Frosted Freedom

Plop! There went another pile of snow off my windshield. Yay. As a kid my parents loved to trick me into doing their manual labour, especially around the wintertime. I was naive so I did it. Sometimes I even had a little fun. I would explore the realm of my imagination while my fingers and toes slowly started to frost. When I found out they were using me, I was pretty furious. Now that I'm older I understand why they didn't want to do it themselves. In fact, it was kind of genius what they did, using their child like that. When I have children, that's what I'm gonna use them for. That's the only reason I want them anyway. Don't tell my wife that.

I'm surprised work was even open with the weather going on outside, it was practically a blizzard! It was hard enough to get here considering I had to shovel my entire driveway. Now I had to shovel all my tasks of my work list. It's a small price to pay for keeping a roof over my head. Even if that roof is leaking, and older than me. 

"Hey pal, ya made it on time, unlike ya rent." God I hate John. 

He always makes some cheeky remark about me, or even worse, my wife. He's never minding his own business or does any work. Unfortunately, I can't complain because, surprise, he's my lovely boss. 

"Haha, anyways get some work done pal a blizzard looks like it's coming this way. I want all this done or ya can't go home!" he jokes, 

"Just kidding, I can't do that. And besides that old home o yours is piece o work I tell ya." 

It took all my willpower to not roll my eyes. It would be so satisfying to just break his neck, that crisp crackle of all his tendons and spine breaking would be music to my ears.

Thankfully after about 3 hours of work and ten minutes of Tetris, I finished about 3/4 of the work I had to do. My bladder was throbbing with trapped urine so I ran and set it free. As I was washing my hands in the old, but clean washroom and I looked at myself. It was like looking at an old friend you haven't seen in years and they've changed so much. I ran my hand through my thin greasy hair. I remembered a time where I had more of it, and it was longer. My mom used to play with my hair, while I curled up beside her as a child, while she watched her cooking shows and documentaries. I looked at my eyes. They were so exhausted. Dark crescent moons had formed under them through the years. Maybe because of the lack of sleep. Maybe because of how much I loath what I do everyday. This job always managed to wear me out. When I came home, I was never really there. I just sat on the couch and watched TV. Even though it's unfortunate, this job is all I have. And well, I make almost six figures. But don't spend any of that money. I'm saving up. I'm going to go somewhere far far away, where I’m free of expectations. I glanced at my face. All the moms would say how handsome I was but I never really cared. When my wife said it, that’s when I cared. That woman can light up a room. She’s passionate and caring. The kids she teaches love her. That’s the only thing I have in common with children. The fire inside of her is slowly burning out and it’s probably my fault. She rarely says how handsome I am anymore, and I don’t blame her.

I must have stayed there for a while because when I got out, there was no one to be seen. I checked everywhere, everybody had left. The snowstorm outside definitely took a turn for the worst. The parking lot was frosty with thick fluffy blankets of snow. I assumed everyone else left before the snow settled in. The blizzard was far from stopping, so I was probably going to be stuck there for a while.

Believe it or not, playing Tetris for an hour straight is not that fun. But I had nothing else to do. I sure as hell wasn’t gonna do any work. ‘Hmm… you know Johns not here. I don’t think he would mind if I borrowed a few things. Maybe I should sample some of that aged scotch. Oooh or maybe I should use his pool table. Either way, it doesn't matter as long as it’s his.’ I wondered. I made my way to his office. It’s not really restricted or anything, I’ve just never dared to set foot in there. The minute I walked in there, I saw his pool table. I slowly treaded towards as I admired it. The green velvet encompassing the glazed oak wood of the table was astonishing. This could easily all be mine, but I had a goal for freedom and I wasn’t going to waste it on a table. I picked up one of the cue sticks and dabbled in a game that, in my dream future, I would be playing a lot of.

I started to crave some of that scotch I mentioned earlier, so I went digging through his drawers. I found the most unsettling thing that would probably change my life for a long time. I found a list of people who were gonna be let go. Typical John, leaving life changing information within anybody’s reach. Written in Open Sans font was the name Peter Steiner, my name. Maybe it was the sub zero temperature outside but my heart froze. At first I was furious. How could that short fat toenail looking creature of a man lay ME off! I needed this job the most! Then a strange sensation crept up my spine. A smile slowly broke on my face. Could this be some sort of relief? Am I finally free? What gonna happen? My brain was bombarded with these sorts of questions. To calm myself down I made my way to the lunch room. As if these turns of events weren’t shocking enough, there sat a fat toenail looking creature, also known as John

“Oi! Lad what ya still hanging round for, were ya slacking off, your not exactly the brightest! What ya don’t wanna return to that shabby home o yers” John yelled.

 “Piss off man.” He gave me a surprised look and a nervous chuckle. 

“Funny Pete! Uhm just be careful cause me am ya boss.” he said in a stern tone, but his eyes said otherwise. He clearly was in some sort of shock or distress because this was the first time I stood up to him.

“Not anymore.” I muttered under my breath. 

“Yeah, not with that attitude lad!” he said with a light chuckle.

“Look, I don’t wanna leave with any bad blood but I know you’re laying me off. I just have one question. Why me? I finish all my work, I move this company forward.” I said desperately. 

“Well ya gonna wanna sit down for this.” John said in a consoling tone, which I didn’t know he was capable of. I obeyed to his request and pulled out a chair.

“We all see it. We see the look on yer face. Ya look like you want to chop your finger off just to feel something. I remember looking atcha for the first time all those years ago. Ya looked excited, ya looked like you had something to work for, to fight for. And for the well being of the company, yer negative energy is bringing all of us down if we dare to look atcha. Off the record, man to man, the most important thing you can have in life is a sense o purpose. The company needed to let go of employees, we needed to make cuts, you just happened to be one of the people getting laid off. To be completely honest yer not much use around here anyways; hundreds of people could do this job WITH a smile on their faces. Look, I know I give ya a hard time so believe me when I say I wish ya the best o luck.”

 We sat there in silence for a while. Time seemed to get shrivelled up in the tension in the air. The tension was so thick that you could practically get a knife and slowly sink it through the air, like honey. I thought a lot about what John had said. It pained me to admit it but he was right.

“Thanks John.” I said tenderly and left. From this moment forward I would make sure I would never see John or that building ever again. The blizzard had settled through enough for me to have a 50/50 chance of getting home safe. I got in my cherry red Toyota Camry and drove home. I savoured the scenery. The purity of the freshly fallen snow, the frozen dew on the aromatic evergreen trees, the slim silhouette of a deer making its way back to the forest because all the bears have gotten into hibernation. I’ve never noticed these things before. Then it hit me, I didn’t need to travel miles away for freedom; I had already found it.

Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes lol