Looking for the Allura Logs? Click here The Inner Asylum Sporky's Art Gallery The Oracles of Sporky Letters to the Author

Untitled I wrote this story a few months after a death of a co-worker while I was working at The Athens Messenger. All morning, people ept asking use if we had seen a salesperson come in. She didn't come in --- the night before her car ran off the road and fell into a deep ravine. She died but her 4-year-old daughter survived. They were in the car for at least six hours before a truck driver saw the car and called the police. Other cars weren't high enough off the ground to into the ravine. Watching the coverage unfold and how the office reacted touched me deeply. I had to cut and paste this out of a Word document. I haven't touched the story since I wrote it, so please excuse the errors. -- Nicole, July 7, 2002 Kaire looked at the clock in her office. It was 5 o'clock - time to join the rest of the world and stop working. Kaire began her end of the workday routine and thought of how much she'd enjoy a walk with her two dogs and a quiet evening at home. Walking to the door, she flipped the light switch and let out a sigh. The dimming of the office was something she always cherished. It made her feel like her employees were productive inside and outside of the office. They, for the most part, were well rounded and well adjusted. They wouldn't be the kind of people to go postal, she mused as the walked out of her secretary's office into the hallway. As Kaire made her way to the elevator, she peeked into several offices to check-up on people. Since it was a Tuesday during employee appreciation month, most people were already gone. Grismore Technology allowed everyone to go home by 3 p.m. as long as they had all of their work done. Kaire finally made her way to the elevator. She straightened out her black leather trench coat as she waited for the gold doors to open. As the doors opened, Kaire made a blind rush to get inside. Ever since she had a set of elevators doors close on her in college as she moved into the dorms, she always rushed on. The embarrassment was still a bit too much to bear. "Wait," said someone in the hallway. "Could you hold the elevator for me?" Kaire held the "door open" button until the voice arrived. After a few seconds, a short chubby man made it to the elevator, with his arms filled with paperwork. "Oh thank you so much," he said. "I dropped my papers on the way here and didn't think I'd be able to make it." "You're welcome," Kaire said with a smile. She pressed the button to the ground floor. Then she looked at the man for a bit. "Say, aren't you Tim Davenport, the person who is going to be publisher of our Briarsville newspaper?" "Why, yes," he said nervously pushing up his glasses. He peeked out from his papers and immediately recognized Kaire. "I'm sorry I didn't say hello first Ms. McDowell. I'm having a little problem seeing the forest through the trees so to speak." "Do you need any help?" "Why yes, please." When the elevator stopped, Tim and Kaire went over to a table in a lobby. While dumping his load of papers on the table, Tim let out a grunt. "Maybe I should just keep them here," he said as he looked at the scattered mess he created. Kaire circled around the table examining the pile like a visitor to an art gallery. "I think your masterpiece needs a little work," she said. "You know, I usually frown at bringing work home, but I'm sure you have a good reason." "I just want to be prepared for tomorrow ma'am," Tim said in a shaky voice as he began collecting his papers. Kaire gathered the last of the papers for him and put them into his briefcase. "I'm sure you'll do fine. Well, I better go. Good luck tomorrow." "Thank you. Have a nice day," Tim said as Kaire left. With a grin on her face, Kaire spent the rest of the day at home thinking of how great Tim will be at his new job. She personally picked him to run the new paper. Tim had earned the trust of all of his colleagues with his quiet and easy-going manner. He also knew how to put his foot down. It didn't hurt his case, that he knew the newspaper business like the back of his hand. The next day started like any other for Kaire -- she woke up, worked out, got dressed and walked the dogs. But something just didn't seem right. "Hello Ms. McDowell," said the guard in the reception area as she walked through the metal detector. "Did you have any trouble coming in today?" Kaire shook her head as the guard frisked her with a hand-held metal detector. "There was a big accident near the Masonic Temple in Briarsville. There were a ton of police cars and ambulances when Patrick came in." "Hmm … anyone hurt?" she asked as she paused to on the elevator. "He said some kid is trapped in the car." "Do