying to maintain my composure.

"Call me Romero. We're friends now, right?" He smiles with a genuine look, and I can't help but feel a certain tenderness for that elderly man, who, somehow, makes a point of treating me with kindness and respect.

The elevator reaches my floor, and the doors begin to open slowly.

"I have to go, Romero. It was a pleasure meeting you. Take care." I say hurriedly, but still smiling. I feel he's a good person, someone who, for a moment, made my day a little lighter.

He nods, still smiling.

"The pleasure was all mine, dear. Go ahead, and take care of yourself too."

With a final glance and a shy smile, I exit the elevator and hurry to my department, feeling the heat of the morning rush, but with a lightness in my chest for having met someone so kind, even if briefly.

Soon, I see Camily Sanches, my best friend, watching me with a mischievous smile. She's the type of person who seems to know everything that happens around her, and this moment is no different.

"Missed the bus, Eleanor?" She asks, raising an eyebrow, with a playful grin.

"How did you know?" I reply, trying to seem indifferent, but my expression already gives away that the morning confusion was very real.

"Typical. What was it today? An abandoned animal? A hungry homeless person?" Camily says, joking, but I can see she's just waiting for the funny story that, surely, would come.

"If I tell you, you won't believe it" I say, with a sigh. It's not every day that an elderly man teaches me more about respect than some people my own age.

"Let's save it for lunch" she says, winking. "We have a problem with the code. It won't run at all. Everyone has tried, but it didn't work."

"I'll check it now" I reply, already getting up and heading towards Ethan's office. Camily follows me with her eyes, already knowing I'll take a while to return.

When I arrive at the boss's office, Ethan has his back to me, arms crossed, looking at the monitor with an impassive expression. He slowly turns his head towards me as I approach.

"Late again, Eleanor?" He says, his voice serious, and, for a moment, I feel a weight on my shoulders. "Fix this and I won't fire you."

I swallow hard. The pressure is starting to get to me, but I know I can solve this. I always do.

"Of course, sir." I crouch in front of the computer and start checking the code that's causing problems. The game's phase interaction system isn't running correctly, and the commands are being poorly processed by the server. Some data parameters are missing between the variables that determine the characters' behavior during phase transitions.

With a keen eye and quick analysis, I soon spot the error. The code isn't what I left. It seems someone on the team modified it without testing properly, which caused the system to crash.

"What was wrong?" Ethan asks, interrupting my train of thought. He must have noticed my concentration, which indicates I'm close to finding the flaw.

"The problem wasn't in my code, sir." I explain, looking at him as I type the corrections. "Someone altered the transition parameters without considering the integration with the server's database. This caused an unnecessary loop and, therefore, crashed the system."

Ethan remains silent for a moment, watching as I make the changes. I put the code in the correct place and run the system again. The code starts running perfectly, without flaws.

"Now it's working" I say, relieved, but careful not to seem smug. I look up at him, waiting for his reaction.

Ethan observes the monitor for a moment, seeming to ponder. Then he finally lets out a sigh, not of frustration, but of understanding.

"I don't know why this happened, but I trusted you had done your job right, Eleanor. Good work" he says, calmer, turning to the other monitors.

I stand up quickly, with the feeling that, even without being at fault, I had to prove my worth once again. I return to my desk.

"He likes you" Camily says, with a mischievous smile and her eyes shining as if she were about to reveal a closely guarded secret.

"I doubt it, he hates me. The way he talks to me..." I take a deep breath, trying to maintain my composure. Ethan had never exactly been the easy-to-deal-with type of boss. His words always seemed harsh, his observations, too demanding.

"But the way he looks at you says otherwise" Camily continues, now more provocative, with that mischievous grin on her face that makes me roll my eyes.

I give a nervous chuckle, trying to deflect the situation, but I also can't help but wonder about what she said. Does he look at me differently?

"Stop it, Camily. He's... not my type." I almost sigh in relief as I convince myself of this, trying to keep my focus on work. I don't have time for these things now. Not with everything at stake.

"Handsome red-haired men aren't your type?" Camily blurts out with a sarcastic tone, and I turn quickly to look at her, incredulous. I almost burst out laughing, but I try to contain myself.

Ethan Monach

I quickly glance at Ethan's office and, to my surprise, he's watching us, his eyes fixed on our desks, and something in his gaze makes me freeze on the spot. Did he hear? He seemed distant, but now, with this realization, I feel a knot in my stomach.

I try to look away, but I can't help but wonder if he's listening to our conversation. What would he think if he knew what Camily is insinuating? Or what would he think of me? I don't know, but I feel a tension in the air.

"I prefer someone who isn't my boss and doesn't want to eat me alive" I say, with a nervous laugh, trying to brush off the embarrassment. I don't want to complicate the situation further with these assumptions.

Camily lets out a deliberate laugh and, with her usual mischievous expression, says:

"I don't know if that's what he's wanting to eat..." She pauses and I almost freeze on the spot, not knowing how to respond.

"Camily Sanches!" I give her a light push, laughing with a bit of embarrassment, and we both laugh together, trying to forget the tension of the situation.

