Merlina Magpie sat at her computer crunching numbers and between the crushing credit card debt and the dead end job that didn't pay enough to even pay rent she was wondering what the fuck was even the point in going to work. She looked at her phone and then back at her computer. What the fuck was the point of this life? All she and her coworkers ever got to do was stare at screens all day. She sighed a deep sigh and put her phone down. She needed a break from technology. She needed fresh air. She put her long raven hair into a ponytail, checked herself in the mirror with her emerald green eyes and then locked the door behind her. She left her phone behind not really wanting to talk to anyone. As she walked, the sun reflected off her pale milky skin. She wore a short black dress with long sleeves and matching boots. She took out a cigarette, lit the tip and took a deep puff. The nicotine hit her brain with the first hit and it only excited her need to take another drag. She was aware that smoking was unhealthy and that was actually the reason she picked up the habit in the first place. The faster she died the better off she'd be in her opinion. She finished the cigarette rather quickly and tossed the butt into an ash tray. She decided to take a walk. It had been a while since she had the energy to do anything remotely related to working out, so she wanted to take advantage of it while it lasted. She walked past “Lucky's” which was the local deli she worked at. She saw a tall thin man with long brown hair working the register. She saw his blue eyes direct themselves towards her and instantly she looked away. It was her coworker Jason Pontalion. She secretly hated him and his fake witchcraft. He was such a social justice warrior. The part about him being non-binary didn't phase her, but all the virtue signally and preaching he did really got on her nerves. She didn't wonder if she was in the right for thinking that. She was in the right. She was sure of it.
She walked away to explore the rest of the city and thought to herself.
“There's money spells in witchcraft. Maybe I'll visit the Aquarius and see what they have to offer.”
She then remembered she left her phone behind and couldn't find her way around the city without it. Feeling mildly defeated she headed back to her apartment. Once she was back she laid down and began scrolling through her phone. She'd been defeated for the day. She wondered if she would ever get back to her creative self. The person who crafted digital art and made jewelry. It was like all the creativity and motivation had been sucked right out of her. How could she get it back? She wanted out of this life. This hamster wheel where all she did was work and scroll. It was draining her soul and she didn't know how to get it back. She vaguely wondered who she could even talk to. Her whole family only knew Christian beliefs which she could no longer relate to since she'd fallen away from that complete and utter crock of bullshit. No Christian she knew actually lived like Christ.
To top it off she noticed one fine detail in the Bible that everyone else seemed to miss. The verse she noticed constantly while she was still religious was Revelations 22:16. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star. The morning star was Lucifer right? Therefore Jesus was Lucifer. Sure he was Lucifer, but was he the devil? Absolutely not. The morning star was Venus and the Devil Card represented Capricorn which was ruled by Saturn. Saturn was a planet that represented time and to break free of time was to break free of the devil. At least those were her thoughts. She laid in bed til she fell asleep that night. She woke up the next morning and got dressed for work. She got to work and there he stood towering above her. It was Jason. He had a strange emerald pendant around his neck he seemed proud of at least from Merlina's point of view.
“Hey Jason, where'd you get that necklace?” Merlina said pointing at the emerald.
“Well I get it at a place called Lapis in Eternum. You should go there. They have a really good selection.” Jason said as if he were the one selling to her.
“That necklace makes you look like a faggot.” Merlina said with a cocky smirk.
His face turned a bright red as he glared at her tucking it away in his shirt.
“I'm reporting you to the manager.” Jason said coldly before he turned away and marched towards a short, fat bald man. It was Claude Lucky the owner of the store.
“Oh great, let's see if I get fired this time.” Merlina thought as she watched the two talking.
She didn't feel bad about calling Jason a faggot. It wasn't even the jewelry that made her think that of him. She just wanted to piss him off. The reaction she got was exactly what she wanted. After he shift of crafting sandwiches was done she smirked and came up with a plan to visit Lapis in Eternum. What the fuck was that anyways? It sounded close to labia. Maybe that was just her imagination talking. Lapis Lazuli sounded more like it. She looked up the location of the store on her phone, but it didn't show up on any of the maps. Maybe Jason just made that store up and he actually bought it online.
She looked for his Facebook profile and messaged him.
“Hey, where is this Lapis in Eternum store you're so keen on promoting?”
No answer came.
Maybe he was busy with something.
“I bet he blocks me and reports me to the owner again.” She thought as she took her attention away from her phone and went to her refrigerator for something to drink.
Her refrigerator was almost empty except for a bottle of orange juice. She poured herself a glass and sat at her computer playing a two dimensional mmorpg that hardly anyone played. She was level thirty-two which was hardly anything in that game, but was high enough that she wasn't considered a newbie. She eventually grew bored of it and opened her discord chats to see if anything exciting was happening. She'd long since given up trying to find a new job. Ghost jobs posted just to harvest data were abundant on all the job sites she applied to and she didn't have the heart to waste anymore time on something she knew wouldn't pay off. She looked at Facebook again to see if Jason had answered her. He did.
“Why would I tell that to you? You called me a faggot. Fuck off.” Jason had replied.
The next day at work Jason hadn't shown up at all so she was put on the register. Maybe he had enough of her already and finally threw in the towel Merlina thought smugly. She'd checked Facebook before work and he'd blocked her. Oh well. No big deal. It wasn't the first time she'd been blocked for pissing someone right the fuck off. She finished a Jason free shift and to top it off he was fired for not showing up to work. Merlina looked at his crossed out name proudly and thought to herself.
“Bye bye bitch boy.”