#Wattys2017 - A Glimpse of Freedom

Chapter One - Marvin Straussberg

The blaring sound of my alarm clock awoke me amidst a dream. I hit the off button on my alarm clock and stare at my ceiling, a ceiling all too familiar to me. All I remember was a blaring white light, like the sun, in my eyes as I overlooked the endless sea. I sigh with despondency in the realization that it was, in fact, a dream. My wife, Jenny, rolls over and strokes my cheek gently before murmuring a statement of affection, before rolling over back to sleep. Oh, I wish I could be as carefree as her.

I make myself a cup of tea and dump it into my thermos before throwing on my jacket and shoes and heading out; no time for breakfast today. It's too early, five in the morning, and I feel a migraine coming on. The sounds of the surrounding traffic definitely do not help, and I feel myself ready to open my door and storm through the traffic. I come to my senses and realize that the traffic is past, as the beeping of construction vehicles play in an annoying orchestra of racket.

My car seems to be flying at two kilometers above the speed limit and I almost doze off, however the sudden change of a traffic light from green to yellow prompts me to slow down and stop. After coming to a complete stop I look to my right and see an open breakfast diner. I feel my stomach rumble and think to stop, however I focus myself on getting to work; I'll be late if I stop. I sigh and, once again, I drive on.

After a short drive I arrive at my work's parking lot. This routine seems incredibly redundant, however I share this routine with many others all throughout our large planet. The planet seems so large when you don't have the time to go anywhere, after all. After finding my designated parking spot, I make my way into the elevator and press the button up to the second floor. My coworker, Daisy Miller, waves for me to hold open the door. I do so and we stand awkwardly with the small space in the elevator forcing us together. She looks up and smiles at me and I smile back. She's a younger woman, attractive too. She just started working here two years ago.

A ding from the elevator interrupts my train of thought and I realize that I might have just been staring at Daisy. She didn't seem to mind, surprisingly. She just giggled and walked out, and I followed. I make my way to my cubicle and sit down, and in front of me is the same things I've seen in cycle for what feels like centuries. The same gray separator, computer, and to top it all off, a name plastered on the side that reads my name: Marvin Straussberg. I sigh and begin typing subconsciously as I try my hardest to remember what my work is for the day. My manager, Joey Peterson, makes his rounds through the office, inspecting our work and being a dick to us individually. I've been working here for years and despite this he refuses to believe I am ready for a promotion.

Like every day seems to be, work was dull. It's probably four PM now though so at least I don't have to worry about not being able to talk with Jenny. The car ride home was uneventful, to say the least. I slam the door and enter the home, and a familiar "Hello!" interrupts the silence. It is, unlike everything else, not a reminder of my strict and routine life. This "Hello!" is the happiest part of my day, because it means I can finally rest at home with the person who I love most, Jenny.

I take off my shoes and yell, "Hello!" back to Jenny. I make my way to her; like usual, she's sitting on the couch and watching her daily soap opera. I sit next to her and we begin to talk, and the conversation takes its course as it would every other day, the only enjoyable recurrence. However, today felt different. All the cycles felt like much more redundant than usual, and so I decided to try and break it from it's usual cycle.

I began, "Jenny..."

Jenny smiles, she always smiled at me. "Yes, dear?" she asks, and I feel a clear contrast between her delightful speech and my monotonous dictation.

"Have you ever thought about just leaving?" I ask, as I watch her eyes express confusion, "Going out, walking away from the city and just living on your own in the countryside?"

"Don't be ridiculous, dear," she responds, "it would be nice but we've become so accustomed to this lifestyle. Any major changes might not only take our lifestyle, but we could both become something else too."

"That's exactly why I want to leave! Go someplace, break the cycle, and experience something new!" I could feel myself uncontrollably smiling.

Jenny, however, contrasted my glee. "Marv, have I become boring?" she asks.

"Jenny, no, no no no!" I respond, my glee turning to worry as I watch her, for the first time, get up and leave the living room upset rather than happy. I wait a little while before I return to apologize, and she accepts. I realize that I have forgotten that I have a little bit of freedom, and her name is Jenny. She's always been so caring, why would I want anything else?