Your Choice

Just another day on the job Karl thought, until he saw her. To him she was like a Phoenix with hair that shone like fire and the way she walked majestically. To all who saw her they froze in awe, if only for a moment. Any man would want such a regal beauty. Karl though enamored did not think he had a chance, he sighed and thought at best she'd exist in his mind as the woman of his dreams.

Finally it was lunch, he had spent the whole morning thinking about her. To the ire of his coworkers. Usually he was the one who paid the most attention to the surroundings, not this day. Though he wasn't completely focused he still caught activity that the others missed, much to their disdain. No one could fault him, as he headed out to the cafeteria to get some lunch.

Normally he brought his own but this day he decided to save a bit and opt for the free lunch all employees were entitled to. Without checking he walked through the double doors and joined the lunch line. Preoccupied with checking if he received any messages and on the latest news, he stood in the line attentively shifting up when it moved.

Now he was close enough to grab some utensils. Just as his hand touched the plates he felt this soft touch almost like silk to him. He looks up to see and there touching him are these slim yet supple fingers. Out of shock he takes a plate quickly and hands it to whoever was behind him before taking his own. Staring at him were these baby blue eyes that seemed to glimmer.

She took the plate from him and smiled. Now a bit lost, he failed to notice the line had moved. Still smiling, she gestures that he should look in front. Surprised, he turns around and sees the line has moved, so he quickly takes some utensils and moves up. He hears a slight giggle behind him. Embarrassed, he quickly picks what he wants and heads to find a table. Luckily he sees a single seater that no one is by and he heads towards it.

Settling down he begins to eat and out of habit he also monitors the room but lingers on her. She eats with grace he thinks as he watches her use a knife and fork with such efficient movement like it had been ingrained in her at birth. Make no mistake, while most people can eat with a knife and fork. The subtlety of her movements which flowed like water from the stab to the cut, then into her mouth, it all seemed to show her majestic status.

He continues to eat and monitor, though each time he catches sight of her he slowly chews as he waits with anticipation of her next move. Lunch ends and he stays seated, waiting for her to leave so he doesn't embarrass himself again. Breathing a sigh of relief when she exits the room he gets up and now proceeds to the exit himself. As he opens the doors she falls towards him.

Nervously he asks, "Ar-are you all right?". Grabbing his arm, she regained balance. "Whew, thanks. Thought I was going to hit the floor", she says with a smile.

" I-I didn't realize anyone was there."

"No, it's my fault. I pushed the door without thinking."

"Okay."`

"Thanks again for the save. I'm Sharon, Sharon St. Claire", extending her hand. Hurriedly he wiped his hand to which her frowned slightly as she shook his hand. "I'm Karl, Karl Bennit. A-a-a-it's nice to meet you Mrs. St. Claire". Grimacing, she snapped, "It's Miss!". Hastily he replied, "Sorry-sorry-sorry!!"

Slightly at ease she gave him a small smile. Turning to walk away she turned back, faced him and muttered, "Don't forget it". Then she walked away.

For the rest of the day all eyes were on him. The fall had happened in the eyeshot of many of the other workers. His coworkers eyed him with envy, as did most of the men and some women. It didn't help that after that day Sharon always made sure to greet him and called him by his first name.

 It didn’t help that after that she always greeted him by first name only.

On this day as usual Karl makes his checks every hour. Lunch was approaching and since that day Karl had not forgotten to bring his lunch. Returning from this round of checks, he checks his watch and sees 11:55am. He prepares to go for lunch.

“Hey!”

Slightly shocked, Karl turns around. “Hi Ms. St. Claire”. 

Looking perturbed where she stood she watches him with crossed eyes. She marched towards him.

“Are you avoiding me!?”

“I would never Ms. St. Claire.”

He could see the angry expression on her face and his last answer seems to have made her angrier.

“Why don’t you ever come to the lunch room any more!?”

“... Ha-ha, that day was just a fluke. I don’t normally eat in the lunchroom.”

Tossing her hair behind her ear. Almost shyly she inquires, “Why not?”

Taking out his lunch Karl explains, “I-I make my own lunch, see”.

“Okay but you could still come to the lunchroom.”

“A-ha-ha, I prefer to be alone so I go to the nearby park to eat with the birds aha-ha.”

“Hmm… maybe I should join you?”

“A-a-a-a-I’m sure Ms. St. Claire has better things to do than-”

Karl stops as he feels a chill. Ms. St. Claire sighs which seems filled with pain and for the first time she turn to leaves and says, “Have a nice lunch Mr. Bennit”. Karl’s heart sank as he watched her go towards the lunchroom, it felt like she was going somewhere where he could never reach her again.

He looks down and in front of him is a line, one he had made, one he dared not cross. His heart sank further and his eyes weld. He took his lunch and headed to the park to eat. It was fun while it lasted, he thought, now she’s just an employee like everyone else around him. That day his lunch was surprisingly sweet yet bitterly sour at the same time.

