Social Short Story – “Greed” blinded me
© Anand Vishnu Prakash, YourStoryClub.com
Mr.Kim’s death by a heart attack at the age of 30,in perfect health, quavered us all. Life for him was just like a bubble of water which burst unexpectedly. As he was my elder and senior i felt sorry for him but a part of me was still happy which gave me a pang of guilt.
Mr.Kim was the assistant manager of the topmost workplace in the city. I had been working there myself for almost four years now as a faithful employ and now i expected promotion as his position was now empty. The next morning I walked to my office as merry as one could be on a cold winter day. The snow lay crisp on the ground,the sky clear and windless. I entered the office feeling elated, hoping to be called to the managers office. I waited and waited but the call never came.
Finally the suspense and anxiety took over me and made me go to his office.To my surprise, I discovered that a new employ had been appointed at that post. I was dumbstruck as the manager introduced me to him, he was a tall,well built man with a British accent. I wanted to protest to the manager but I owed his obedience. Half blinded with tears of rage and shock i made my way to my cabin.
I loathed and despised the new arrival from the very first day. Whenever I talked to him pure hatred reflected from my voice. The days passed by and my aversion for him grew to pure venom. My greed for authority made me blind and empowered my goodness.
The new assistant manager,James,was unaware of the reason behind my antagonism. Daily he asked me what had he done and what was my problem and my answer was always a sarcastic silence.Time flew by and several months passed. I was now ready to do anything to get to that position. I was just waiting for the right time to act and then on a blissful day I got my chance.
It was getting late and the office was almost deserted except for me and James. Being a polite gentleman he asked me if he could drop me home as i was raining and i possibly could not walk home without an umbrella. I opened my mouth to say no but changing my mind i agreed. He was glad at finally having a successful conversation with me. We took the stairs. It was then that my greed engulfed me and made me sightless of the consequences of the act I was going to perform. He was talking to me when his phone rang and he became distracted. A gentle nudge was all that was needed to make him fall stumbling down.
He fell abruptly and received a severe wound on his head from which blood started oozing out. I stood there at the top of stairs dumb as an ox observing his still body. I felt as if all the air around me had vanished and breathing became difficult. A moment or two later when I had gathered my senses,I rushed to his help and with the aid of a security guard took him to a hospital.
Tears of regret and remorse slid down my cheeks blurring my vision as I waited in the hospital. Finally the doctor came and informed me that he was out of danger but his nervous system was gravely affected and he could never recover properly.The air around me went sharp.I felt myself lost. Remorse blanketed me as I was offered the post of assistant manager. I denied the post and resigned the very next day.The painful pang of guilt always stayed with me reminding me that I had disabled an innocent young man. My greed had cost me my innocence.
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