It's a small world

Based on a true incident. Characters and situations have been changed.

 

I turned my head as the door swung open. The boss walked in.

She smiled with a slight nod of her head as she gracefully walked into her room and settled into her comfortable chair. I smiled back, hating every moment of this daily gesture. Not because I hate the boss. I like her, in fact. She’s such a fantastic person.

Not because I hate being her secretary. I don’t. I love my job. It helps me to keep busy, to escape from the emptiness in my life. I hate this moment everyday because it reminds me of my ex-boss…the person I love.

 

Nobody in this place knows of the relationship we shared. So I do not have to answer questions on why and how we broke up. But spending every moment here with memories of you is sheer torment. Although we have physically moved very far from each other and there is now way we could get back together again, I have not let you out of my heart and my mind. What makes it worse that although you have moved to another city; I have been living in the same place. The memories of our times together are scattered all over this city. There are traces of our love everywhere. I often lose myself in your thoughts. This happens mostly when I’m at work. I’m still at the same place where I met you. Sometimes I imagine you at your desk, having lunch with me, laughing with me…

When I pass by that room where you had professed your love for me, I glance inside. I don’t know why I do that but most of the time I do. Sometimes I even experience hallucinations; I see you walking/ standing where I’ve seen you before and even in places where you have never been. The last two days have been especially difficult for me. They were both good and bad at the same time. Bad because there was frequent talk of you. The company was sending you abroad on an important assignment and all our colleagues were pretty excited that someone they had worked with and joked and laughed with had been selected for such an important task. My colleagues talk about you the same way that they talk about others they've worked with. But to me, you are not the same as them.

 

A loud buzz brought me back from my dreams. I got up and smoothed the creases of my dress and then walked into the boss’s chamber. After ten minutes, I was back at my desk, with tears in my eyes and a sheet of paper in my hands. I was given the responsibility of completing all the paperwork regarding his relocation. The screen had become blurry. I could hear my dead heart beat again. With trembling fingers, I clicked on the page that gave me access to a file that contained details of his successes, his latest achievements and of the responsibility the company had bestowed upon him. I quickly memorized his current address. Reading through the rest of the paper, I learned of the successes he had achieved lately.

 

It filled my heart with pride.

I asked myself – why?

What was I feeling so proud about? I don’t belong to him anymore.

I’m not related to him in any way now.

Then I opened a new document and started work rightaway.

 

Every time I think that my tears have dried I’m proven wrong. I don’t want to forget you. I will keep your thoughts alive always. But sometimes I find that destiny is helping me too. Every now and then something happens that makes me feel closer to you. Either your name pops up during conversations or your favorite song comes up on my player or I hear something about you from common friends and colleagues. It feels strange that news of you reaches me,somehow. Anyhow. If I don’t get to hear about you, I’d be worrying about you all the time. And when I do get to hear about you, it hurts to realize that I’m not with you today. And I never will be with you.

 

 

Another buzz.

There was more work for me. I remained buried in papers until evening. There was no time to get back to his file. When it was time to leave, I offered to take the papers home and complete the work. But the Boss told me I could complete it the next day. Then she said something about my efficiency and commitment to work. The remark came flying and hit me.

 

It wasn’t my commitment to work that wanted me to take the papers home. It was my dedication to you. I wanted to keep a copy of the papers with me. I couldn’t do it today but I will have that chance on Monday. I wish I could ask you to come back.

I wish we could make another beginning, a new start to our story …one that doesn’t end in such a disaster. I wish I could tell you what I’ve been through since you left, of what I have turned my existence into.

You would listen, I know.

You would give me a solution; show me a way to come out of the mess I’ve created of my life.

I don’t want to share my troubles with others. I don’t want to be comforted by anyone else. But I can’t let you know.

It would hurt you to think that the person you wanted to love and protect has hurt herself so bad.

 

Monday came but not too soon. I found myself at my desk much before time. I looked through every bit of information about him that was stored on the computer. Before my colleagues arrived, I had enough time to mail all of those documents into my inbox. Then I started working…

 

I never thought I could survive without you. But I have lived through a year this way. And it’s only because you have given me such wonderful memories to cherish. I draw all my strength from that. I shall wait like anything to go home…to download those documents and to go over them. I will…

 

I completed all that I had to do soon enough. I wanted to do it to the best of my ability because it involved him. When the last sheet of paper emerged out of the printer, I stapled the entire bunch to his appointment letter and handed it to my boss. She was pleased with it and thanked me. I forced myself to smile back. I turned back and was about to leave when she called me again.

