Morgan woke up an hour earlier than the time his alarm was set to ring, which would be six in the morning. He had been tossing and turning the whole night albeit for an entirely new reason. The text he had received the previous day was from his mother and while he was always happy to receive one from his mother or father, the contents of this particular message felt like a punch to the gut. His parents would be visiting him for the first time since he moved down to Sangela City. They were schedule to fly in the following weekend.
Perched on the edge of the bed with his hands clasped together, he began to evaluate the situation. The timing could not have been worse and he began to wonder what prompted them to visit. He hadn't spoken to them in just over two months and they were definitely the type to worry. The other possibility was that Jackson had briefed them on his current situation which led them to that decision. None of that mattered now. The real iss
Sunday had come around a lot faster than he had expected. Morgan was staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, content about how he was feeling today. He had been diagnosed with moderate clinical depression and subsequently placed on psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. The psychotherapy involved a one hour session with a psychologist every other day, except weekends and the pharmacotherapy involved a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) and a Benzodiazepine. The Benzodiazepine countered one of the major side effects of the SSRI that had plagued even before he was on the drug; insomnia. The irony of it all made him chuckle.Morgan got into his car and headed in the opposite direction of where he was supposed to be going for his date. He had one stop to make and more than enough time to do it. During a call two days earlier, Jackson had suggested that he should purchase a gift for her. There was no doubt that she would insist on paying for her
I wasn’t always like this.These were Morgan’s thoughts while he stared at his reflection in the mirror on the bathroom wall. The twinkle in his eye that he once held onto throughout his childhood and adolescence was nowhere to be found. If he had to be honest with himself, it had been gone long before today but he continued to look for it, everyday, in the hope that it would someday return to him. The hollow feeling seemed to grow in power, daily, consuming every ounce of life and energy from his body.
Maddison Silva was not your typical accountant. Her insatiable appetite for success had led her to be the youngest senior accountant at the Braccio Accounting Firm, the biggest accounting firm in the region. An intense desire to live life to the maximum led her to early morning workouts two to three times a week at the local gym down, dieting, attending church every Saturday, self-defence classes and reading many self help books on how to get the best out of life. The result of all this was a toned five foot eight inch frame, staunch religious belief and a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. While most of her friends and colleagues were either in long term relationships or married, she had no desire for such companionship. A traumatic and abusive past relationship quickly saw th
Sangela City Regional Hospital was located on the outskirts of the city, precisely ten kilometres due west. Sitting on three hectares of land, it was the fifth largest hospital in the country and the largest in the southwest region. Founded in the early nineteen nineties by a group of local businessmen trying to make inroads into a growing private healthcare system, the hospital had steadily grown over the last two decades. Apart from an increase in the bed spaces from three hundred to just over two thousand, there were also a variety of specialist services included and thus it was one of the foremost medical centres in the country.
Morgan arrived at Pop’s diner thirty minutes past noon, taking a moment to marvel at the building’s longevity rather than its feats of architectural brilliance. The diner was opened a decade before the hospital and very little had changed over the years, at least that was what he was told by many of the senior nurses and other staff members at the hospital. While many of the other smaller businesses around it had been bought up by well funded corporate entities, the little restaurant continued to stand in defiance as the last remaining symbol of a bygone era. The brown, wooden logs and gray stone combination gave the exterior a distinct rustic look. Simple and earthly colours of gray, brown and taupe decked the interior, providing unpretentious and organic warmth to
Though it had been a long and arduous day, largely due to several creditors taking action against one of the firm’s biggest clients, Maddison’s colleagues wanted to grab a few drinks after work to celebrate their successful triumph over this accounting emergency. She took a rain check instead and headed home. Driving along at a steady pace, her thoughts started to drift. Maddison was part of the team that initially handled the books and though she was very good at what she did, she was not perfect. Her superiors informed her that only the most seasoned professional would have spotted the small errors that she missed which did little to comfort her.
“Crap!”The week had flown by and though it was usually a good thing, Morgan was less than happy on this particular occasion. Much of his week was spent on getting his affairs in order for the trip; a little extra shopping and packing an adequate amount of clothing that were at the very least presentable, getting a much needed haircut and shave, arranging his travel documents, going through the programme for the conference and making sure his apartment was spotless before he left. On the day of his departure, Morgan begrudgingly loaded his luggage into his hatchb
She opted to drive all the way rather than fly, adding as much as thirteen to fifteen hours to her journey. Maddison was positive she could cut it down to ten if she put the pedal to the metal. The SUV she hired for the trip was certainly capable of doing the job. Her day-to-day vehicle, a convertible, was in the garage undergoing servicing and would only be ready by Sunday for pickup. Embrace the journey, not just the destination.
