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Moira O’deorain was not a woman of connection, not now or ever. She could be seen as a loner, to say the truth. Most people avoided her anyway, not that she ever minded it. Or at least she tried her best to put up the facade of not caring at all. The scientist could be seen much as a loser, if it weren’t for her intellect and work. Angela Ziegler would be the first to agree that Moira is in fact the biggest loser she has ever met, a loner, an introvert, always in deep thought.
However, for Niran, the doctor was an interesting sight. This slender, nearly 50 year old woman, really captivated him for some reason. Moira spent several days in the lab until it was late at night, it was hard not to notice the effort she put into some things. Despite whatever people talked about her, she kept doing her work. In a way, Niran wondered if they were similar. He never cared about what people said, for the most part. Even when his parents judged him harshly and expected many things out of him, Niran kept on going and didn’t put his head down. The younger scientist wondered if maybe that was how she lived life too, after all he had no shame of himself, his likes, dislikes, morals and whatsoever.
He barely ever spoke to her, though. Moira was silent and seemed not very approachable. For the most part, they exchanged ‘hellos’ and ‘goodbyes’ at the end of their shifts. She was much more experienced than him as well and worked in a different field of research, making it a bit hard for Niran to find an excuse to reach out to her. His focus was biology, but as in life and all about it, while Moira heavily focused on pushing the limits of said life and studying death. It was like their interests were opposite, even though they shared a lab.
Angela had different shifts than Niran, she would come in the morning and leave in the afternoon, while he came in the afternoon and left in the evening. Moira was there all day, diligently working in her research, day by day. Some people even said they saw her in the lab on weekends. Niran couldn’t help but wonder if she just didn’t have any social life, friends or other objectives outside of work. He sighed, putting down a pen he was chewing while he let his thoughts go on and on.
It was still the start of the afternoon and the lab was heated, despite the use of an air conditioner. Iraq managed to be even hotter than Thailand, which was a surprise for young Niran when he came to Oasis. He panted, using some papers to wave himself some wind, but it ended up being just hot air.
“Let us take a break,” A raspy, low and deep voice sounded behind him. He jumped a bit, being caught off guard by Moira herself. Niran blinked, she barely ever spoke a word towards him, so why was she now? “I talked to you, did you see a ghost, Pruksamanee?”
“No, no, doctor, absolutely not! It’s just… Nevermind. Are you going to leave the lab?” He asked innocently. Moira was intimidating, even for a confident guy like him. She always had this look to her, a frown, a scowl. Her face softened though with a smile, making him surprised yet again. She never showed him an expression like that.
“I would like to go enjoy a cup of iced coffee, would you like to come with me?” This was his chance to actually talk to her and get to know more about this woman, despite working here for several months now. Niran took a second to answer, not wanting to seem too desperate about accepting the offer then nodded.
“Of course, we barely ever get to talk, it would be lovely if we could just relax a bit,” He noted and Moira made no comment about it, simply turning around and taking off her lab coat. She always had a suit and tie on, most of the time they were dark tones, like black, dark purple, gray. Outside of work, as far as he knew, she also used those, from the pictures Angela showed him in the past. It’s the total opposite of his own aesthetic, which always screams ‘I’m here!’ wherever he went, with pink and bright colors and many accessories. The only accessory Moira carried was a wristwatch.
Niran got up in silence and put away his coat as well, following next to her, who walked with her slender hands in her pant’s pockets. The man coughed into his hand, “You know, I’m always impressed at how well you take care of your nails, doctor O’deorain. I feel as if… If I didn’t work with you all this time, I might doubt you were the kind of person to go for that look.”
Moira raised an eyebrow, “Is that so? A person can have many sides, Pruksamanee. However, you are right, I’m not one to draw attention to myself. I’d rather let my actions and work speak for me, I don’t need fancy clothes or bright accessories. My nails though are the only vanity piece I have on me and I value them.”
Niran chuckled at her answer, it was so very… Moira.
They only walked a bit more towards a cafe that was inside Oasis’ grounds. It was a small Kofi Aromo with self service. Moira got herself an iced latte as soon as she walked in, being decisive as she was. Meanwhile, Niran stood there staring at the menu and rubbing his chin. “You are not a very decisive one, are you? I would recommend you an iced tea, it sounds like something you enjoy,” The woman assumed, taking a sip of her drink. Niran thought for a second and hummed, taking that order. He wasn’t one to consume things inside Oasis, he didn’t want to spend his whole salary at the place he got it from, but today was an exception.
“Shall we sit here or?” Niran asked with the teacup in his hands. Moira nodded, seeing as there was no one else here at this time, it was busiest around evening and lunch time. The odd couple took a seat at a two seat table, facing each other in silence. Admittedly, it was a bit awkward til Moira spoke up.
“You don’t have to be so frightened, you’re aware, right?” She asked and he widened his brown eyes.
“W-What do you mean? Why would I be?” He laughed nervously, letting his own actions speak for himself.
Moira sighed, “Most people are intimidated by my presence, and you are no different, Niran,” That was the first time she called him by his first name, he noticed, “You can ask me anything or tell me anything. Despite what Angela says, I’m not going to bite you. Unless you liked that, of course,” His superior saying that was… Odd. It didn’t feel bad though, but it felt like an attempt to flirt with him, if he didn’t know any better.
“I guess you are very observant, Miss O’deorain,” He smiled and Moira smirked back, taking a sip off her drink. Niran adjusted himself in his seat, before shooting a question, “Well… I barely know you, despite us working for so long together. Say, what do you even do out of the lab? You are in there for so long, sometimes I wonder if you even do anything else, no offense,” He chuckled.
