“GET OUT!!”
Thea jolted awake and found herself staring up at a purple face.
“No-o-o-o-o it’s not what you think— I was just—”
“I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT!!”
Thea darted out of the room, clutching the papers tightly, and slammed the door behind her. As she ran out the hallway and into the restroom, thoughts flooded her head. Would she get fired for dozing off again?
Surely, he had warned her the first time…
Why did she think she wouldn’t be noticed this time? Thea stayed in the stall until a loud knock shook the door.
Thea held her breath.
A voice snipped, “Hello? Ms. Thea? Will you please come out?”
Thea scurried out with her papers. Before her stood the secretary.
The secretary’s solemn look made her exhale.
Knowing this statement would come sooner or later, she pushed past the secretary and heel-clopped back into the office.
As Thea packed her belongings, all eyes fixed on her. It wasn’t often that people got fired. Avoiding all glares, she crammed everything into a box and headed to her car.
A bling sounded, and a notification popped up on her phone: “Aquiline Finance will be leaving to Russia for a business trip on the 24th of March.”
“Oh right!” exclaimed Thea, remembering months of planning. That too had changed. Slowly she picked up the phone and dialed the number of the airline she was supposed to fly on.
“Thank you for calling Air Bear. How can we help you today?”
“Hi, I was scheduled for a trip on March 24th, but for sudden reasons I have to cancel my flight.”
“What is your name?”
“Thea Myrian.”
A long pause stretched between the two parties.
“I’m sorry, but that name is not in our database.”
Heartbroken, she realized this marked the ending of her 4 years working at Aquiline Finance.
After more than two weeks of shuttling between the kitchen of a noisy cafe and her silent home, she suddenly realized that Aquiline Finance still hadn’t come back from its trip.
How odd. Trips usually last for no more than eight days. How very unlucky to miss such a great one.
One day, after an especially tiring shift, she turned on the TV for the first time since her husband’s death to distract herself. She flipped to Channel 5 and watched a lady in a lavender blazer broadcast breaking news.
“A trip to Russia by Aquiline Finance has tragically been cut short. Mistaking the jet for a spy plane, North Korea shot it down, unfortunately killing all passengers.”
Thea was speechless. She rushed to her bed and retrieved her phone to call anyone she knew at the company. Each time, the other end chirped, “You have reached the voicemail of—.”
Crestfallen, Thea sank into the sofa.
Was this a curse or a miracle?