Sunday had come around a lot faster than he had expected. Morgan was staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, content about how he was feeling today. He had been diagnosed with moderate clinical depression and subsequently placed on psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. The psychotherapy involved a one hour session with a psychologist every other day, except weekends and the pharmacotherapy involved a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) and a Benzodiazepine. The Benzodiazepine countered one of the major side effects of the SSRI that had plagued even before he was on the drug; insomnia. The irony of it all made him chuckle.Morgan got into his car and headed in the opposite direction of where he was supposed to be going for his date. He had one stop to make and more than enough time to do it. During a call two days earlier, Jackson had suggested that he should purchase a gift for her. There was no doubt that she would insist on paying for her
Morgan woke up an hour earlier than the time his alarm was set to ring, which would be six in the morning. He had been tossing and turning the whole night albeit for an entirely new reason. The text he had received the previous day was from his mother and while he was always happy to receive one from his mother or father, the contents of this particular message felt like a punch to the gut. His parents would be visiting him for the first time since he moved down to Sangela City. They were schedule to fly in the following weekend.Perched on the edge of the bed with his hands clasped together, he began to evaluate the situation. The timing could not have been worse and he began to wonder what prompted them to visit. He hadn't spoken to them in just over two months and they were definitely the type to worry. The other possibility was that Jackson had briefed them on his current situation which led them to that decision. None of that mattered now. The real iss
Maddison arrived home at thirty minutes past three oclock in the afternoon after another slow day at work. She had three and a half hours before she had to meet up with Liliana and some colleagues for drinks. Her list of activities before said meet up had been planned out early in the morning. After a quick change of clothes, she grabbed two water bottles out of the fridge and headed for the gym that was a ten minute drive away. The plan was to spend one and a half hours there which would leave her with under two hours left. This was before peak hour which meant most of the machines would be unoccupied and as an added bonus was the fact that she would be ogled throughout her time there.When Maddison finished her workout routine, she opted to shower at home instead of the gym. The trip back cut approximately ten minutes from her time but she didnt mind. She proceeded to reply to some messages she had received while in the gym and finally hit the shower.
And the hits just keep on coming.Morgan slammed the door behind him as he returned to his apartment, barely two hours after he had left the very same place for work. His neighbours would most likely take offence with his actions but, for today, he couldn't care less. He went straight to the fridge, grabbed two bottles of Ludweiser and found a comfortable spot on the couch.Once again I'm alone with my demons. This will be a long couple of weeks.His work was not only his passion but also a welcome distraction from the tumultuous events of his life. It was a problem that he had spent months running away from, hoping against hope that it would either vanish or sort itself out. He knew for a fact that there were better and more effective ways to deal with it, one of which was forced upon him today.Morgan opened one of the bottles and took a gulp. As the cold alcoholic beverage slid down his throat to prod
The sleepless nights were usually few and far between but when they occurred, the effects were almost crippling.Morgan barely obtained three hours of sleep when he suddenly woke up in a cold sweat. He sat in his bed for the next six and a half minutes trying to process his thoughts while allowing dark adaptation to take place. There was something soothing about the darkness. Perhaps it was the adequate reflection of the current state of his life that it provided or the cover from the gaze of a god he had been struggling to believe in.
Maddison was in the parking lot of the Braccio Accounting Firm, waiting for her friend to show up. She extended the lease on the SUV for another week. Her prized convertible appeared to be in worse shape than she thought. As she sat in the large vehicle, she began her online search for a new car. She was not about to give up on the current one because of its sentimental value but one had to be prepared. Before she could move to the next website, the front passenger door opened.“I’m so sorry. That last bit of paper work took a little longer than I’d anticip
Morgan pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex. The morning in Sangela City was relatively warmer than that of San Valentino, which lay close to the ocean. After unzipping his jacket, he proceeded to unload his belongings from the vehicle. Struggling under the weight of his luggage, he made his way through the front door towards the elevator. When he reached the corridor that lead to his apartment, he slowed down at the sight of a tall, shadowy figure lurking near his apartment door and slowly pulled out his phone. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Jackson, who was more than willing to help him carry his stuff into the apartment.
Morgan had been filled with excitement all weekend about his date with a one in a million woman. In his free time away from the conference and his colleagues, he scoured the internet for good conversation starters and sought advice from his best friend Jackson. Morgan was not the best judge of character, especially when it came to women, but he was absolutely certain about his assessment this time.Today was D-Day and all the excitement had slowly been replaced by fear and anxiety. When this happened, it was only a matter of time until his mind went into overdrive. It would
Maddison lay in her supremely comfortable bed staring at the ceiling of her hotel room, wondering where the time went. It was still relatively dark outside so she knew her alarm, which she had set for seven in the morning, had not gone off yet. Maddison began recollecting the events of her weekend up to this point. Her Friday was spent touring the city, visiting the movie studios where she not only made some new friends but also took a few selfies which she eventually posted on her social media accounts. Later, she went shopping for some of the season’s hottest trends