A few months pass and Ms. St. Claire treats Karl like everyone else, to which he happily accepts. Now all those who had any interest (that’s an understatement) are openly pursuing her, though she doesn’t give anyone the time of day. Karl watches on with a smile.

Karl made it a habit to carry an umbrella and a raincoat just in case. On this day it was pouring and Ms. St, Claire needed to go out to her car. 

“A-em…”

“... Mr. Bennit, how can I help you?”

“Umm, if you need an umbrella. You can borrow mine.”

“... Do I look like I need it or something?”

“No-no, it looks like you want to go out and-”

“How perceptive Mr. Bennit… Fine, give it here.”

Karl chuckles a bit nervously as he places his umbrella in Ms. St. Claire's hand. Upon receiving it she takes a quick glance at it and heads out the door. Karl chuckles nervously again, reminiscing on Ms. St. Claire used to act around him. He stares out admiring her figure as she walks to her car sheltered by his umbrella; smiling he turns around and goes to do his hourly check.

He was surprised that he didn’t see Ms. St. Claire for the rest of the day. Thinking nothing of it he goes home using the raincoat he kept on him. The next time he sees Ms. St. Claire, he asked for his umbrella but she told him it was stolen and apologized to him. Thanks her for letting him know he goes back to doing his job as Ms. St. Claire stood by for a moment and watched him.

Winter is on the horizon and it is especially cold. Karl brings an extra winter coat just in case there is a need for it. Many people appreciate being able to borrow his cold for a short while if they forget their own. Ms. St. Claire comes one day to borrow his coat. Naturally he lends it to her but she informs him she is working late so she would return the coat the next day. Karl has no issue with that.

The next day. 

Hesitantly Ms. St. Claire calls out, “K-Mr. Bennit”.

“Ms. St. Claire, good morning.”

“... Yeah, good morning… I-I-I’m sorry”, she bows her head and explains, “Your coat got burnt because of my mistake. I-I promise I’ll replace it, so just tell me the price or where I can get another one like it and I’ll-”

Placing his hands gently on her shoulder, he reassures her, “It’s alright Ms. St. Claire. Are you alright?”

“... Yes.”

Smiling, “Then it’s alright, it was only a coat. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional.”

“Thank you for understanding Mr. Bennit.”

Ms. St. Claire’s bowing was the talk of the office that day. Many of the other workers noticed that she kept taking glances at Karl whenever he was in view. Karl went about his day unfaded. It was only a coat.

End of the day.

“Mr. Bennit.”

“Ms. St. Claire, I thought you’d already gone home.”

“... Can I… Can I buy you a drink?”

“.... Ms. St. Claire-”

“Please don’t refuse!”

While normally Karl would have refused he felt it best to accept her offer. They go to the bar down the street from where they worked. Although at first awkward they soon started talking and had a nice conversation. Before they realized one drink had become two and soon it was night and they were still talking and laughing. Seeing the time Karl offers to take Ms. St. Claire home but she refuses.

Smiling smugly, “I’m not drunk”.

Karl Chuckles, “I can see that”.

They go back to the company parking lot and Ms. St. Claire opens her car and grabs a bag from the back seat and hands it to Karl.

“Here.”

“Ms. St. Claire, I told you it was alright.”

“... Take it, they're yours.”

“What do you mean?”

Taking the bag he is surprised by the contents. Inside is his umbrella and his coat.

“.... You said-”

“I lied alright. I lied!”

“... Why?”

“No point in answering that now… Mr. Bennett, no Karl-”

“Hold on. What are you planning to do!?”

“Don’t look at me that way. I’m not suicidal but could you call me by name.”

“...”

“Just once, after that I can let you go.”

“... Sharon.”

With tears flowing down her face she smiles and gets into her car. Karl stood there as she pulled out of the lot.

***

Knock knock.

“Mr. Bennit, are you there!? Mr. Bennit!”

A groggy Karl comes to the door. “How can I help you?”

“Mr. Bennit, I’m from the company.”

“So?“

“You’ve been missing your doctor appointments sir.”

“... Nothing to worry about”

“Sir, everyone is worried about you. There was nothing-”

Karl pins the young man to the wall in anger. Struggling to breathe, “Mr-Mr… Bennit. Pl-please calm… down”.

“Are you going to kill him, Mr. Bennit?”

Karl glances at the door.

“As your doctor I wouldn’t advise it.”

Karl drops the young man. The doctor nods and begins picking up some of the trash off of the floor of Karls apartment. Clearly a place for him to sit, he tells the young man to leave him with Karl.

Sarcastically, “Here I thought, you were getting better”.

“...”

“Not going to answer me.”

“....”

“Well that’s fine. I have some news for you.”

“...”

“It’s about Ms. St. Claire.”

Karl’s eyes widen as he caresses his hand, one of his vivid reminders of that day. Sharon pulled out into a clear street, no signs of traffic could be heard. Just as she’s almost out of the lot. The screech of tires as they burn could be heard, the crunch of metal on impact, glass flying everywhere. How? Where? There was nothing there, are the only thoughts that cross his mind. 

