Your eyes flutter open. After you rub your eyes, you grab your phone. You see a message from Rei from not too long ago. [[Next->1]] RedVoyage: Sorry for dipping last night me and time don’t always get along (after:3500)[MC: Good morning! Don’t worry, I get it.] (after:7000)[RedVoyage: What have you been up to?] (after:10500)[MC: Nothing yet, just got up. What about you?] (after:14000)[RedVoyage: Eh I don’t really have anything to do] (after:17500)[Do you have any [[friends or family]] close by?] (after:17500)[Well we can [[hang out on here]] if you’d like!] MC: Do you have any friends or family that you can do stuff with? (after:3500)[RedVoyage: It’s complicated with my family] (after:7000)[RedVoyage: Not really any friends close to me] (after:10500)[MC: Oh. I’m sorry.] (after:14000)[RedVoyage: Don’t be like I said it’s complicated] (after:17000)[RedVoyage: Besides I’ve got you now] (after:19000)[RedVoyage: And the others too] (after:19000)[[[Next->Routine]]]MC: Well we can hang out if you want! (after:3500)[RedVoyage: Only if you want to] (after:7000)[RedVoyage: I don’t want to be holding you hostage] (after:10500)[MC: Trust me I don’t have much going on on my end. Just need to get on some clothes and get some food and I’ll be all set.] [[Next->Routine]] You get up to do your morning routine and get on some real clothes. You then make some food and make your way back to your desk. (after:3500)[MC: So what is the weirdest word origin you’ve come across when it comes to etymology?] (after:7000)[RedVoyage: Hm. One that comes to mind is ‘nightmare’. The ‘mare’ part is actually a term in old English referring to an evil spirit that produced feelings of suffocation in people while they slept.] (after:10500)[Huh, kinda [[creepy]]] (after:10500)[That's [[interesting]]!] MC: Oh damn, that’s kinda creepy. Almost like a demon or something. (after:3500)[RedVoyage: I don’t think it’s creepy at all] (after:7000)[RedVoyage: Stranger things have happened] (after:10500)[[[Next->Intriguing]]] MC: Damn, that’s kind of interesting! Though I suppose not all etymology is so exciting. (after:2000)[[[Next->Intriguing]]]RedVoyage: Some words are more intriguing than others. Any words in particular that you’d like me to look up? (after:3000)[What about [[pickle]]?] (after:3000)[How about [[etymology]]?][MC: Well last night you said you liked pickles, so what about pickle?] (after:3500)[RedVoyage: *flips through pages*] (after:11000)[RedVoyage: The liquid for the pickling process was likely called the Middle English word ‘pykyl’ or ‘pekill’ sauce. And eventually people just started calling the cucumbers that were being pickled ‘pickles’.] (after:14000)[MC: Huh. So pickling brine came first, then.] (after:15000)[[[Next->Chicken]]] MC: How about etymology itself? (after:3500)[RedVoyage: *flips through pages*] (after:13000)[RedVoyage: Etymon means ‘origin of a word’ in Latin, and comes from the Greek word etymon, meaning ‘literal meaning of a word according to its origin.’ Etymon comes from etymos, which means ‘true.’] (after:17000)[RedVoyage: And of course ‘ology’ is ‘the study of,’ which comes from Latin’s ‘logia’. But also French’s ‘logie,’ which was taken from Greek’s ‘logía’.] (after:20000)[MC: Dang, just a massive hodgepodge of roots.] (after:21000)[[[Next->Chicken]]]MC: If only “the chicken or the egg” was as easy to figure out. (after:3500)[RedVoyage: Well I could look up them as well] (after:7000)[RedVoyage: Oh you meant the causality dilemma not the words. Sorry] (after:10500)[MC: Hehe, you’re all good.] (after:14000)[RedVoyage: Do you wanna hop on a call?] (after:17500)[MC: Oh, sure!] (after:18000)[[Next->Breath]] You take a breath and sit up a bit straighter before hitting the video call button. It rings for a few seconds before Rei answers. This time, you can see the hint of a grin on their face. (after:3500)[Rei: Hopefully we don’t get cut off this time by my damn alarm.] (after:7000)[MC: Hehe, hopefully not!] (after:10500)[There’s an oddness that settles over you, unsure of what to say next.] (after:14000)[Rei: I wrote a poem about you. Would you like to hear it?] (after:16500)[Well...[[sure]]!] (after:16500)[You… wrote a poem [[about me]]?]MC: Oh, sure! (after:3500)[Rei grabs a small notepad.] (after:7000)[Rei: It’s short.] (after:10500)[Rei: Look over the water With a calm that tells of the New, unfolding spring.] (after:14000)[That was very [[sweet]].] (after:14000)[Eh[[...]]]MC: You… wrote a poem about me? (after:3500)[Rei: I did.] (after:6000)[Rei: I knew it was weird to do. Sorry.] (after:9000)[Sorry, we’ve only [[just met]]] (after:9000)[No, no, I’m [[just surprised]]!] MC: Oh, wow. That was very sweet of you, Rei. (after:3500)[Rei: It’s not very good. I’m not very good at haikus.] (after:7000)[MC: Why did you choose a haiku? Just because it’s short?] (after:10500)[Rei: No, not at all! Haikus traditionally depict nature or the natural world, and I guess our new friendship reminded me of a change in seasons, a new chapter in my life. Our lives. I know, it’s really stupid, but…] (after:17000)[MC: I don’t think it’s stupid, I think it’s nice. And thanks for sharing it with me.] MC: Eh… (after:3500)[Rei: You don’t get it?] (after:7000)[MC: Sorry, not really. I never really got poetry. I mean, I usually get the poems that are super obvious, or if I’m given context, but it’s hard for me to read between the lines, I guess. ] (after:10500)[Rei: Well… I have plenty of poems. So we can keep practicing. ] MC: Sorry, it’s just that… we’ve only just met… I feel like I barely know you and you already wrote a poem about me? (after:3500)[Rei: I told you last night, I’m a writer. Writing about people helps me understand them.] (after:7000)[A pause.] MC: No, no, I’m just surprised! I mean, no one has ever written a poem about me. I’m flattered, actually. I’d like to hear it, if that’s ok. (after:3500)[Rei: It probably won’t be the last poem I write [[about you]].][Rei grabs a small notepad.] (after:3500)[Rei: It’s short.] (after:7500)[Rei: Look over the water With a calm that tells of the New, unfolding spring.] (after:10000)[That was very [[sweet]].] (after:10000)[Eh[[...]]]