Forgotten Future

A dream filled with despair, destruction, sadness, and loss. The same dream I have every night. Yet, I wake up never thinking much of it. Waking up these days seems more like a dream than when I’m actually asleep. As conscious as I tend to be, my surroundings are new to me each time. I sit up from my bed, stretching, only to spot a woman wrapped in a robe walking out of the bathroom drying her hair tied inside a towel. “Feeling any better today?”

As much as I wanted to say yes, I had no idea what she was talking about or who she even was. I nod hesitantly not being able to give her eye contact, guilty from knowing nothing of her. I hear a sigh as her footsteps hit the floor. The woman sits aside my bed and hugs me whispering in my ear, “I miss you, my love”.

Though she wasn’t one to be known, I embraced her fulfilling her wish. She leaned her head on top of my shoulder with her towel slowly unraveling releasing her hair. Her wet, greasy hair laid against me strongly smelling of vanilla and pomegranates. Her fingers, cold and soft to the touch, climbed up to my shoulders holding them ever so carefully. She lifted her head and looked at me with her glistening hazel eyes. “So, Luca, did you sleep well last night?” She asked letting off a soft smile.

I nodded, releasing the woman from my grip and placing one of my hands on top of hers. “As much as I want to tell you, it’s best you don’t know,” I responded taking her hands off of me one by one.

She began to whine, “You always say that. Just once I would like to know what goes on inside that cave of yours.” She flicked the middle of my head before turning away from me with her arms crossed.

Hesitant, I caressed her cheek turning her gaze over to me. I smiled letting out a soft chuckle, “Just trust me this once. What goes on inside my head might frighten you. It’ll be for the best if it’s kept secret.”

She slapped my hand off of her. Flames filled her eyes as she stared me down. “I’m done with these secrets! If you want me to stay then tell me what’s going on! Every single day I’m with you it’s like you’re a stranger. Again and again, you’re never the same. What happened to the person who made me feel like my future was perfect with them? The one who understood me better than anyone else? The one who comforted me in my times of need?” She slowly grabbed my hand entwining her fingers in mine. “Do you even remember the day we met?”

In my head, I couldn’t think of anything except how we were separated. Through every memory I could portray, there was nothing but two separate stories. It wasn’t a pretty sight. I slid my hand out of hers, staying silent with my head down. “Between the two of us, I thought we were already done.”

A drop soaked through the blanket. The woman’s hand trembled before releasing her grip. She walked off grabbing her clothes and locking herself in the bathroom. As much as I wanted to feel bad, it felt like there was no need. Knowing nothing of the situation seemed like the real disappointment. Before my alarm went off, I silenced it and freshened up before starting work. I headed out the door only to prepare myself for the day that was yet to come.

I walked down the crowded streets with little room to breathe or to even walk. I was ready for my co-worker to come and tackle me excited about his big news. I stopped in my tracks counting down the seconds till they came. 6…5…4…3…2…now. Right then, I was pushed to the ground by a massive force. Thankfully, I caught myself. My Co-worker laughed standing back up straight. “I saw you stop for me again. Glad to see you remembered something.”

I tilted my head smiling letting out a soft chuckle. He grabbed ahold of my shoulder before speaking. “So, did you hear? I fina-”

“Finally got the promotion. Yeah, I heard. Congrats on your engagement as well.”

He looked at me suspiciously. “Wow. I’m guessing you and Marina are close? Our engagement happened late last night. Didn’t think anyone knew.”

“Huh? I thought one of you already told me. I guess Marina did tell me.”

He laughed, patting my back. We carried on our conversation while making our way to work. “It’s great to hear you’re close to Marina.”

“It Is?”

“Yeah, because I was wondering if you wanted to be my best man? You were the one that encouraged me to make the move with her.”

“I did?”

He laughed. “Of course. How could you forget our boys’ night in Miami? You saw me staring at her and gave me the pep talk of ‘you and that girl’s future together looks irresistible.’”

He’s right. How could I forget how amazing their lives will be? This promotion will lead to them traveling the world for the rest of their lives, a big family that becomes successful, and many adventures and challenges that only they’ll discover. If only I could have a life like theirs, but instead my life’s destined for a different surprise. I smiled pretending to know what he was talking about.

Before any more words flew out of his mouth, we arrived to work. As we walked into the building, he waved goodbye heading towards his new office. As I was to do the same thing, I was interrupted by the receptionist. “Excuse me, Mr. Sanricuez, the CEO would like to have a meeting with you this instant.”

In my mind, only the worst to come ran through my head. I was already back at the accountant level last I remembered. What else was there to come, being fired? I walked to the elevator pressing the button for the top floor. There was no one to come on or off so it was a straight shot to my doom. As the door slid shut, I stared at the numbers as they changed. One by one, my heartbeat grew. With every heartbeat, the pulse got stronger. It almost felt like I was going to suffocate, but that couldn’t be. I have memories of my co-worker’s wedding and it hasn’t happened yet. Before I questioned having a false memory disorder, the doors opened leading straight into the CEO’s office. I straightened out my tie confidently marching in covering up my fear. I stood in front of his desk as he was working up a storm on his computer. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

He glimpsed at me then went back to typing on his computer. I sat there, silent, wondering what was to happen during our meeting. Finally, he sat back in his chair folding his legs one over another. “So, Mr. Sanricuez, do you have any idea what you’re here for?”

I thought to myself quietly for a long moment thinking of everything that could’ve happened. I’ve already been demoted, what more could there be? I shook my head, “No sir.”

He chuckled, turning his monitor towards me. “If you see these reports, your results have been declining without any hope of coming back up.”

