[Once again to Jackie. The dark coat you gave
me that cold evening].
I’m living for the very last time.
[From Anna Akhmatova’s poem ‘But Listen, I am Warning You’]
Life can be so hard and bitter for people sometimes. When you think things are
going to work out well only for them to turn awry. Lisa, a twenty-nine year old
director of an architecture company has faced ups and downs of life despite
numerous efforts to attain her goals and objectives. Raised in an affluent
family, Lisa grew up surrounded by loving people coupled with numerous
opportunities to enable her excel in life. She had the best education in elite
schools where she honed her communication and oratory skills giving her an
upper hand among her peers who went to less known institutions.
*****************
*****************
After graduation, Lisa first secured a job with a small architectural firm
through the connections of her well known father. She started as an intern
where her duties and roles included receiving requests from clients and forwarding
them to her seniors for approval before the real drawing begun. For a woman
raised in a hard working family, Lisa exemplified an interesting quality toward
her seniors who were really impressed with her work. So one day, during a board
meeting, they decided the lady who was then 27 years old should be recommended
for a higher post with increased responsibilities matching her exquisite
skills. After many hours of deliberations and arguments on the merit of
promoting Lisa, more than half of the board unanimously agreed that she
deserved the assistant director post of the architectural company to improve
her chances of eventually succeeding the director who was slated for bigger
things.
When Lisa was approached, first, she was cautious and afraid at the same time.
She felt she could not live it up to the responsibilities of the assistant
director who had been transferred in another state. She had numerous doubts
because things were still hard for her. For example, at her small apartment in
Chelsea, Manhattan, she was struggling to raise her bills and find time for
rest because of the numerous roles at the company. She asked the board’s
chairman to give her plentiful time to think about the sudden promotion. The
chairman agreed but again cautioned against taking longer to making a serious
decision. That night Lisa did not sleep. She thought about the prospects before
finally deciding to consult her boyfriend who had been with her for the last
six years.
Her guy was excited at first but asked about her pay. Lisa told him it would be
increased. It was obvious because she was going to become an assistant
director. And then Lisa added that she had to move to a better apartment near
the company. Her boyfriend was not happy with it. He convinced her to remain in
her former apartment where they could make out comfortably. Lisa refused. She
was moving on. Her boyfriend also remained adamant and stood his ground. Lisa
moved and he started cheating on her immediately. He brought women to his
apartment despite rumors that word was reaching Lisa. Finally fed up with his
philandering ways, Lisa broke up with him and immediately fell into a
depression. She sought for medical help. However, the health checkup only
revealed something deadlier than her earlier expectations. They told her she
had Lymphoma cancer which is an incurable disease. Lisa was lost. To make
matters worse, the doctor warned her that she only had one month left to live
so decisions of her life was hers to make before final time to go. What was
Lisa to do?
No comments:
Post a Comment