The Lunar Federation Moon floats above, its visage faded under the early morning light. Sebastian is awoken by the chirp of his automatic coffee machine. It begins its scheduled brew. The water pumps rumble and a stream of fresh coffee pours into a faux ceramic mug. Hazy sunlight creeps into the room through the glass balcony doors. The alarm on his phone chirps loudly. He taps it to stop the noise.

Sebastian smiles.

Finally. It’s the weekend.

The coffee finishes brewing. He gets out of bed, walks over to his kitchen, and leaves his drink to cool. He removes an expensive stainless-steel pan off a hanging rack and places it over medium-low heat on an electric stovetop. Sebastian removes his cardigan and hangs an apron over his torso, wrapping the strings behind his waist.

He quickly fries two eggs, leaving the yolk raw. He places two slices of multigrain bread into his instant toaster. The machine hums for about two seconds before gently presenting two slices of perfectly toasted toast. He spreads a precise layer of butter over each slice and tops them with the fried eggs. Sebastian is doing his best to treat himself on his day off. Eggs on toast is the most complicated dish that his drained mind can manage. Now that cooking has become associated with his dead-end job, he’s rarely motivated to make food at home. Once the coffee’s steam has dissipated, Sebastian picks up the small semi-ceramic mug of brew and his breakfast plate, then brings them out to his balcony. All of this is done with an eager precision.

The sun rises. The morning air is moist and chilled. Sebastian knows to enjoy the cool air while it lasts. The lakes of the nearby Glass Sea keep the air relatively humid, however the heat of the Iridescence can be unforgiving. He finishes his breakfast and sips the rest of his coffee. The coffee reaches equilibrium with the desert air as it begins to warm with the sun’s rise. Sebastian returns indoors, washes his dishes, then goes to his bathroom. He rinses his mouth, brushes his teeth, and combs conditioner through his dark, curly hair.

He digs through his dresser in an attempt to build an outfit, however, there are no clean shirts left. Sebastian makes a mental note to do laundry later. He digs through the small piles of worn clothes on the floor until he finds a shirt that passes the smell test. He completes his look with the jacket he wears almost every day; a fairly expensive, faded navy, waxed jacket with an assortment of small, colorful patches stitched to the left shoulder.

After that, he pulls a leather messenger bag out of his closet. It has hardly been used, so the bag looks brand new. The smaller front pockets are full of pens, markers, note tabs, paper clips, and tape—everything needed to take analogue notes. He opens the main compartment where a thick, weathered journal awaits. Sebastian takes an expensive tablet off its charger on the desk. He then slides the tablet into the bag and folds the large leather flap over the main compartment. He double checks the tiny side pouches of the bag; these contain emergency supplies like pain relievers, eye drops, tissues, and a bright orange multitool.

Sebastian stops for a moment. He’s dressed presentably and everything he needs is packed. He should be ready to go, but he isn’t. It seems that all of the motivation he awoke with this morning has already been spent. He begins to have second thoughts about his plan. Yesterday was really rough, maybe he should just stay inside and relax. Sure. But, this is the only day he has free time this week. He should use this opportunity to do something he’s passionate about for once. He needs this. Now irritated that his internal monologue has become a guilt trip, Sebastian decides that he needs to leave before he over-thinks himself back into bed. He slings his messenger bag over his shoulder and walks out of his apartment.

He walks through the pristine hallways of the apartment complex, stepping around little cleaning robots as he makes his way toward an elevator. After a button’s press and a short wait, the elevator’s doors open, revealing a woman standing by herself inside. He walks in with a nod. She sort of smiles as she looks away. Seeing that the lobby button has already been pressed, he walks over to the opposite side of the elevator. The doors close and the lift begins to descend once more. The two ride down in silence for the few seconds it takes to descend to the lobby floor. The doors open again and the woman makes a swift exit. Sebastian walks out, too. He takes his time, slowing his pace in a tangle of self-consciousness. He hopes to avoid appearing as if he’s following this woman, since she is headed towards the same doors he is—towards the building's entrance. When she reaches the doors, she spots Sebastian’s reflection behind her. She stops and holds the door open for him.

"Oh. Thank you!" Sebastian says awkwardly as he picks up his pace to get himself through the door as quickly as possible.

"Mhm." The woman says quietly as he passes through.

Sebastian stops in his tracks once he sees a bustling sea of pedestrians before him. Just beyond the entrance steps, the dense flow of bodies rushes past like a flooding river. The woman from the elevator walks up and stands next to him. The two silently watch the torrent of people. Sebastian prepares himself to enter the chaos. She takes a deep breath and exhales with a sigh, sounding as if she’s doing the same. She is dressed very nicely and her hair looks like it took a long time to style. She clearly put a lot of effort into her appearance today.

"This is so crazy—" Sebastian says as he turns to look at her.

But she’s gone. He turns around to see her scan her signature at the door and walk back into the apartment building.

"Huh." Sebastian takes a deep breath himself.

A strong urge to go back inside rolls over him, too. But he closes his eyes and continues to breathe, keeping himself from becoming discouraged.

This is a special day.

It’s his one day off.

And he’s not going to let some terrorist attack ruin it.

Well…

It seems grim to just push aside such a tragedy.

But, there’s nothing he can do about it.

That’s just life on the pale blue dot.

Sebastian enters the crowd.