Danger In Vices

Depression

This morning he woke up and knew it was going to be a bad day. He worried about the weather, if his commute to work would take an extra couple of minutes because of the rain. He had snoozed his alarm approximately 7 times, about 3 times more than usual, giving him limited time to get ready. Skipping a shower today wouldn't be too harmful - he could always slab on the deodorant so he wouldn't be late.

Today was especially difficult. The rain fell like the tears that ran down his face on his drive to work. He wasn't particularly up to the task of dealing with customers in a call center on this day, but, as the saying goes, "another day, another dollar." Or in his case, another dime. He had always felt that he was being severely underpaid, and wondered if things would ever look up.

He didn't have any cats or dogs to keep him company in his studio apartment because the landlord didn't allow pets. He didn't have any friends who he could have as roommates either, so he lived alone and was sure he would die just the same.

The workday dragged on as usual, calling customers from around the globe to collect money for bills that were never paid, mostly resulting them hanging up or picking a fight with him. He felt bad for some of them, struggling to support families and pay for cable just so they could keep up with the news and give their toddlers cartoons to watch in the mornings. If anything could make him feel better, it would be that he didn't have these problems to worry about on top of everything else.

Sometimes he had good days, but they came and went like a summer breeze - calming for a brief moment before the sweltering heat returns like the devil himself. There was that one time he got to see his mom before she had fallen ill and passed away. They had met up for lunch while she was visiting friends in Washington for the weekend. It was one of his happiest memories, and he held onto it for days like today, when he felt as though life had nothing to offer. Even if life takes away the good people, he had to hold onto the idea that more good people would come eventually. It was the last thing he had promised his mother. "Good things will come to you, sweetie. You have to promise me that you'll remember this, even when the world seems to be shrouded in darkness."

When he got back home that night, he threw a tv dinner in the microwave and sat down on the couch. He thought back to what his mom had said and he decided that tomorrow would be a better day.