The Witty Writer

The loud buzzing sound of alarm woke up everyone in the building, everyone was unhappy except John, because today it was his first day at a job. Recent graduates always wish their first day at the job is to be memorable. Due to excitement, he woke up at 5:00 AM in the coldest day of the year. He was staying in a tinny single bedroom apartment. His apartment seemed like someone robbed and left only a bed and a dirty chair. He rubbed his eyes and got out of the bed and hurried as he was getting late. He brushed his teeth, shaved and showered. He combed his hair and dressed like he was going to prom. He wore a white shirt, black pants and black blazer. He was frail, white and unattractive. He made cereals and was ready to leave for office but he was 3 hours early.
He left home around 9.30 AM and reached office at 9.45 AM. When he reached the office, he wanted to capture this moment and stood for a few seconds at the gate observing office. He felt joyful and entered into office. He always dreamt of working with a reputed company.
“Excuse me, I am John and today is my first day at Happiness corporations”, greeted John.
“Hi, John. We are glad to have you on board, you can wait in the visitors’ room. Someone from your department will accompany you” replied the receptionist.
He walked towards the visitors’ room and observed that there were ten new joiners. He wished good morning to everyone and pulled a chair and sat nervously.
A lady knocked on the door and came in. She was pretty and wore professional attire.
Hello, everyone, my name is Amy and I am here to introduce you to your respective managers. Before leaving, (she pulled a bag of yellow pills from her back) please take a pill.
“Pill? Why pill?” Thought John.
Everyone looked at each hesitantly.
Meanwhile, a girl stood up and asked, “What is in the pill and why we need this?”
“This is a standard protocol of Happiness Corporations and we also take these pills every day. If you do not wish to take the pill, you can leave this office premise immediately” Replied Amy rudely.
Again, everyone looked at each other like they did something wrong.
We took pills nervously as we had no option.
“Follow me”, asked Amy and walked us to the meeting room.
15 minutes later, a man and a woman in their late 30s entered into the waiting room and both looked like they were from suits TV Show.
Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Michael and she is Lily. We are both operations manager here in happiness corporations. We have been working here since last 10 years and we are glad that you guys decided to join our organisation. Before we start, let’s have a formal introduction of each other. We introduced each other and the girl who asked the question was Monica.
I think Monica noticed that I was staring at her, so I tried to avoid but failed miserably.
Lily handed over ID cards and showed us the cubicles.
We went inside the office and noticed that the office premise was empty and it was all white, even our computers. Office looked more of a laboratory than a corporate workplace. There was a canteen, washroom, meeting room and director’s office.
We were all murmuring to each other and humming sound echoed the whole premise.
Attention please, let me tell you about the happiness corporations. We are in research and development business and we cater to governments across the globe, our main objective is to improve the workplace environment. We work 4 hours a day for 4 days in a week. You will get ample amount of time to work on your skills.
Everyone was quite happy and smiled at Lily.
“And, this why our name is happiness corporations” Smiled Lily.
We have a total of 20 employees including you all and the training period would be for one month and we do not want to rush. Take your time and learn whatever you can in the training period.
“Everything seems odd about this company, firstly pill, secondly the empty office, thirdly it’s too good to be true,” thought John curiously.
“Your day is over and you can join tomorrow at 10:00 AM, see you soon” advised Michael.
John did not talk to anyone and left the office.
“What was about the pill and why it felt odd” sighed John.
He had dinner and slept early thinking about the pill and Monica.
Next day he reached office around 9.45 AM. Again, Amy came and left us pills. We took it and started working. He was given the task of report writing. We finished our shifts and left office without talking to anybody. A strange thing was that no one talked to anyone.
Weeks passed and John became anxious and he can’t think about anything except office and Monica. Lately, horrible dreams and hallucinations kept him awake. He liked to read but he no longer enjoys. Although working hours were 4 but it looked like he never left the office.
3 Months passed and John became miserable. Now, he could not sleep and eat. The dark circle of eyes showed the misery. Everyone in office looked different when he first saw them. He is now obsessed with work and deep inside he knew that this is happening because of the pill.