we have a reporter on it?" she asked. The guard shrugged. The elevator doors opened and Kaire stepped inside. "Have Patrick call the Briarsville paper and make sure there is someone on it," Kaire said as the doors closed. The elevator whisked Kaire upstairs and waiting for her was Patrick, her personal assistant and Joann, her secretary. "I called Briarsville on my cell phone when I got near the scene and they have a reporter and photographer on it," Patrick said as they walked to Kaire's office. "Good," Kaire said as she nodded to dismiss Patrick. She then smiled and looked at Joann. "How's my favorite mother-to-be?" Joann looked down at her large stomach and patted it. "We're still doing fine ma'am." Kaire smiled at the expectant mother and got herself a cup of coffee from the coffee-maker in Joann's office. "Joann, can you check to see how Tim Davenport is doing today. I'm sure this has to be an exciting day for him." "I already tried, but they said he hasn't come in yet." "That's unusual," Kaire said. Joann nodded. "I remember when he came to work a few days after his appendectomy," Joann said as she gave Kaire her coffee. They both shrugged the weirdness off. "Keep my updated on what happens OK?" "Sure thing boss," Joann said as she sat back down at her desk. She called Briarsville to tell them to feed the main office information as it comes in. Kaire began working at her desk. She liked to begin the day with a basic telekinetic levitation. She closed the door and went to her window to shut the blinds. What to levitate today, she thought as she looked around the room. He eyes fixed themselves on a clear, round, quartz paperweight on her desk. Simple enough, she thought. Kaire put her coffee on a meeting table about four meters from her desk. She took off her coat and stretched out. Stretching doesn't help the mind levitate things, but it felt like it got the juices flowing. She stood next to the coffee table and started to concentrate. Her mind was focused on only the paperweight. The rest of the world seemed to fall away from her. It was just her thoughts and the paperweight. Slowly, the paperweight began to rise off its perch on Kaire's desk. For Kaire the ultimate sign of control was to let things move slowly. As the paperweight moved across the room to the table, Kaire's eye squinted as the focused on the energy required to move the paperweight. Then, the ball of stone stopped and floated a few centimeters above the coffee cup. Suddenly, Kaire heard the sound of glass fall to the floor. Her concentration broken, the paperweight fell into her mug. Kaire reopened her eyes and rushed out of the room, anxious to see what happened. "Everything alright here?" Kaire asked as she peeked out of the door. Joann was shaking. Kaire swung her office door open the rest of the way. As Kaire walked toward Joann, she noticed a broken coffee mug on the floor. "We just got a report from the paper. They said the car was one of those economy class cars," Joann said her voice shaking. She looked down and tried to gather herself together. "Oh, I broke my favorite coffee mug." "That's okay," Kaire said getting close to Joann. "Why don't you have a seat in my office and calm down? There's no need to get so worked up." "I know," Joann said, "but, it's so sad. They said that it looks like the accident happened last night, but no one could see it until morning. The car went off the road and fell into a small ravine away from the road." Joann got some tissues off her desk and started wobbling to Kaire's office and continued. "There was a child, around four or so and a man in the vehicle," she said while wiping her eyes. "The car was upside down. The reporter said the driver was dead, but the child was alive and taken to the hospital." Kaire helped Joann get into one of the chairs around the meeting table. Kaire knelt down to Joann's eye level and gave a half-smile. She wanted to cheer Joann up, but didn't know where to begin. "That's a very sad thing to here. Let me know if I can do anything to help you," she said trying her best to be sympathetic. Joann wiped her eyes and blowed her nose on a tissue. "I'll be okay. Can I have some of your coffee?" She reached across the table to get Kaire's cup. Kaire quickly grabbed the cup. "You wouldn't want this," she said. "I accidentally dropped something in there." She made a face of disgust. "You wouldn't want any." Kaire went to her mini-fridge and got out bottled water. She placed her cup on her desk. She handed the bottled water to Joann. "Drink this while I clean your cup up off the floor in your office." "You don't have to…" "I want to." Kaire left Joann in her office to relax and went to clean up the broken pieces of coffee mug. Kaire slowly picked up the