The hours pass quickly, and soon it's lunchtime.

I grab my frozen meal, the container a bit crumpled from being carried around so much, and walk to the staff area to heat it up. The atmosphere is calm, almost empty, as usual at this time, and the smell of coffee still hangs in the air.

"Is the tea finished?" I ask, not expecting much, but just wanting a little conversation.

"We don't have tea... Want some coffee?" The attendant replies with a friendly smile.

"Oh, no thank you." I answer quickly, with a forced smile. The last thing I need right now is coffee. What I really wanted was something warmer to calm the anxiety that's starting to consume me.

As the microwave starts to heat my food, I feel a familiar presence approaching. When I look, I see Ethan coming towards me, his expression serious, but at the same time, a little softer than usual. This unnerves me for a moment.

"Everything alright?" He asks, his voice low.

I take a deep breath, trying to hide the tension I feel in every muscle of my body.

"Oh... Yes, sir." I reply automatically, more out of politeness than real conviction. Something about his presence still makes me uncomfortable.

He looks at the microwave, apparently thinking for a moment, and then says:

"I'm going to make some tea..."

"I wanted some too, but... We don't have tea." I say, forcing a smile. I feel like he's trying to be nice, but I don't know what to do with it.

The microwave beeps and I grab my food, relieved to finally be able to get away from that tension a little.

"Excuse me, sir..." I say quickly, moving away to sit at a table in the corner. I try not to think too much about the situation, pick up my food, put on my headphones, and look out the window. Outside, the sky is gray, but the view of the city makes me feel a little calm, a feeling I'd almost forgotten what it was like.

I close my eyes for a moment, and the music starts to play softly in my headphones. The melody is familiar, almost like an embrace that envelops me. A song that has always calmed me since I can remember. I let myself be carried away by the notes and, for a few moments, the noise of the world outside disappears, leaving only me and the music, bringing me back to a sense of peace that I rarely find.

Sarah Homer

Upon returning to my desk, I feel a growing tension. As always, the work pace continues, but something seems to be in the air. Camily, who is sitting next to me, observes me with a look that mixes curiosity and a certain mischievous smile.

"He's going to have some fun..." She says quietly, which makes me roll my eyes.

I don't quite know what she means, but the feeling in the air isn't the best. Ethan's office has that frosted glass that only allows you to see the shadows of people inside, without details. Even so, Sara's presence is somewhat... suspicious.

"He wouldn't do that here, would he?" I ask, feeling a growing discomfort. I don't even want to imagine what could happen between them, but I can't help it. Right at work, it gives me a lump in my throat.

Camily lets out a sigh, shrugging.

"Sweet Elle, he always does... With practically all the female employees." She laughs with a tone that seems to know too much, as if she's seen this before.

This makes me uncomfortable. It's not the kind of situation I wanted to imagine. Just thinking about it makes me feel disgusted.

"How awful..." I reply, my voice somewhat low and distant. What's happening there is something I can't control, and that thought is a bit too much for me.

"Have you had lunch yet?" Camily changes the subject, trying to lighten the mood, but I'm still lost in my own thoughts.

"Yes..." I answer distractedly, but my gaze wanders a bit. How can Ethan be so hard to understand? Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Camily, noticing that I'm not entirely there, gives a mischievous smile and offers something that usually makes me smile.

"I have sour candies, want to share?" She holds the bag in front of me, and I can't resist.

"Sure!" I reply, with a slight smile, finally taking my mind off the complicated matters. Sour candies are one of those little joys in life that can pull me out of a bad mood.

After a few minutes, while we were chewing and laughing at silly jokes, Ethan appears in our staff area. His gaze is serious, and his posture is tense. He clearly has something important to say, and everyone in the room knows that when he presents himself like this, it's not for something trivial.

"I need to inform everyone..." He begins, pausing before looking at us. His voice sounds heavy, as if he has a weight on his shoulders. "Sara has been appointed to be in charge of our department from now on."

The news catches me by surprise. I knew there was something strange in the air, but I didn't expect this.

"She's going to be our boss?" I ask, unable to hide my confusion.

Ethan pauses and looks directly at me, his gaze firm but distant. He doesn't seem to want to discuss the decision, but I can't understand.

"No, not exactly. I'm still coordinating the work, but Sara has been appointed to be one of those responsible for the processes. She will help with whatever is needed." He explains, without showing much enthusiasm, as if he were just relaying the information.

I take a deep breath, but frustration starts to build.

"The decision was made by the board. We'll have to work with this." He says, in a tone that leaves no room for questions.

I remain quiet, processing the information. How will this affect our work? I can't shake the feeling that we're being thrown into a situation that will harm us.

Camily, noticing my discomfort, lets out a nervous laugh.

"Looks like we'll have a new boss... even without her knowing anything about what we do." She says, with a touch of irony.

I look at her and, for a second, our eyes meet. We know that, no matter how hard we try, we can't change what happened. All we can do is wait and see how everything unfolds.

Ethan walks away, but I still stand there, reflecting on what this means for our department and for the work we do. Something tells me we'll have to adapt to more changes, and I hate changes.