EVOLUTION Vol.2

WHISPERS

Write a story - Come and whisper in my ear.

*

Jenny had always been the kind of girl who liked to keep to herself. She was quiet, shy, and didn't like to draw attention to herself. But when she started working at the local coffee shop, she quickly learned that gossip was the currency of the workplace.

It started innocently enough. One of her coworkers, Emily, pulled her aside during a slow shift and asked her if she had heard about the drama between two regular customers.

"I heard that they had a huge fight in the parking lot the other day," Emily whispered.

Jenny felt a thrill of excitement. She had never been privy to this kind of information before. "Really? What happened?"

Emily shrugged. "I don't know all the details. But apparently, it got pretty ugly."

From that moment on, Jenny was hooked. She found herself listening intently to every conversation, trying to pick up on any juicy tidbits of gossip. And it wasn't long before she had her own share of secrets to share.

One day, a group of her coworkers were gathered in the back room during their break, and one of them, Tom, started telling a story about a customer who had come into the shop the day before.

"I overheard her on the phone talking about her affair with a married man," Tom said, a smirk on his face. "Can you believe it?"

Jenny felt a knot in her stomach. She had seen that customer before, and she seemed so put together and happy. It was hard to imagine that she could be hiding such a big secret.

But the others in the room were laughing and egging Tom on. "Tell us more!" someone called out.

Jenny felt a pang of guilt. She knew that what they were doing was wrong, but she didn't want to seem uncool in front of her coworkers. So she stayed quiet, even though she knew it was the wrong thing to do.

Over time, the gossip in the coffee shop only got worse. People started spreading rumours about their bosses, their coworkers, and even their customers. Jenny tried to stay out of it, but she found herself getting pulled in more and more. She didn't want to be left out of the loop.

One day, things came to a head. A regular customer came in looking upset, and Jenny asked her what was wrong. The woman burst into tears and explained that her husband had just left her for another woman.

"He's been cheating on me for months," the woman sobbed. "I don't know what to do."

Jenny felt a wave of sympathy for the woman. She knew what it was like to feel hurt and betrayed. But she also felt a wave of shame. She realized that she and her coworkers had been spreading gossip about this woman and her husband for weeks.

"I'm so sorry," Jenny said. "I had no idea. I had no right to be talking about you like that."

The woman looked at her with surprise. "What do you mean?"

Jenny took a deep breath and explained everything. She told her about the rumours that had been going around the coffee shop and how they had all been talking about her and her husband behind her back.

The woman's eyes widened in shock. "I had no idea. Thank you for telling me."

Jenny felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. She had done the right thing, even if it meant admitting to her own mistakes. From that moment on, she made a vow to herself to stay away from gossip and to treat people with kindness and respect, no matter what.

© 19 April 2023