pieces, so not to cut herself and put them in a nearby trashcan. As she finished, Patrick's heavily Upper Mesothamian accent filled the air. Kaire looked up to the loud speaker in Joann's office. "Attention all personnel," Patrick said. "It is my sad duty to report to you that Tim Davenport, former head of newspaper technology, was killed in an automobile accident sometime in the last 24-hours. He left behind a 4-year-old daughter who was in the car with him during the accident. She was flown to The City Regional Hospital for head trauma. May we all pause for a moment of silence." Kaire's sensitive ears could hear a few sobs and gasps as Patrick made his announcement. She walked over to Joann with her head lowered. Joann was hiding behind her tissues as she cried. "Thank you," Patrick said. "I will post updates on the employee bulletin board as they become available." Kaire sat on the floor beside Joann. Her heart was heavy. "I saw him just before he went home last night. I held the elevator for him," Kaire said. "It's okay," Joann said as she patted Kaire on the head. Kaire looked at her favorite mother-to-be. She is going to be good mother, Kaire taught to herself. Then Kaire and Joann struggled to their feet and hugged each other. "Ahem," coughed Patrick as he stood at the open doorway. Kaire and Joann broke their embrace and looked at him intuitively. "I hate to break up this bonding experience," he said rather calmly, "but we need to act quickly. A paper can't exist without a publisher." Kaire straightened her suit. "You're right," she said softly. Joann nodded. "I'll go back to my office and see if I can track down his relatives to send flowers or something," she said making her way back to her office. "Joann, send something to the daughter too," Kaire said. Kaire walked to her desk and picked up her coffee mug. She waved Patrick in as she got ready to take a sip. She made a muffled noise and withdrew her cup from her face. Kaire rubbed her nose and reached in her cup to pull out the paperweight. "I don't think I want to know how that go in there," Patrick said. Kaire smirked and got some paper towels out from one of her desk drawers. She wiped the paperweight clean and placed it back on the desk. She sat down and rested her elbows on her desk. She rested her head in her hands and thought for a bit before speaking. Patrick just stood in her office resting against her meeting table. "So, what do we need to do Patrick?" she finally asked. "Go on as normal." "Can we really do that? I mean, I just talked to Tim yesterday," Kaire said rather quiet, so she wouldn't disturb Joann. "Tim was a very sweet person and devoted single-father. And now he's gone just like that. "It reminds many of our employees that they are mortal. One day you could be sorting out papers and the next you're dead." Patrick went to the office doors and closed it. "I'm as upset as you are," he said, "but how long do you expect the company to mourn its loss? We must forge ahead if we are going to survive." "You're right," Kaire said. She sighed and turned to her window. She then waved her hand and the blinds opened. "You shouldn't…" "What are you going to tell the ISI on me?" "No, you know I would never do that." "I… I feel like I sent Tim to his deathbed," Kaire said. "If I hadn't picked him for the job, he'd still be here." "No, he wouldn't," Patrick said. "Tim has lived most of his live in Briarsville. Even when he worked for us here in The City, he commuted for over an hour to get here. "If he didn't die today, then maybe tomorrow or the next day." Patrick reached over the desk and put his hand on Kaire's left arm. "He took that road a million times to work and to get to wherever he was going." Kaire picked up her head and nodded. She then put her right hand over Patrick's hand on her arm. "Your right," she said giving his hand a slight squeeze. "I want to get some counselors in here and in Briarsville." "I can take care of that," he said. "How about you?" "I'll go talk to the employees and try to boost moral," Kaire said, letting go of Patrick's hand and moving her arms from his comforting hold. "Uh, Kaire," Patrick said, "I hope you try to be sympathic by just listening. No advice, just listen." "I spend five years with the FBI to just listen. I think I can handle it," Kaire said with a smile. "Okay." Patrick turned Kaire's desk phone towards him and made a call to some friends in the counseling business. Kaire sat and gathered strength to face the public. She could handle giving a speech at a conference of 2,000 people, but not the up-close and personal type of contact. She had real difficulty interacting with people on a personal level. © 1998-2002 Nicole S. B. Layton. All rights reserved. For personal use only.