The Recollector

Chapter 1: The Window

By: Midori Ushi Law

When I first saw it, I was the most suspicious. It was a little after midnight. My girlfriend and I were arguing over something that is too small for me to recall at this moment, but I remember storming out of our bedroom and staring at the glossed night sky through the living room window before it caught my attention. There I saw it from our sixth-story apartment in the distance below. An old banged-up card rove very slowly down a street a few blocks away from our complex. From first glance, it appeared to have been immobile on that road, however after looking at it for more than a brief second, I saw its craping its belly across the ground like a giant old slug with headlights.

My curiosity didn't linger for very long. I heard my girlfriend yelling from our bedroom, and I quickly rejoined the fight over something insignificant.

Chapter 1: The Window

"Still having difficulty getting anyone from the Yarkets Family to answer your call, Mr. Morton?" asked my supervisor as he walked by my desk.

I placed the receiver back onto the base of the phone and nodded in defeat. I made sure to avoid eye contact with him. I knew I'd feel his disgust with my progress in collecting customers' payments which were more than three months late. Out of the couple of months I worked there, I've called more than a few times over fifty customers,and out of those fifty, only five had agreed to pay our company in full from my contacts.

I heard my boss' lightened voice say, "Well, don't be so hardon yourself, man. You're just having a slow start. Believe it or not,when I initially joined the team, back in the day, I too had a problem with getting people to pay their bills."

I looked up at him as he was walking away. "Hey, Mr. Sutton,"I replied. He stopped and returned his sight to my empty face. I asked in a desperate tone, "How do I do it? How can I get someone who doesn't want to pay the bill to pay it? What tips can you give me, sir?"

The office was filled with the blended sounds of telephones ringing, phones being dialed, and the low mumble of people conversing with customers. My boss just peered at me from a few feet away. I could sense that he was trying to figure out what to do with me. All of a sudden, he said, "Look out the window."

I followed his instruction and saw the sight that anyone would see who worked at downtown Atlanta; a typical street with people in cars rushing to wherever they're trying to go, tourists looking up at the tall buildings, and some folks waiting at the bus stop.

"Starting tomorrow, you become a beggar on the streets for this agency. You will do whatever is legally necessary to collect $400 in a week," he said in a deep, stern voice. "That's how much you get paid, right?"

I was reduced back to only replying with a nod. It would've been stupid for me to object.

He smiled, "Let me put it like this. This job required previous experience in sales and customer service. Knowing that, you gave me fake job references and lied in your interview so you could get this position. I didn't know it until today, when I called your so-called 'previous employer' only to find out that the phone number and address you gave me was completely bogus."

My eyes widened in surprise. I felt my body tremble in discomfort.I eased my sight from his and looked away.

"I already told you to not worry, Mr. Morton. Like I said earlier, I wasn't always on the top. I know that people have to do what they have to do in order to survive in this world, even if that means sitting in a seat that could have been better occupied by someone else," my supervisor explained. "So, tomorrow, you will go outside and beg for people's money. You will wear what you see fit to wear. You will not have to clock in at all. You will find a way to take your lunch and bathroom breaks without entering this building.You will make $400 in a week by begging or you're fired. It's simple as that."