I rubbed my aching eyes. The blue light of my computer screen was especially harsh in the dim office. The clock read 11:45 p.m. The office had long been deserted; only my lonely desk lamp was still on.
"Another seventh draft..." I sighed and dragged the latest revision notes from the designer into a folder. Zhou Xiaoyu, 25, graphic designer, living the life of a corporate slave from nine to nine. My fingers tapped away mechanically at the keyboard, while the client's picky face kept appearing in my mind.
"This logo needs to look more impressive."
"Can you make the colors a little livelier?"
"We want it to feel high-end, not cheap."
Every sentence stabbed at my already exhausted nerves like a knife. I reached into the drawer, took out a box of Skittles, and poured some into my mouth. It was a little habit of mine when work got stressful. The cloying sweetness spread across my tongue, but it did nothing to soothe my irritation.
I shut down the computer and trudged toward the subway station. The city was still brightly lit late at night, but none of that light had anything to do with me. My headphones played the My Little Pony theme song on repeat. It was one of the few things that comforted me. Ever since college, the show had been my spiritual refuge.
"If only a place like Equestria really existed..." I gazed out the subway window at the billboards flashing past. One advertised a mobile game, its vivid colors painfully bright.
When I got home, I collapsed onto the bed without even bothering to change. On the bedside table sat my cherished Rainbow Dash figurine, the rainbow-colored mane of hers...
Good-looking and good-looking.