Specks of lights radiated against the walls in the tiny kitchen of the one bedroom apartment. The teakettle whistled its high-pitch sound, as she prepared her breakfast. It was her daily ritual. As soon as Rachel awoke each morning, she boiled water in her favorite tea kettle, a lavender purple pot with a rusted bottom.
Now, Rachel poured the boiling water over the chai tea bag in a glass cup. She put the teakettle back on the stove to keep it warm; she often had more than one cup. As she lifted the mug to her lips, she breathed the sweet spices in the sachet, tasting the aroma.
She took her first sip, breathing in deeply, as soaked up the early morning rays of light from the window. As a tea traveled down her throat, she felt a warmth flow through her in the otherwise freezing apartment. The heater had gone out again. I’ll have to call maintenance before I leave for work, she mentally noted.
With the last sip of tea gone, she put down her cup in the sink and headed to the bathroom for a shower. She knew that she should exercise before work, but she had overdone it at the gym yesterday and was feeling sore. Now, she did a series of yoga poses, sun salutations, to limber up, before undressing.
In the shower, she let the water wash over her as she slowly rubbed the bar of soap over her body.
Meanwhile, tea kettle boiled over again. Rachel had forgotten to turn off the stove. As Rachel stepped out of the shower, she smelled something. A strong burning smell filled the air.
“Oh My God!” she screamed aloud, “I forgot about the teakettle”. As she ran to the kitchen, a small flood of boiling water was forming on the linoleum floor and spreading to living area. She quickly shut off the stove and took the burnt tea kettle off the burner. She hurriedly grabbed the mop and bucket in the closet and started to wipe up the water, but damage had already been done. She would have to call management and report the mess. Her rent would surely go up.
Well, she had better not delay. She didn’t want the water to seep too deeply into the carpet. Rachel picked up the phone to dial, but there was no ring tone. She smacked her forehead. She had forgotten to pay her phone bill and the line had been disconnected. She would have to ask a neighbor to use the phone.
When the manager arrived an hour later, she had already left for work. However, he left a note on her door which she found that evening: “Due to water damage, your apartment is uninhabitable. You will have to move out until the carpet is replaced. You will be responsible for the repairs and any costs associated with temporary relocation.” It was signed: Management.
Rachel turned the key in the lock and sunk down in her favorite chair. She wanted to cry, but no tears came. How stupid she had been for leaving the teakettle on, while she showered. This whole situation could have been avoided. Where was she going to get the money for the repairs and relocation. Her hours had been cut at work and she could barely make rent.
Rachel stood up and walked into the kitchen. She picked up the burned kettle and threw it on the floor, smashing it into a dozen pieces. As she slowly bent down to pick up the pieces, she decided that this incident was a sign.
Suddenly, she decided to make some changes in her life, starting with this lousy apartment. She would do better than temporarily relocate, she would vacate the place. She would pay to repair the carpet, but nothing else. She decided that she would take her personal items, but she would leave everything else behind.
Rachel pulled out a piece of stationary from her desk drawer and wrote her intentions on a piece of paper. She signed it: Tenant, Apartment 1A and taped it to her door as she locked the door, leaving the keys inside and the teakettle, in shards, on the linoleum floor.
Recent Comments