The Draconian Woman. Chapter Three

Chapter Three – The Office Oracle

Three months after arriving in 2022, Serakha had achieved something she had never intended.

She had become...

the office legend.

No one knew exactly where she came from.

No one understood half the things she said.

Yet somehow...

whenever life became complicated...

people asked,

"Has anyone talked to Serakha?"

It started with coffee.

The office coffee machine had broken down.

Panic spread faster than any biological virus.

"It won't start!"

"It's dead!"

"We're doomed!"

Serakha slowly walked toward the machine.

People stepped aside instinctively.

She examined it for exactly twelve seconds.

She pressed one button.

Opened one panel.

Removed a paper clip.

Closed the panel.

Pressed the button again.

The machine hummed peacefully.

Coffee flowed.

The office applauded.

Emma laughed.

"You've repaired another machine."

Serakha looked confused.

"I repaired the humans."

At lunch, someone asked,

"How do you always stay calm?"

She looked around the table.

"You confuse urgency with importance."

"What does that mean?"

"If your coffee arrives two minutes late..."

"...that is not an emergency."

"If someone you love is in danger..."

"...that is."

She took a sip.

"Your species spends too much energy on small battles."

People began writing down the strange things she said.

Nobody planned it.

It simply happened.

A designer kept a notebook.

The accountant started collecting her quotes.

By Friday they had filled six pages.

One of them read:

"Never argue with someone who is tired. They are fighting their biology, not your opinion."

Another:

"If your first instinct is to defend your ego, your second thought should be to remain silent."

Another:

"A civilization is measured by how it treats the person who cannot offer anything in return."

Emma smiled every time she heard a new one.

"You're accidentally becoming famous."

"I assure you..."

"I have made every effort to prevent it."

One rainy afternoon the company hired a motivational speaker.

He walked confidently onto the stage.

"Success," he announced dramatically,

"is about crushing your competition!"

The audience clapped politely.

Serakha quietly raised her hand.

The speaker smiled.

"Yes?"

"In my civilization..."

he immediately looked interested,

"...the civilizations that focused only on crushing others eventually disappeared."

The room became silent.

She continued.

"The strongest empire is not the one that wins every war."

"It is the one that no longer needs to fight every battle."

Nobody laughed.

The speaker blinked twice.

"...That's actually a good point."

Emma whispered,

"Congratulations."

"You just defeated a motivational speaker."

"I answered a question."

Serakha's greatest mystery remained...

human small talk.

She couldn't understand it.

One morning the receptionist smiled.

"Lovely weather today."

Serakha looked outside.

"It is raining."

"Yes."

"So..."

"How is it lovely?"

"It's just something people say."

"...Why?"

"To be friendly."

Serakha spent the next two days thinking about this.

Finally she announced to Emma,

"Your species uses weather..."

"...as a peaceful declaration that no conflict is intended."

Emma nearly spilled her tea.

"I've...never thought of it like that."

"It is remarkably efficient."

One Saturday Emma dragged her to a shopping mall.

Serakha stopped moving after ten minutes.

"There are..."

"...four hundred clothing stores."

"Approximately."

"But humans possess only one body."

"Correct."

"Why do you need so many garments?"

Emma shrugged.

"Fashion."

Serakha nodded thoughtfully.

"So..."

"This is ritual decoration."

"...Yes."

"Interesting."

"In my era status was displayed through military achievements."

Emma smiled.

"Here it's sometimes displayed through shoes."

Serakha looked at a pair that cost more than a month's rent.

"Your civilization hides its warriors well."

That evening they sat on the apartment balcony watching the city lights.

Emma suddenly asked,

"Can I ask you something?"

"You already have."

"You know what I mean."

Serakha smiled faintly.

"Proceed."

"Were you...happy...where you came from?"

The question lingered in the air.

For a long time she didn't answer.

Finally she spoke quietly.

"We respected excellence."

Emma nodded.

"We admired discipline."

She nodded again.

"We rewarded victory."

Another pause.

"But happiness..."

She looked toward the stars.

"...was considered inefficient."

Emma frowned.

"That's sad."

Serakha smiled.

"No."

"It was simply normal."

Another silence.

Then she added,

"I have discovered something remarkable about your century."

"What?"

"You waste time."

Emma laughed.

"That's not usually considered a compliment."

"You waste entire evenings talking."

"You walk without destination."

"You read books that do not teach strategy."

"You watch sunsets."

"You celebrate birthdays."

"You keep photographs."

"You hug."

Emma smiled softly.

"We do."

"In my civilization..."

Serakha whispered,

"...we called those things distractions."

"And now?"

Serakha looked at the families walking below, children chasing pigeons, an elderly couple sharing an umbrella, a street musician playing for strangers.

"Now..."

"I suspect they were the reason civilizations were worth protecting in the first place."

Emma didn't answer.

She simply reached over...

and squeezed Serakha's hand.

The former Commander of the Fourth Draco Fleet looked down at their joined hands.

Such a small gesture.

No military value.

No strategic purpose.

No measurable advantage.

Yet somehow...

it felt more powerful than every victory she had ever won.

For the first time since crossing the timeline, Serakha understood something no academy in the Draco Empire had ever taught.

Strength could conquer a world.

Kindness could make one feel like home.