How New Beginnings are Born

I guess this is it. This is it for Ensto. I’ve been here the shortest amount of time, but I still feel the drain of it all. 

“So all the workbenches are ready to be put on the truck right?” I hear a mover say with a quiet answer. The hallway is so full of desks and benches it’s impossible to walk through. That’s a stark contrast to the work areas that were as bare as could be. 

I turned to Cassie. “Should we at least sweep up some of this mess?” The floor was littered with decades worth of dust and dropped work materials. She shook her head.

“Why? Let the new people take care of it. Makes it look lived in.” She continued down the hallway to what was left of the office area. “Don’t care so much, no reason to.”

I looked down at the floor. Easy for you to say, maybe not. I don’t know. I thought to myself. The air was thick with melancholy. Everyone had that sort of aura around them. It was a very uneasy feeling. We’ve been preparing the best we could for months, but seeing everything in a packed up state is more than I bargained for.

My desk was a skeleton of its former self. All my paperwork was sent away a week prior and I was left with one pen and a notebook. My nameplate was in my car ready for its new home. I sat in my chair and looked at my computer. Not much to really do on it at this point. All of my important documents were on a thumbdrive in my apartment already. My work phone was unplugged, never to make a noise again. The only sounds I could hear was that of the shrink wrap and the lift trucks in the back.

My closest coworker, Anna, got up to close the door to the work area. “I can’t stand that noise.” I nodded in response. “It’s more annoying than anything.” The look in her eyes said something different and I understood. Hard to see her workplace slowly get gutted along with everything she’s worked hard creating being taken away. After fifteen years, it became her home away from home. Now, it was to be taken to people she didn’t trust to take care of it. 

“It’s not a pleasant sound to say the least.” I said before the muffled sounds seeped from under the floor. “By the way, has anything come up?”

“No, but I might just retire after this. What about you?”

“I’ve had a couple interviews, but no answers yet. But I believe.” A weak smile was offered to try to keep the mood up. She smiled as well.

“Be sure to let me know. Gotta watch ya to make sure ya don’t screw it up.” 

I shook my head. “So rude. But you aren’t wrong.” I stood up. “I promise I will, as long as you keep me posted on all your shenanigans.” She gave me a thumbs up as I walked down the busy hallways.

My hands formed weak fists and my smile was faltering. I had to keep that bright image for everyone’s sake, but it doesn’t mean I don’t crack every once in a while. The gate in the warehouse was open, so I went and got some fresh air. Alone, I sighed and looked at all the trucks. My workbench and office supplies, my components and boxes, all of it was never going to be seen by any of us again. Next to one of the trucks was a large dumpster. In it was some of the crappy stuff that the new company didn’t want. From the fan that made a funny noise when turned on to an unsteady ladder that was a bit hazardous but very useful. I’m going to miss it. 

I held in some of my tears and sat down. The sky felt as down as I was. Clouds covering the sun with a light chilly breeze caressing my face. In a week, I’ll be jobless. I’ll be unable to pay my bills. I’ve been trying so hard to find something, but my search has been fruitless. I have a degree and years of experience, but every place wants more. They want more experience, a higher degree, more certification for a job I’ve been able to accomplish for years. Going to school again would be impossible without putting myself into a lifetime of debt and without a job, there’s no way I could actually accomplish it. 

The clouds seem to feel my pain. Small, cold drops of rain fall upon my face. Tears and rain combine on my cheeks. The hope in my heart fades and brightness in my eyes diminishes as my hair and clothes soak in the cold. Just as the song from the roof and rain lulls me, my phone wakes me from my dark thoughts.

Ring ring. My phone lights up with a number I couldn’t recognize. I hurry to some shelter under the rain and answer. “Hello?”

“Hello, is Mia available?”

“Speaking.” Lighting lights up the sky, but stays off the ground to keep quiet.

“Hello Mia, we have received your resume and were interested in talking with you about the position. Do you have a few minutes?”

My heart flutters with excitement. The hopeful warmth from inside begins to fill me once more. “Yes of course!” I do everything I can to keep my voice from sounding too ecstatic.

I spent about fifteen minutes on the phone, hidden away from others to focus on the call. This was a call I had been waiting for. They were very interested in my previous experience and loved my attitude. I was finally going to have an interview! I knew exactly what I was going to wear, how to do my hair, all that stuff. My mind was flooding with a new sense of joy I hadn’t felt at Ensto for a while.

Of course, it wasn’t a job offer. I still had a lot of work to do before I could nail this job. I needed the push though. With my self esteem brimming with life, I walked back outside. The rain was steady and calm. My hand extended into the wetness with a new feeling. Lightning flashed in the sky and made a low grumble in the ground as the rain sounded off it’s applause. 

“Mia! Get back in here before you catch a cold!” Cassie yelled from inside the building. A simple phrase filled me as I looked back into Ensto for one of the final times. 

I got this!