23 Jan Short Story
A short story about burned out man
Disclaimer: I am a non-native speaker, so I might have made some mistakes.
Feel free to point them out.
ToDaY iS ExPeCtEd AnOtHeR ExCePtIoNaL TeMpErAtUrE RaTiNg, In ThE MoRnInG +45 C, In ThE AfTeRnOoN +55 C, In ThE EvEnInG +50 C, ClEaR, AnD NoW To ThE NeWCoLs: ThE ArMs-FoRMeD GrOuPpInG Of ArMeD PeRsOnS HaS SeIzEd It.." then listening to it was impossible—nothing new; I urgently had to switch it off. Reaching out and barely mustering my strength, I managed to turn off the radio; even here, it was now rare to hear non-generated speech, though, nothing new.
How wonderful it is that I left the city—staying there now would have been completely impossible, and here, far away from cities and roads, one could at least relax a little and not think about anything that was happening.
10:52
True. It was. Wild. Boring.
It was a small cottage 200 km from the nearest big city; around it were hills, a bit of yellowed forest, and almost not a soul.
Only old folks, spending their days in silence and far from all the madness unfolding around. And me.
The cottage belonged to my sister; it had been abandoned long ago, but lately I’ve been coming here more and more. The best thing about this place was the absence of internet—which nowadays might seem unimaginable, but yes, even here the connection was still poor, and because of “geopolitical problems” in this corner of our world, satellite internet is like magic inaccessible to magglams.
11:05
Yeah, time here dragged loooong, stretched out like cheese, flowed looooike honey.
No, what else was I to do. I sat on the porch, in the shade of the roof, with an old mom’s scarf proudly displayed on my forehead—a scarf I found here and used so as not to die from the heat. Of course, inside the cottage it was a bit better, but not by much; outside, there was at leeeast some fresh air. There was no wind. The fan worked, but it didn’t really help.
11:11
Hmm, and for a whole week nothing has been happening, and I’m here hiding from everything—hiding from the world and its obligations. Or maybe this is the right path? To forgo comforts and return to a simple life? To forget about work, even though that’s almost impossible. Literally, last month we released a feature that will let us raise our profits by 14—or maybe even 17% per month (!)—though it cost me a nervous breakdown, which is why I’m spacing out here..
11:18
It seems like it will never end, it seems like I’m cursed to exist in this endless stream of tasks, conference calls, tasks, then more conference calls, decision-making.
And then there’s Christmas. A bonus. And then, again from the top.
12:34
Have I really fallen asleep. True—waking up to find that you start sweating even more and that it gets even hotter outside, and the scarf has long since dried.
Gotta get up and go inside.
12:38
Inside, it smelled of old age and dust; all the windows were shuttered, it was dark and a bit cooler than outside. The best part was that you could sleep on the old sofa—on which I loved lying on my stomach and playing soldier figures on the floor with my head hanging down. My grandma would come over and scold me, saying that later my head would hurt—and indeed, it hurts..
Not a trace of soldiers or figurines remains, nothing left of that. At least the sofa was still there.
Gotta get some sleep.
14:01
A nasty blue light, voices from the conference room, clacking—how wonderful that it’s only a dream. What a disgusting life this is; there isn’t an ounce of soul in it, only goals, plans, “achievements”, “EFFICIENCY”. No, I think this is my last year or maybe the penultimate one—I hope so.
15:21
For some time now I’ve been spending more time with my friends, indeed! Now I even almost remember all my friends’ birthdays without calendars or reminders!
It’s amazing that this has become some kind of achievement!
Almost forgot—I’ve now started cooking for myself, canceled subscriptions, and now I even know what burnt eggs taste like. It’s kind of funny, though sad.
15:34
I looked out at the street—still insanely hot, not a single cloud in sight. It seemed there was something on the horizon, but I think it’s just a mirage. Alright, I’ll go cook.
16:28
I can’t go on like this forever; someday I really will have to choose in someone’s favor—I still can’t decide who I want to be with. Mark is alright, but he’s always nagging and talking about work, while Dennis just can’t stop thinking about the possibility of moving to her homeland, where everything is wonderful and marvelous; though assholes they may be, it’s still comfortable with them. Maybe I should try going to a bar sometime—maybe meet someone. Who knows.
17:09
Hoowww dreee liike BOOOORING!
How I hate all of this!
NO, this is definitely the last year; I’ve saved enough, and I don’t need anything else—I’ve already calculated how much money I need for life, I’ll move here, I’ll find someone among those who live nearby.
I can’t buy an apartment, even with my salary; finding a partner is also impossible, him/her/it, f*ck, it’s not even important anymore—everyone has become special, with whom one must be SPECIAL.
How f*cking annoying is this.
After all, it was a cloud.
17:10
A thunderclap boomed. True! But I can’t figure out from which direction.
Please, let there be rain.
17:31
It seems like it will happen!
It seems like it’s going to happen.
Maybe I really should stay here.
In truth, I’ve always loved working in the garden with Grandma; she always handled the weeds so deftly. She always knew exactly what to do so that the potatoes wouldn’t die, even in the driest of years, and I was always amazed by her smile and calm demeanor—she was a very brave woman, I always respected her.
And also, she always hugged me so gently and pinched my cheeks.
And also, I was madly in love with the way she cooked pasta, even when she started confusing me with my sister; the pasta was still, d e l i c i o u s!
17:45
Rain, it’s started raining!!
I can’t help it—this is just delightful. I’ve moved out onto the porch—it’s simply magical.
Wind! I can feel it; it billows my shirt, it blows the sweat right off me—how good it is..
How damn good—let it go on forever, let it pour and wash away the roads, let it wash away everything that exists, let it never end..
I believe in you, little rain, you can do it!
Who else but you can defeat all this evil that surrounds us?
You have everything!
If need be, wash me away too.