Moira shook her head, “None taken. I… Do not really have much to look towards besides work. And I don’t think there is any shame in that. I pride myself in what I do and I do it well. I think that’s what matters in the end,” She didn’t take her multicolored eyes off him while speaking, “But I do enjoy a good reading, coffee, and… Dogs, I have two of them.”
Niran was surprised, loving nature and animals himself, he didn’t expect Moira of all people to be fond of any kind of animal. “That’s fantastic! Are they cute? What kind of breed are they?” He asked, not being able to hide his excitement. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but being able to speak to her like this, like two normal adults, was good.
“They’re two dobermanns, a very noble kind of dog, but they are very cute, despite what people paint of them in the media and whatnot. I suppose I can relate to their struggle,” She chuckled as she took another sip and Niran blinked, realizing what she meant. “I would guess you know about me and Angela?”
“You and Angela? She… isn’t fond of you, that I know very well,” He laughed, but then noticed Moira’s face didn’t change from a low, dark expression and his smile fell, “Did something happen between the two of you?”
“We used to be married, not anymore though, it’s been around 3 years since we have divorced.” Moira sighed, “I was not exactly the best of partners, however Angela has become… unprofessional to say the least. She did paint quite a ugly picture of me to you, didn’t she?” Niran nodded, “I don’t blame her, but at the same time I can’t accept the fact some people might look down at my work due to my personal choices or life. What happened between us was… between us, not between me and you. We can speak normally and that has no concern to Angela, I have moved on and she should as well, but I understand it’s different for every person.”
Niran coughed into his hand, looking away from her, “And what happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Moira frowned and sighed, “We didn’t work out, our ideals were not the same and I… Pushed her away, heavily. So she decided to give up and leave. Despite what people may think, I’m not made of stone, or a non-human being, or whatever people paint of me. I’m a person with feelings and issues, just as you are, just as Angela is. However, I don’t blame her for not putting up with it, of course,” She noted.
Niran got the message, even though she kept it ambiguous. From what he knew of this woman, she was very distant. So he could only imagine that she wasn’t very good with feelings. “I see… Well, it’s ok, I get how you feel. Well I never married, of course, but I had my fair share of partners in life and breakups and… yeah, it sucks. But we go on, that’s what matters, doctor.”
The older woman nodded, taking a last sip of her drink, “You see Niran, that is something I have a deep curiosity about since it all happened… How far can a human heal when it comes to their feelings? And how far can you alter a brain, just so it forgets the pain? I wonder… Why did human beings evolve to have such weak minded feelings that last over months and years, that get in the way of work, new relationships, life. I mean, some people even… die over love. Isn’t it the most fascinating thing, besides the concept of death itself, of course.”
The younger man frowned a bit at her rant, “Uh… yeah. Well, maybe you just didn’t find the right person who’s patient for you, is all. I think patience and understanding is key to any relationship,” He smiled.
“Say… You have asked something about me, Mister Pruksamanee, so I suppose I deserve to know whatever I like about you as well. So let me know this… What about your parents and your past? You seem to speak of them not very well, whenever you bring them up you have quite the frown. What happened?” She wondered and Niran was surprised she ever noticed anything about him, assuming that he was the only one observing her from afar.
“It’s complicated. As much as I like the work I do here, my parents are extremely… I don’t know, they push me to my limits, ever since I was a kid,” He explained, recalling memories from his childhood, “I used to take ballet as a kid, for example, and they really aimed me to be the best when I just kinda wanted to have fun, ‘cause I mean I was a kid! When I didn’t ace my recital, they pulled me from it and I never danced ballet again. All because my presentation wasn’t perfect.”
“I believe having standards is good to learn since you are young, however exaggerating like that is… Ridiculous, to say the least,” Moira pointed out.
“I know, right? And… Well, to this day, despite me being well over my 20s, they still control me and I… Sometimes I just kinda wanna get away from this life, you know? From the lab? I like this and I like studying nature and animals and plants, but I don’t like that it feels as if I’m not only doing it for me, do you get what I’m saying?” He sighed. Niran realized a weight was lifted off his shoulder, admitting that. As much as Angela was a friend, he was never that open to her, so suddenly opening up like this to the woman who barely ever talked to him was extremely ironic.
Moira nodded, “You must seek your life’s main goal. You shouldn’t live by their words or wants, if you would like to leave the laboratory and go do whatever you enjoy, chase a career in ballet or whatsoever, I completely agree with your decision. I’m currently doing what I love most in life, you should not waste years inside a lab to stop that cycle, otherwise you’d be a fool,” She noted.
Niran smirked, “You know… Maybe I need advice from you more often, doctor,” She smiled back, “It’s pleasing to be here, I didn’t think I needed to talk about that, I guess I need a therapist, God.”
The older woman got up in silence and dusted off her clothes, “I told you, I don’t bite. However,” She suddenly leaned in on the table, towards him, “I’d like to speak to you more closely if you so enjoy, Niran. But I would also enjoy it if you quit, if that’s truly the way you feel. So the next time we meet, it would be nice if it wasn’t inside Oasis or the lab, uhm?” Moira asked in a low voice, making Niran’s heart jump in excitement at the sudden approach.
“I… Am not very sure I get what you are trying to do here doctor, but I won’t say I dislike it,” He laughed and then nodded, “I will see you then.”
Moira hummed and slightly pushed him back in his seat with a hand to his chest, walking away with a ‘click clack’ of her pointy shoes. Niran was left on the table by himself, thinking about the odd scientist yet again and how they had made a connection today.