A Second Chance

Mara looked at the cursor on the laptop screen that was blinking, at the letter with invitation to the company retreat typed on the screen. From the pews of the team, it has been a subject of discussion for weeks now; mountain trip, the proposed team building, and of course the much-publicized additional third day that is manifestly incurred for exclusive networking. Kennedy realized that it was the kind of opportunity that could advance her position in her career lines, but the thought of it made her shudder. Sitting in her small office, she had her hand on the mouse, her finger over the “Decline” button trembling. She then perfectly followed the action point by snapping it smoothly.

Quite a lot of effort came from her to let out a sigh, which she perhaps, was unaware even she possessed. Jenna and Lauren are working partners and actually, good friends with each other; therefore as soon as Lauren was creating the profile, her phone buzzed with a message from Jenna.

“Hi! I noticed that you’re not coming to the party. Do you want to miss It? It is going to be fun, you know.”

You’re right, I was wrong, she read the message again her heart filled with guilt. Jenna was also eagerly waiting for a proper date away from work settings and wanted to come up with surprises for Connor. She started to type a reply which she deleted and then retyped and deleted again and eventually, came up with “Yeah something came up sorry!”

“No problem,” he replied, turning his head and smiling at her to briefly leave his world before going back to it.

Mara simply sat down, and when she reached for the cup on the table, she had a latte in her hands. All this nakedness, so far from the prying eyes of the relatives and all the other people who were polluting the house’s air, made her feel the warmth envelop her and give her a sense of security. She lifted her mobile and began mindlessly browsing social media, looking for any distraction. Parties of friends and co-workers thrills, and just far too much continuous, everyday news on a personal level.

She laid down her phone after finishing the call, and this time she felt more lonely than she had ever done before. The doors of the café then opened again and in strode the same man whom she had Andrew knocked into earlier this evening and he was carrying a small jotter. He glanced towards the surroundings and his sight went straight to her. He paused and then walked to her side of the restaurant, which was a polite distance away.

One day, a stranger engaged her in conversation and said, “May I join you?” Sometimes students said, “It’s a bit crowded today. ”

“Sure,” Mara replied, surprised.

He sat down in the chair on the other side of the table and set down the notepad. They remained for some time, motionless and mute like two individuals who were total strangers to each other – both staring ahead and sipping at their glasses.

After a while, silence settled between them again; nonetheless, Noah was first to speak, “By the way, my name is Noah. ”

“Mara,” she said and winked at him with a fragile smile on her lips.

“Hi Mara, it was nice to meet you,” he greeted with a smile. He leaned in closer and asked me, ‘Do you frequent this place often?’

“Not really,” Mara said. “The last time was some time ago but I tried…I suppose you could say that I am used to it. ”

“Same here,” Noah said. “I found this place perfect to write since I have not much to do elsewhere, though I have been quite stagnant here lately. ”

From the bottom of the screen popped a consonant: “Hey, writer!” Mara asked, surprised.

“I see what you mean,” Noah replied trying to join in the humor and laughing. “What about you?”

“Let me give you my card,” said Mara, and when asked about her line of work she replied, “I’m with marketing. ” “It’s… alright. ”

Noah only closed his eyes and nodded to her, feeling that even she was not entirely convinced with what she was saying. “Not loving it?”

Mara shrugged. “No, it’s not that, honestly I do not know what it is – for some time now I feel I’m lacking something – I have something to do but I cannot tell what it is.

The silence continued with only the sound of their breathing, the ticking of the clock on the wall above them, and Noah’s eyes on her. “I understand that, It is always helpful to find a new location where you can work things out. ”

“Yeah,” Mara said. “What I am going to ask you next is: ‘But how do you know where to start?’”

“And that’s what I can’t solve,” Noah said while pointing at the notebook. Subtypes include: ‘It helps to write things down,’ Sometimes at least, ‘the only thing to do is to get the thoughts down,’ 'It can be helpful just to write things down,’ Even if you only write things down sporadically, getting the gears turning is beneficial.

Mara leaned against the car and pondered his words before nodding at his comment. It was one of those threads likely to come back to bite Harriman; a small decision made lightly, to get some revenge on Valentine out of spite but all it would do was offer some vague aspiration for romantic interaction.

They settled into a silence that was natural and filled with tranquility and they all started daydreaming. Mara seemed to feel a certain calmness having dinner there with Noah, a man she didn’t know, but for some reason felt like she knew well. They continued talking for a while, as people usually do, sparring small details and small moments of their lives.

As she was engrossed in reading, the time passed and the sun slowly shifted to the lower side of the façade and it struck Mara that she had been at the café for the better part of the afternoon. She instantly felt relieved, relieved in the sense that she felt less burdened or burdened with fewer things on her mind.

“I think I should be getting to,” she looked at the watch on her left wrist then.

“Yeah, me too,” Noah agreed. “I don’t know what more to say other than that it was nice talking to you, Mara. ”

“You too, Noah,” Anita said to whom the boy pointed before she quickly added, “Jesus!” “Well, I guess I will probably run into you sometime?”

“Perhaps”, Noah offered with a smirk on his face. That was the way we operated – through court orders, executive actions, threats, and good wishes for everything from marriage to divorce.

“You too,” Mara said with a smile and saw that he was still looking at her.

Having left for work feeling lost and unsure of her career path, Mara found herself feeling much more determined while walking home. She would not always know what was best, and she could agree with that; not everything always had a clear solution. As it did happen she changed her mind following Noah again and started writing things as if this would give her the answers she had been looking for.

Later that evening as Mara was at her desk, she took out her notebook and a pen, and an empty page before her seemed to call out for her to write. She started writing with no concern about the outcome of meaninglessness or the inability to write correct English. The words spiced are used here as the pseudo-protagonist comes nearer to understanding what she desires after every word said.

Mara could not anticipate the future with crystal clarity, but for the first time in the foreseeable future, she felt optimistic. They banded themselves up for change and started to be eager to know more of the future that are yet to come. As she wrote, she came to know that there are ingredients of joy too the inability to turn up as per plan, in canceling a plan scheduled for fun.