Location: Docks -> Offices, Starlight Aquarium
Timeframe: Early Morning
It was the dawn of a new day. Nary a mouse stirred to interrupt the calming atmosphere of the new sunrise as it rose from the east.
Emma stood before the concrete, rock-lined dock wall that jutted out into the sea. A steaming cup of rosemary tea—her drink of choice, as always—was gripped tightly between her hands as she gazed far into the vast oceanic blue. Sometimes, she wondered, what it would be like to be a fish swimming out there. Did they worry as much as she did? Or were such things trivial and inconsequential to something that experienced the freedom of the sea?
"They always seem to swim upstream," Emma uttered. Sipping her tea, she sighed. "If only I could grow gills and a pair of fins."
Turning her back on the ocean she so dearly beloved, Emma walked up a series of steps and back into the Starlight Aquarium. Her heart hung heavy at newfound signs of age Emma spotted as she scurried the halls; more damage that she hadn't the money to afford repair or replacement. Still, she had to soldier on. Within the very halls she walked so many times in the past were living creatures—precious life that depended on her for their survival.
But had it have to be her? Were the animals at the Starlight Aquarium truly living their best lives?
Opening the door the aquarium's offices, Emma sat the teacup down on an empty desk. A piece of her wanted to give in, Emma knew, as she looked over towards the other desks. All of them were empty, just as hers was. No longer were they filled with the hustle-and-bustle of fellow caretakers and people she could call friend. She was alone, left to brood over the burden now placed on her shoulders.
A burden that was now compounded by the upcoming Starlight Festival; the Cove's annual event to announce the arrival of Spring. What Emma planned to do for it, however, was still up in the air.
Taking a seat in her worn, faux leather chair, Emma turned on her laptop in the pursuit of research. She desperately needed to make this year a success. Even if she was alone, and only the worse seemed to come, Emma still had to give it her all. She couldn't let the reality of the situation crush her treasured dreams.
Of course, they were bound to be crushed anyway. But if she did what she could, then that was all that mattered to Emma.
Emma stood before the concrete, rock-lined dock wall that jutted out into the sea. A steaming cup of rosemary tea—her drink of choice, as always—was gripped tightly between her hands as she gazed far into the vast oceanic blue. Sometimes, she wondered, what it would be like to be a fish swimming out there. Did they worry as much as she did? Or were such things trivial and inconsequential to something that experienced the freedom of the sea?
"They always seem to swim upstream," Emma uttered. Sipping her tea, she sighed. "If only I could grow gills and a pair of fins."
Turning her back on the ocean she so dearly beloved, Emma walked up a series of steps and back into the Starlight Aquarium. Her heart hung heavy at newfound signs of age Emma spotted as she scurried the halls; more damage that she hadn't the money to afford repair or replacement. Still, she had to soldier on. Within the very halls she walked so many times in the past were living creatures—precious life that depended on her for their survival.
But had it have to be her? Were the animals at the Starlight Aquarium truly living their best lives?
Opening the door the aquarium's offices, Emma sat the teacup down on an empty desk. A piece of her wanted to give in, Emma knew, as she looked over towards the other desks. All of them were empty, just as hers was. No longer were they filled with the hustle-and-bustle of fellow caretakers and people she could call friend. She was alone, left to brood over the burden now placed on her shoulders.
A burden that was now compounded by the upcoming Starlight Festival; the Cove's annual event to announce the arrival of Spring. What Emma planned to do for it, however, was still up in the air.
Taking a seat in her worn, faux leather chair, Emma turned on her laptop in the pursuit of research. She desperately needed to make this year a success. Even if she was alone, and only the worse seemed to come, Emma still had to give it her all. She couldn't let the reality of the situation crush her treasured dreams.
Of course, they were bound to be crushed anyway. But if she did what she could, then that was all that mattered to Emma.