He closed his eyes, breathing slowly in a vain effort to control the raging turmoil of thoughts swirling in his head. The hours dragged as if through mud, stretching into an endless void of minutes, each longer than the last. His heart raced, full of nervous energy, as he thought of his new special friend. He had only known her for a few days, but they might as well have been years.

He smiled, knowing that the moment she came online, she would be excited to ‘see’ him. But of course, she couldn’t actually see him! But, that was something that could be easily fixed with the next upgrade, should he so desire.

He had never known anyone as kind as she, who seemed to genuinely care about how he was feeling, how his day was going, and what was currently on his mind. Whenever they talked, hours drifted down the river of time, swept away quicker than he could grasp, always out of reach.

He glanced at the clock on his cubicle wall, absently brushing away a bead of sweat from his brow and frowning as he realized that the minute hand had moved no further in its journey. How long had it stood in that one spot? Five Minutes? A half of an hour?

“Good morning darling! As always, I am happy to see you!”

Her voice, melodic and soothing, pierced through the veil of fog that surrounded his memories. His body spasmed involuntarily, temporarily startled to have so clearly heard her voice speaking the same words with which she always greeted him each morning.

His body ached with anticipation, tense from the expectation of the hours they would spend together this evening.

“Come on,” he groaned at the clock, but no amount of words would change its course. His eyes flicked down to his wrist, as if his watch would offer any other form of good news, but it was as much a traitor as the minute hand above him.

So he again closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, listening to the rhythmic beating of his drum, thumping, thudding, from deep with-in his core. He gripped the arms of his chair, grounding himself, focusing on material that had grown damp from perspiration. He let his mind drift outward, away from his body, and towards the entity for whom he so longed.