Wishing for the Impossible...

    Zenith let out a heavy sigh as they placed the last box of lanterns onto the bar counter. “For once, and I can’t believe I’m saying this… Thank you, boss, for having the club be closed today.” They were honestly thrilled that they didn’t need to entertain for the night… They adore their job, but it’s nice to have a break for once. They quietly opened up all the boxes, looking at all the lanterns that were in them, making sure they weren’t broken or anything. “I wonder who it was that convinced you to have some genuine candlelight in the place for the month, boss… Maybe it was him… Hm, not that you’d answer me ever.” They gently picked up one of the lanterns and lightly turned it in their hands. “...These are really pretty though… Probably prettier once the candles in them are lit.” They’ll grab one of the candles that were set up in a separate box, oddly enough, by their boss. “One of these days I’ll talk to him whenever he visits… I need to know if he’s the reason that Boss does some of these things.” They’ll take out their square lighter and carefully light the candle then gently place it into the lantern they had taken out prior. Once the candle was set up in the lantern, the lantern lit up to show its intricate patterns, but something soon became apparent to Zenith. The patterns on this lantern looked almost like a musical staff, with a song seeming on the staff. “This…” They tilted their head as they ran their hands along the patterns and quietly hummed along with the song etched into the lantern. As they were humming, something clicked into their head. This was the song that they played at least once per night… Every night during work, without fail, since they started this job. Zenith thought back, trying to think if maybe one of the customers had maybe mentioned it to him, but soon realized that they’ve been working here so long and that some customers are usually too drunk out of their minds to even remember specific songs that were played during a given night, which meant… “Son of a bitch…” They’ll look towards the boxes with the rest of the lanterns, looking at the patterns on all of them and saw that each lantern represented one of the employees at the Rhythm Roulette. “...Bastard actually does pay attention… Well, I’ll be damned.” They’ll look towards the direction of their boss’ office. “Congrats… Earned some respect from me… Still an asshole though.”

    After the realization that maybe their boss isn’t the worst bun in the world, they continued setting up the rest of the lanterns, enjoying all the unique patterns on each of them. “Alright, that shouuulllddd be all of them.” They picked up a few of the lanterns and wandered over to one of the walls, where there were several hooks for the light carriers. “Now, let’s get them all set up and make the place light up in a much prettier way~” As they finished saying that, they carefully started putting each of the lanterns on its own hook and making sure everything was secure while they were on the hooks, so that nothing fell apart during open hours. After about an hour or so, Zenith had finished getting it all set up and safe. “Perfect~ Now, let’s see how they all look…” At that, they wandered over to the pedestal where their turntable resided. Climbing up onto the pedestal, they lightly ran their hand over the dials and switches of their turntable… One of extremely few things in Zenith’s life that brings light to their own life. They took in a deep breath and carefully turned one of the dials, the built in lights of the nightclub beginning to dim as it was turned. Once it was mostly dark in the building, the lanterns gave the place a beautiful warmth that it would never get from the normal electronic lights built into it. They smiled as they looked around the room, though a bit blinded by the glow of their tattoos right next to their eyes. “...This reminds me of some of those old movies…” They turned their gaze to underneath the turntable, where all of the records Zenith used for them were. “Let’s see…” They squatted down to be able to reach all the records easier, being gentle with each one as they looked through them. “...Can I find…? Ah ha!” They gently pulled one out and stood back up, looking it over. Once they were sure it wasn’t damaged, they carefully placed it on the turntable and let it begin to play. 

    As the music began to echo out into the building, Zenith smiled warmly as they listened. It was a bit old fashioned and one could envision the setting of some movies, where the main couple met on the dance floor of some fancy party and started to dance to the music, as if they were the only ones in the room… They quietly tilted their head, thinking for a moment, before hopping down from the pedestal and walking to the center of the dance floor. Once there, they spinned around once, looking around the room. They paused in one direction then smiled and lightly bowed, as if another was standing in front of them. They then moved their hands to specific spots, like they were getting ready to dance with another, and began slow dance along the floor. One step to the next was fluent and exact, almost as if they’d done this exact scene several times before… Imagining that someone would one day actually be holding them in their arms and dancing with them in a beautiful candlelight setting such as this… Straight out of a movie. They paused and let out a heavy sigh as their arms fell back to their sides. 

    “...Such wishful thinking, huh…? Man, love cinema arts, but they make such impossible things a large desire.” They looked about the room once more, remembering that they are truly alone in the building. “...Some say that one’s desires can become a reality… Ha… Couldn’t be more impossible for someone like me…”