Left Me Standing

Chapter 7 - Experience

Chapter 7 - Experience - "The reward of suffering is experience."

NOT YET REWRITTEN.

Laila

4 years earlier...

The sealed envelope sat on the desk I had purchased from a small business owner. Having known the owner since college did have some advantage in receiving a discount price, even if it left a feeling of slight regret. There was another desk that caught my eye, but the price of it was almost double this one.

I wrote the address down on the envelope with a 'no return address' label, because I would not be returning there anywhere in the near future. If possible, after this was settled, I could put it out of my mind and memory. It was just another piece of the puzzle to try and assemble together in order to keep moving forward with my plans.

The down payment on the two-story building complex had been made and now, now there was no turning back. I was putting all of my life savings into this and so far it was paying off. All I had to do was continue with the plan and then my business would up and running in no time.

"Do you need that to be mailed, miss?" Cynthia, her new secretary asks with a kind smile.

I looked at her, nodding as I hand her the thick envelope in silence.

"This is quite heavy, we'll have to get it weighed. It may cost a bit," Cynthia tells me.

"Whatever the cost is fine, it must go out as soon as possible," I examine a few other papers on the desk.

Cynthia nods in return, turning towards the door.

"Thank you, Cynthia," I say as she walks out.

The thick envelope was just another means to my suffering, and it needed to come to an end.

Terminating a lease agreement proved to be a wise decision on my behalf, it opened up so many new opportunities in life. Opportunities I would have surely missed had the decision been to stay, especially gathering my first client.

There were times in life where certain moments could not be avoided, and it always ensured that it caused immense pain. It was one of the reasons why so many people tried to push the necessary moments away. They would tuck it deep beneath the surface in order to bury it down until the right time came. Of course, the right time hardly seemed accessible when there were other things to worry about. That was life, there was never a moment to take a breath and relive old, painful ones. At least not in the way I looked at it.

I never wanted to feel the pain, the consequences of giving my heart to another only to be rejected in return. I didn't choose that outcome, it was chosen for me. There was never any warning signs until it was happening right in front of my face with no time to process it. For me, there was only one real solution, and it had been working for past few years. I hardly considered another route, it was how I made a name for myself that I knew the plan was working.

It was how I chose to survive through the pain.

It was why I had the opportunity to help out Claire, to be here in her time of need. Of course it didn't hurt that she was happy to have me, that was all I wanted for my lifelong friend. She deserved to have this blissful experience without feeling the doom and gloom I felt every time a possible meal was mentioned.

"We could go with the traditional starters and choose our favorite meals to be the main course," Claire spoke to Ethan on the phone, scrolling through endless possibilities of meal options for her reception.