Eva isn’t even sure what she has in mind. It’s a question that slipped from the subconscious before she had the opportunity to screen it. The boundaries of her mind were blurred and loose as a result of mental and physical exhaustion.

“Hmm,” she hummed softly, taking a little sip of the mango drink to give her an extra moment to think, “How about . . .” she needed a break, a mental break. She has poured over the same data time and time again and it all seemed to blur together now. Anything related wouldn’t clear the fog away.

For a moment, she studied his silhouette: stoic and barren. She found herself intrigued by one of the more difficult puzzles she’s come across: Fernando Silph.

“I want to learn something about you” her finger reaches out to gently poke his shoulder. If he looks, he’ll find her sporting a rather mischievous grin, as if she’s oh so cleverly cornered him into small talk. Of course, that’s not the case at all. He could simply say no.

“If there was one place you could go in all the regions, right now, in the snap of a finger, where would you go?”

---

FERNANDO SILPH

The grin that brightened her eyes quickly turns down into a frown. Disappointment weighs heavy and sinks her shoulders, “Really? Here?” she motions around to the bland conference room. It takes her a moment to read between the lines, to recognize that Fernando Silph wouldn’t be anywhere he didn’t want to be or needed to be.

Eventually, she accepts it, “Well, that’s a boring answer,” she sits back in her chair, setting the mango lassi aside, “And I thought I was the workaholic,” she flips her data pad open again with a little sigh.

---

FERNANDO SILPH

Eva’s eyes scroll back and forth over the lines of text and numbers but her mind doesn’t seem to process it. She has to read the same line several times to mold it into a puzzle piece that gets thrown in a pile with all the others. Distracted for no reason.

His follow up doesn’t pull her attention away from the graph taking up the majority of her screen. She shrugs,“A little. But I’ll get over it.”

---

FERNANDO SILPH

The tablet in her hands shifts slightly as she takes her eyes off of the graph. She doesn’t focus on anything in particular, just her own thoughts.

“Just because it wasn’t the answer I was expecting doesn’t make it any less of your answer,” sometimes she has a hard time accepting that some people aren’t as sentimental as herself, that they don’t have a special place rooted in memories and happiness that dominated their dreams, “If this is where you would want to be then lucky me,” she flashes a smile, half joking and half sincere.

---

FERNANDO SILPH

Eva manages to shrug again, subtly shaking her head as she comes up with something in response, “I- I guess,” as she formulates the words in her head it becomes more clear how stupid it sounds out loud. A little flush rises in her cheeks, “Something a little more personal but to each their own,” she waves it off before gripping her tablet once again to focus on, sinking a little lower in her chair.

---

FERNANDO SILPH

She blinks, looking up again from her screen, “Well,” the subtle pressure tickles her into mild fluster, “No, unless it’s true. Then I guess it’s personal. A boring personal answer but personal, nonetheless. Maybe you’re just boring,” she shrugs as her fingers tap lightly against the edge of her tablet, “But if it was just a convenient answer, then no.”

---

FERNANDO SILPH