Rushing to her car, the driver side is crushed, the only hope is the passenger side. The impact had pinned the car into the pole for the gate, getting the door on the opposite side open seemed impossible. Frantically Karl tries to break the window with his fist. A snapping sound can be heard as the bones in his fingers break and pierce his flesh producing a punch that sounded duller with each hit. Finally he punches through the glass and grabs a hold of Sharon as paramedics arrive and stop him.

He fought them off and tried again. It took the police arriving and tasering him to get him to stop. While the police pin him down, the paramedics can finally attend to Sharon. They get her out and transport her to the hospital. Karl could only watch on and as soon as she was gone, he fainted from his own injuries.

The scattered beer bottles and takeout containers paint a picture of just how Karl has been living these past two years. No one faults him but himself. The company had kept him on even though he no longer came to work after that incident. Going so far as to pay his bills and getting him into therapy. Still Karl was a mere shadow of the man he was..

“Karl, this is for you.”

“What…”

“Take it.”

“Is it my birthday?”

“... No, this has to do with you and Ms. St. Claire.”

Karl retracts his hand. Disappointedly, the doctor puts the box on the table in front of Karl. The doctor rises and heads for the door.

“Karl, it’s up to you what you do but - that box may be your salvation…. Of course that depends on your choice.”

The door closes and Karl sits staring at the box for a few minutes before grabbing the open bottle off the table and finishing it. He soon falls asleep. 

Once again he dreams of the night. Tossing and turning he opens his eyes in frustration and sees the box glowing, he immediately jumps up. Mesmerized by what he’s seeing he hesitates for a moment but slowly he picks up the box and opens it.

In the box is a device with only a screen and a button. Scrolling across the screen are the words ‘Would you like to change fate?’, the button is glowing green with a smiley. The message changes, ‘You have 10 seconds to decide’, then a screen changes again to a countdown ‘10’, ‘9’, ‘8’, ‘7’, ‘6’, ‘5’, Karl pressing the button, it splits into three labeled ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’ respectively. ‘You have three choices. If you do not make a choice in 10 seconds one will be made for you.’, scrolls across the screen. ‘1: Wakeup Sharon, 2: Attempt to prevent the accident, 3: Change yourself’, then the countdown begins.

Shouting, “Wait, wait, I need time to think.”

‘10’, ‘9’, ‘8’, ‘7’

I have to wake Sharon. That's the right option, right?

‘6’, ‘5’, ‘4’

If I prevent the accident that would be better, wouldn’t it?

‘3’, ‘2’,

“Shit, shit”

Karl pressing button ‘1’. ‘Your choice has been received. Thank you for your participation.’, scrolls across the screen before the device loses all light and the room goes dark.’

“Is that it?... “, a bewildered Karl drops back on the couch. He goes to press the device again to check but is shocked that his hand is empty. “What the-”, he scrambles to check the table but he doesn’t feel the box. Getting up he stumbles to the light switch and turns it on. There is no device and no box.

Karls begins to laugh slightly, increasing in volume as he turns off the light and heads back to the couch and lays down. He drops his hand to the floor and hits a bottle. He takes it up and laughs even more feverishly.

“I must be drunk out my mind. Yep that has to be it.”

Karl goes back to sleep.

Knock-knock-knock-knock!

“Mr. Bennit-Mr. Bennit-Mr. Bennit!”

Forcibly opening the door, Karl shouts “Damn, stop with the racket! I saw the doctor yesterday didn’t I”.

Catching his breath, “Mr. Bennit, Mr. Bennit… I have great news sir”.

Sarcastically “... Did you get a promotion?”

“No sir, it’s about Ms. St. Claire.”

“... What… What about her?”

“Haa, haa, she woke up, sir. She woke up.”

Karl can’t believe his ears. Last night wasn’t a dream… it wasn’t. The young man explains to Karl he’s been sent to get him ready to go to the hospital. Seeing the state of Karl’s apartment from before the young man came prepared.

“S-sorry for all the trouble.”

“It’s my job sir.”

“Right, ha-ha… Wh-What’s your name?”

“Sir?”

“Sorry.. I-”

“Jack Paul sir.”

Jack warmly extends a hand; smiling Karl gladly shakes it, “Nice to meet you Jack”. Karl freshens up and Jack gets the clothes he’d prepared and some mints for Karl’s breath. They drive to the hospital.

The sun’s shine radiates with a new brilliance that morning. Karl felt a sting since he had been cooped up for a while but he basked in the sun’s, smiling all the way to the hospital. Sharon was in a private room, all their coworkers and her parents were already there crying, laughing at the joyous occasion.

Jack and Karl enter and offer their greetings. The group makes space as Karl approaches Sharon’s bed. With tears streaming down his face, “Good morning Sharon”.

A little rattled, Sharon replied, “Good… morning… “. 

“Sharon baby, what’s wrong?”

“Mom - sorry but…”

“It’s okay baby.”

With downcast eyes Sharon continues, "Who… who is he?”