There was a moment of silence as he stared at me. As much as I wanted to explain my situation, I didn’t understand what was going on. He leaned onto his desk resting his head on top of his fists. “Mr. Sanricuez, starting today, you will be back at where you started down in accounting. Until we see some more progress, your co-worker Mr. Brovloski will be taking your spot as Marketing Director.”

“Is that all, sir?”

The CEO nodded, turning his monitor back over to him and continuing his work. I walked back into the elevator and headed for the Marketing floor. My heart began to calm back down knowing that the news was nothing. I was relieved to hear about my demotion, though, I was confused thinking I was already an accountant. Either way, I still have a job.

As the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, I headed over to the receptionist asking for directions to the director’s office where I was ordered to gather my things. She pointed down the hall with the door that said “Mr. Brovloski.” Heading down to the office, I opened it up to see the co-worker from before. “Luca?” Mr. Brovloski questioned my presence.

He leaned under the desk lifting a box with my stuff, I presume. “Don’t worry, I cleaned out your office so I could make room for me in here.”

I took a few steps closer, getting a better look at him. “So, you took my job?”

He chuckled placing his hands on his hips. “Yep. Mr. Marshall Brovloski finally took Luca’s job. Proud of me yet?”

I scratched the back of my neck, trying to wrap all of this around my head. One of my supposed juniors has taken on my old job that I don’t even remember having. How could I not remember my old job or who this guy even is? How did it take a demotion just to know? I grabbed the box and walked out with my head tilted down without even bothering to look back. I waited for the elevator just wanting to start my new job already. I can only imagine my day getting worse.

From that point on, I agreed to shut my brain off and only focus on the present situation. I don’t want to know what I’ll remember if I think about what just happened too much. I make it into the elevator moving down to the accountant floor. When the elevator reaches the floor, I dart in heading straight for my desk. I place the box below my desk and spot a piece of paper with all my tasks on it. Right away, I begin to work.

As my day continues, one of my side co-workers nudge me attempting to get my attention. He won’t stop until I finally get annoyed enough to turn towards them. “What?” I ask in a low demeanor tone.

He jumps, frightened by my unexpected response. “Calm down man. I was just wondering how you were doing.”

I turned back over to my monitor getting back to my work. “Fine. I was expecting my demotion anyways.”

The guy leans in closer invading my workspace. “How does it feel knowing a newbie took your place? Especially someone you’ve been competing with after mentoring?”

I stop for a second. I didn’t know about any of this. The mentoring, job, or competition between us. I turned over to my co-worker demanding more details. “Exactly what do you mean?”

“Oh, you know. Your job, Marina, sta-”

“Wait. What does Marina have to do with any of this?”

My co-worker put his hands up turning back over to his work. “Didn’t mean to touch a soft spot with you,” he mumbled.

This guy has made me more confused than I already was. What do I have to do with Marina? Last I checked he was Marshall’s girl. Apparently, I have known her for some time, but I can’t put her name with a face. I need to know more information about this woman. I need to know how we’ve gotten to know each other and how I’m wrapped into this story of theirs.

After a long day of work, I decided to head over to Marshall’s office and possibly get a drink with him. As I made my way to his office, his door was locked. I peeped through his door window and saw that no one was inside. After that letdown, I decided just to head home. It was probably best to rest especially after a long day of work and suspicion.

On my way home, I tried to think about who Marina was since we apparently met before. I tried to see how my life was to correlate or fall into place with Marshall’s and Marina’s. Instead, there was no hope. Maybe that memory of me parting from that woman was actually her and me. That seemed to be the most logical. Then, why was she in my house and called me love?

At this point, nothing was making sense to me. All I wanted to do was take the longest nap someone could have. Finally making it to my apartment building, I walked up to the top floor walking to the room where I ended up this morning. I fumbled through my key ring until I heard a muffled voice from the other side. I couldn’t exactly hear what they were saying or who it was, but I could tell it was from inside the apartment.

I turned the knob finding out it was unlocked. There on the living room couch, I see Marshall and the woman from before sitting on the couch eating each other’s faces. As they hear me open the door, their attention swings over to me who looked right back at them. The woman had a frightened expression covering her face as she moved away from marshall. “Luca, it’s not what it looks like.”

Marshall chimed in, confused by the situation. “Wait, Marina, are you with Luca?!”

I stood there, watching the two bicker at one another with nothing I could do. I’m finally seeing the whole picture of what’s been happening and how I’ve been pulled into this story. Marshall stormed out yelling his head off while Marina sat there in tears with her face buried in her hands. I walked over, sitting next to her rubbing her back to comfort. She raised her head, clinging onto me and hiding her face in my chest.

For a moment, we just sat there in silence. The longer we were there, the tighter her grip. I tried to raise her head, but she wouldn’t budge. There was no moving her until she was ready. When she was, she tilted her head back showing me her whole face as she leaned up against me. Tears were overflowing her eyes streaming down her face with sniffles appearing every so often. “I know what you saw looks terrible, but honestly I’ve been regretting my decisions since I’ve first made them. I’m not sure why I kept going with them. All I know is that I want you. Could you ever forgive me?”

I held her chin and gazed right into her eyes. “In all honesty, I’m not sure if I ever knew you to begin with.”

Right then and there, I saw the most devastating look I could’ve ever seen. I wanted to fix her expression, but all I could only face the truth. Whether it was her finding love with someone she’s destined with or me never remembering her, there was no turning back. I should’ve known that wasn’t a past memory, but a future sight of us breaking up. If only I wouldn’t have mistaken that. The message from my dream has finally come to reality. Despair, destruction, sadness, loss, all of that in one day.