One day, he was writing a report, Monica came to his desk and left a note. He looked at her anxiously and put the note in the pocket. She sat on her desk and looked at him like she missed him for a long time.
That day he ran to his house and opened the door in haste while breathing heavily. He went inside and switched on the lights and pulled out the note. “John, meet me tomorrow at 6:00 PM and I will be waiting for you in The Park and do not take the pill tomorrow”. After a long time, he felt alive that day.
“What about the pill, how can I avoid it?” Thought laying on the bed and now, horrible dreams, hallucinations and dilemma shuddered John.
Next morning, he rushed to the office and somehow, no one noticed that he took a pill or not. This is the first time he skipped the pill.
“What if someone finds out about the pill?” Thought anxiously, John.
He looked for Monica but she was not in the office.
While he was returning to his home thought, “why Monica did not come office today?” “Do Michael and Lily know about the note?” “Is she alright”? “Am I making a mistake”?
He put on his jacket and left home around 5:00 PM to meet Monica. The same questions popped up in his mind again and reached to the park. He waited for Monica at the gate. Few minutes passed and he saw Monica and she was wearing a T-shirt and jeans. This is the first time he saw Monica in casual attire and he kind of fell for her.
Monica walked towards John slowly while looking down and whispered, “Do not stare and follow me”.
John did not utter a single word and followed her and thought, “Why she whispered, she could have said loudly”?
John followed her and they reached in the corner of the garden where no one was around and sat on a clumsy bench.
“This place looks fine” sighed Monica.
After a few minutes of pause, “Why did you whisper and why were you not in the office today?” Hesitated John.
“Because, I did not want the corporation to see us together”, suspiciously told Monica.
“What do you mean, should I be worried about this?” inquired John.
“Have you felt that after joining Happiness Corporation, you became unhappy?” asked Monica.
“I do not know, all I know that I cannot think about except corporation” replied John.
She held his hands and looked in the eyes and said “you are almost there”.
“Almost there?” Exclaimed John.
She pulled out a packet of cigarette and started smoking.
Happiness Corporation is a scam and they hire people to conduct a behavioural study. They want to control employees’ thoughts. The pills you are taking nothing but an experimental drug and you must be observing a few wild dreams. You are a laboratory rat. They will not let you go ever and even if you want to, you cannot leave. That’s the truth.
His face became sallow and graved. He knew that something was not right about pill but never thought the situation was grim.
“This cannot be true” denied John.
I thought you would say something like that and continued smoking.
He noticed that Monica had pink lips, big eyes and beautiful face.
“Why did you want to meet me? Why are you saying to me all this? Why me? How can I trust you?” snapped John.
“I was bored and you seemed interesting. By the way, I haven’t taken a pill in the last one month”. Teased Monica.
“How did you know about pills and experiment?” Questioned John.
One day I chased Michael and Lily and I overheard about the experiment. They are currently experimenting with thousands of employees.
“That’s unbelievable, we should alert the government or authority”. Suggested John.
“I do not think it’s a valid idea. Come on let’s go”. Said Monica.
Wait, what?
“You were like this before joining corporation?” Asked Monica.
John nodded in disagreement and accompanied Monica.
They reached at Monica’s place and she introduced her room partner Max.
Max, this is John and he is working with me in the corporation.
“Hi John, How are you?” Said Max.
“Not bad.” Said nervously.
“It’s time for joints”. Chuckled Monica.
John hesitated first but then smoked the whole night. John left their home at 5:00 AM. He was walking towards his home and thought curiously, Can I trust Monica? Is the experiment real? Am I going to be slave? Is she right about pills? What would happen if someone from the office find out about us? All the thought made him anxious and confused.
They started meeting frequently and falling for each other. They went on dates and John started spending more time at Monica’s place than his. He always waited for her at the gate of the park. They shared love, sorrow, loneliness, happiness and achievement in a very short period.
One day, they were holding hands and roaming, suddenly, John observed that someone is following them. John whispered, we are being followed and don’t look back.
Monica terrified that moment. They kept walking and turned to the alley.
John hugged her and looked on the street, “Do not worry, there is no one” whispered John.
