It was ten a.m. and you had a meeting at noon, two hours to write, or two hours to fritter away.
Your bathroom mirror quoted the David Sedaris Masterclass for motivation in black glass pen cursive. Reading it, you hung a thin striped robe on the back of the door before pulling on cotton leggings and the same black tank you’ve worn for thirty years. It’s the softest thing you own.
In the kitchen you made yourself a latte. It tasted like permission. You told yourself you’d write after eating. You pulled a big glass bowl out to place it on your stainless steel island.
The document was waiting. It was six days since you wrote that last sentence. Lifting the barrel lid, she found the bones of herself as a baby inside.
You measured out ⅓ of a cup of each seed type, sesame, flax, sunflower, pumpkin, chia, and hemp into the bowl. Then you added a ½ cup arrowroot powder, your handmade spice blend and chopped herbs before pouring in a boiling hot cup of water and ¼ cup avocado oil. You mixed and then let the messy mound cool, drinking the latte and singing Dolly Parton to yourself.
Then you spread the cooled mixture onto a sheet of foil. You rolled the paste between foil sheets until it reached the edges of the tray. The seed crackers cooked for a half hour at 375 degrees. During this time you made your bed and put away laundry. Then you flipped the crackers so they could cook another half hour on the other side.
You set the air fryer for another thirty minutes and realized you were not writing. You also weren’t that hungry. You watered all the plants in the apartment. This reminded you that your favorite ficus still needs re-potting. You pulled the leaves out of her dirt and promised her a bigger pot with a whisper.
The air fryer dinged. You took your seed crackers out and cracked them into bite-size pieces.
The crackers were perfect. Crunchy. Healthy. Golden at the edges.
The aroma of roasted seeds and virtue filled your kitchen.
You accomplished it all, except the one thing.
You opened the laptop and stared at NOVEL_Final_Pages_v9.docx like it could see you.
