Random word challenge #321: Watching

This story was written for Medium’s Fiction Shorts.

A Drabble is a concise 100-word story that respects your busy schedule. Your presence here matters. Please stay on the page for thirty seconds so you will count as a reader. Thank you.

I just don’t understand it. The sun refuses to indulge my despair.

*

Since November 6th, he has gotten up at 4 am.

Three hours before the event.

This ritual calms him.

Eight ounces of water, one scoop of coffee, his white coffee mug, and Rebecca’s for later.

Three presses on the thermostat.

He pees and washes his hands and face.

With his right hand’s thumb and forefinger, he grasps and pulls down the nub that opens the east-facing window blind.

He opens his Macbook Pro and looks at the previous day’s Medium notifications.

Enough time to finish one story.

Intermittently, watching to see if it will happen again.

Confoundingly, it does.

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Note: On October 6, 2024, Donald Trump was elected to a second term. This morning, the sun rose at 7:03.