 

“We need to enclose a recommendation letter along with the rest of the documents”

 

I was back at my desk, typing away furiously. Within minutes, I had it ready.

 

I had taken the liberty of adding a few sentences of my own…about your attributes. I don't believe anyone knows  you better than I do.

 

My efforts were appreciated. And the file was dispatched to its destination.

With a tear and a smile, I picked up my things and walked out of the door.

 

As I’m heading back to an empty house, I’m thinking what a small world this is. We bump into people we least expect to see .I’m glad I got the opportunity to do something for you, to contribute in some way...

Author's Note

First draft.
Needs major revisions. Please point out mistakes.

Thanks, Rain...error fixed.

Reviews

The ending needs to change.

The reason for his moving might or might not matter. It does leave a vague question and curiosity to all the readers though.

It is a good story, it has to be expounded as it feels a little short. You can give small picks on details, this will help readers feel what the narrator feels. Discuss some achievements, some minor incidents that would make the reader feel the importance of the ex-boss.

This is a very good read.

[Karrar]

Lemme say....the whole story is a beauty...except for the last three lines.

"With a tear and a smile, I picked up my things and walked out of the door"

till here, it was perfect. Couldn't be better. But the ending sounded a little weird. It kind of doesn't 'fit in' with the rest of the situation. Maybe an ending that shows the character's eternal love for her beloved in some way is what i feel should should be there. Otherwise the rest is perfect!

[Hannah!]

I like the way this story goes from the character's thoughts to her actions, and back again--I really like that the italics are addressed directly to her old boss. As a whole, this story was very well-told. This story doesn't feel over; I really don't feel like the conflict has been resolved. And it got a little bit annoying, because there was so little knowledge of the character outside of her former lover. There are a few places when snatches of a personality come through--the fact that she likes her new boss is the biggest one I noticed--but they are few and far between. The end of this piece left me wondering a lot about the narrator, therefore. Seems like we know more about her ex-boss than we do her, and that strikes me as strange. At the same time, he is the focus of the story, so maybe that makes sense.

I really did enjoy this story. It was well told.

[Monners]

I really like the way this goes back and forth. The mistakes I rarely notice when a piece has my attention, so I won't add any. Thanks for sharing this, it's well done. =)

[Susan S.]

I noticed several typos. I'll point them out in notes.

I get the feeling this story is incomplete. There's no movement. Nothing really happens in the story. In order for the reader to sit back from reading the story with a sense of satisfaction, a truth must be told or a goal achieved or a need met. We're told of the problem but that's it. This is just the beginning of a story. It is well told as far as it goes, it just isn't finished.

[Kevin Andros]

It's okay. My attention did waver during the italic sentences, so I presume that they could be shorter. The work relationship thing doesn't go too well with me, as I have not-so-pleasant experiences about my last job that I resigned from and that left me unemployed. As a matter of fact, I would rather stay unemployed than employed at that hell of a place.

Oops, sorry, I've been drifting from the point. This story that you have written tells us about a normal persons day. It's perfectly natural for a person to live in the present and think of the past. The mistakes, the good times and the bad of the past. One likes to do these kind of stuff.

The story, is nicely written. As I'm not good at grammer, so I cannot point out your gramatical mistakes. I can suggest you the deficiencies in the plot and the material and help you mend it.

I must say that you have made this story look very simple which is good at a side that every kind of person would be able to read it, but somehow this thing lacks a bit of polishing. For example:

The paragraph that you have written after you recieve a compliment about your efficiency, could have been written in a better an attractive manner. I felt that paragraph too long but it's not very big really. YOu could have come up with some twisty lines coz it's kind of obvious to the reader as to WHY exactly you wanted to take the papers home.

Just a slight deficiency I noticed. Otherwise, your peice is really perfect.

You just need to go through it and polish it a bit. Once it has been polished, it would be as good as new. This is understandable as this is your first draft, of course. Keep writing

~KA~

[Rain]

You are an excellent writer. I never thought I would become engrossed in an office story, but I did. I found a minor typo. I always screw up the note thingy, so I'll send it. Good job. Rain..