A bulging vein was ticking fast on his left temple as he paced around his office. As the regional manager of one of the top investment firms in the US, Will Garner, was determined to become the best. At all cost.
He'd always aimed for perfection all his life. Graduated summa cum laude from Harvard, worked in his uncle's firm for a year before he was snatched up by Evercore & Morgan to head their regional office. Eighty per cent of his uncle's clients left with him and that was the end of their relationship.
Will Garner did not care. Getting to the top was all that mattered. He did not suffer fools gladly. He could not grasp why everyone else around him seemed incompetent and lazy when compared to him.
He could feel his ears hot and a headache blooming somewhere on the left side of his head. Black spots appeared in his vision and he could not understand why. He shook his head to clear his vision or so he thought.
He gritted his teeth and smacked his mahogany sleek desk. He pressed his intercom. "Robin! Get me John and Steve asap!"
There was no response. He scowled and pressed the intercom again. Maybe he should just fire his annoying, always-cheery secretary, Robin.
"Robin! Are you there? Your incompetence will no more be tolerated. Get me John and Steve now or you are fired!"
He waited. No response. Will pushed back his executive swivel chair and tried to get up. He could not. He frowned. What is happening? He wondered. Then the door opened to reveal a tall man in a three-piece grey suit who ambled towards his desk and sat down gently in a chair, facing him.
What was mysterious and appalling to Will Garner was this stranger had no face. He could see the head and the body but no face. Will began to tremble as goosebumps rose all over his skin. He knew he was in a realm beyond his power.
"So, I see you want to fire your secretary, Robin. Is her work etiquette not good enough for your highness?" The stranger asked mockingly.
Will struggled to speak but could not. He pulled at his tie and loosened it a bit.
Mental images of his cheerful secretary played through his mind. Robin was always smiling, always laughing and looking for ways to make him smile too.
"Or your personal assistant, John, who is always full of gratitude and smiling, but very diligent is not good enough for you?" The stranger asked again.
Another mental scene of John, his PA, who was always quick to say 'thank you', who made sure his appointments were met and his clients satisfied.
"Or your colleague, Steve, who always encouraged you even when you want to give up on a client and pursue another. You see your weaknesses but he sees your strengths. You think he is lazy and of no use to you?" The stranger asked menacingly, his hands on the desk, his faceless face drawing close to Will's.
Will could not stop shaking. Sweat had broken out on his face and his shirt was soaked. He attempted to get up but still could not.
He felt the stranger smirk. "Ah, and dear Betty, your lovely wife whom you never seem to have time for. She focuses on the good things in life and you think she's naive or stupid? Huh?"
Will squeezed his eyes shut tightly to stop the barrage of mental images flashing in and out of his mind but it was futile. Images of his beautiful wife, Betty, laughing, running around her rose garden and bringing some to him to smell but he pushed them away and faced his IPad.
"I see we are getting somewhere." The stranger whispered close to his ears. Will startled and stared at him. He somehow knew he could speak.
"Who are you? Stop torturing me please."
Loud cackles followed this plea.
"You call these torture? These are instances of your life." The stranger said. "Means your life must be a torture."
"You have no idea what my life is about!" Will replied forcefully, gritting his teeth as the pain in his head worsened.
"Oh but I do, Will."
"How do you know my name?"
"Because I am YOU!" The stranger boomed as his faceless face slowly took on Will's face and shape.
Will was stunned into silence. He watched himself smirk at him. "You have tried to live a perfect life but you are not living at all because you are not happy. You are surrounded by happiness but you do not allow it into you."
"What are you talking about?" Will whispered, his body weak.
"Listen to me," He smacked himself on the face so he could stay awake. "You owe yourself happiness. You have it around you. John is always full of gratitude that's why he is a happy man. Your wife is always positive, focusing on the good things of life. She's always happy but your attitude threatens to take it away. Robin loves to celebrate you but instead, you put her down with your bossy attitude. These people are happy and it's about time you learn how to be just like them or you lose the life you have been blessed with."
Will listened to himself and became remorseful.
"You have little time left. You can change that by being happy," he said to himself as he loses consciousness.
The blip sound of machines woke Will Garner up. He cranked his swollen eyes open to glance around the room. He was in the hospital hooked to different IVs and some machines. Betty sat beside him, his hand locked with hers, her eyes closed. Was she praying? He pressed her hand a little.
She opened her eye in shock. "Oh my God! Will. You are awake."
He could only nod due to the tube in his mouth.
"I'll get the doctor," She said and was going to get up. He softly pressed her hands again and shook his head. He did not want her to leave ever. She sat still, staring at him in wonder. He could not stop staring at his beautiful wife either. He had a new life and there was no going back to the former.
The End.
This story is my entry to the #POB-WOTW Season 4. You are invited to participate.
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