Monica was sobbing and he could not understand, why she was so much afraid.
They spent a few minutes in the alley.
“I did not tell you earlier that they know about us”. Sobbed Monica.
“What? Who told them?” Asked John.
“I did”, replied Monica.
See John, I am not an employee of Happiness corporation however, I am a lead psychologist who is managing this experiment. As per the study, we had to make sure that after taking pills, no one should be able to think about personal life. We have reviewed all the employees. Only you are not affected by pill like antidote. We cannot have a single failed experiment because we have invested billions in this project.
He moved back a few steps and his face turned pale and stunned.
“It cannot be right, you love me”, stammered John.
His world was shaking and left him speechless.
“I am yet to submit a final report on your behaviour. Do not worry, I am not going to tell everything”, assured Monica.
“Tell me, is your real name Monica?” Sobbed John.
No, my name is Dr Kate. Replied in sober tone.
“This is unbelievable, tell me everything what is happening”. Scolded John.
I do not know much about this project as I am in charge of psychology. They are trying to create a perfect workforce. I do know that the director can help me in this situation and will ask him to let you go.
John was still in shock and felt betrayed. He walked away from that alley without saying anything.
Kate did not stop him either.
Few weeks passed and John did not see Kate in office. He certainly did not care. He went office as usual and completed his work but past one week Michael and Lily were keeping eye on him. Now, John became nihilist. He asked Amy about Kate but did not get any response.
One day he went to Kate’s apartment and found that she has left this place a few weeks ago. He met Max and she handed the note to John.
“Dear John, I know you are angry with me and you have every right to be. I never felt about anyone in life like I felt for you. I love you and did not have the strength to say. I am sorry and please leave Happiness Corporation as soon as possible. We will meet again.”
He reached his home and observed that door was unlocked. He slowly entered in the house and someone from behind struck him with a stick and he became unconscious.
Everything was blurred when he opened his eyes and was tied up to the chair.
Hello, John.
“You son of a bitch”, fumed John.
“You should not use such words to your superiors”, laughed Michael.
“What do you want from me?” Sobbed John.
“What do we want? We want everything from you, John. We invested billions in the project and you thought you can get away?” Smiled Michael.
“What did you do to Kate?” cried John.
“Oh, so she told you her name”, chuckled Michael.
What is happiness corporations? What did you do to her? What do you want from me? Why do not you kill me? Accused John.
“I am glad you asked” smiled Michael.
Let me tell you, My dear John and You know what, I cannot be mad at you, after all, you realized us that pills are not 100% effective. We own everything in this country. You must be thinking what about the government? We own more than 50% of the world’s governments. Without us, this country cannot sustain. We are the master of this country. You are part of our project where we want everyone to worship us. We want to know what you think, what you do, what you eat, what you dream, everything.
“Don’t you think this is wonderful?” bragged Michael.
We will control the people like satellite controls electronic devices. We want your life, Dear John. You are asking about Kate, do not worry she is also being interrogated like you for the last few weeks.
Do you know, we knew everything about you and Kate? We wanted to see how far you can go. That’s the beauty of being in control, John.
That’s enough for today. I will see you tomorrow and please do not try to untie yourself, you won’t be able to.
The world of John shattered. He cried whole night and thought about her beloved Kate.
Days passed and Michael tortured every day with new theory. John felt that he was not going to make it. Michael wanted to break John mentally so that he won’t do this again in his whole life.
Finally, John lost to Michael but he did not know how he is going to face himself.
He every day waited at the gate of the park where he first met Kate. Months passed but he did not see Kate. One day, he crossed path with Max at the gate and he looked at her in excitement. She handed over a note without saying a word and left.
John opened the note, “Dear John, I am sorry that I hurt you. I never intended to fall in love with you but I did. I knew the consequences of this and I still did, I don’t know why? I am writing because I can’t bear the torture of working with corporation. I am leaving this world with your memory and forgive me if I harmed you. Your love, Monica (I will always be Monica}.
John crumbled and his eyes became wet but he had not had the strength to do what Kate did. He walked slowly in sorrow and as he was walking, he silently became one of them.