Part 4
Part 3
Part 2
Cloudy knew the reason why she sat with her
head down in front of the director’s office waiting for bad news.
The summons had not come unexpectedly but as a consequence of the
normal course of events in her life. Few successful occasions had
been able to reassess them in a different way, as a normal flow of
ups and downs in a random succession. The more she was striving to
emerge, the more she was driven down by an incomprehensible purpose
above her.
She could not find a logical reason for having to leave the studies in search of a job with which to settle the previous instalments of an open financing in the useless search for a cure for her mother. She had left, punctual as the doctors had predicted, but with her she took away even the few resources available.
After years of privations to return her accounts to a normal condition, it came also the day to celebrate the last instalment of the financing. That was the moment when, sitting alone at the restaurant table, she realized she could not share her joy. Even the sense of duty had demanded its payment, relegating her to solitude.
***
In front of the chief’s office, in an waiting well beyond the announced summons, Cloudy puffed once again while that door was slow to open, prompting her to continue her reflections.
Cloudy was hired by a multinational company in the professional translation industry. She knew five languages correctly, so that she learned them from childhood and acquired a competent familiarity with them.
But that day, in the interview for recruitment, they offered her the only job available: kitchen assistant, in the preparation of food.
***
The situation changed late in the morning when the boss, not usually accustomed to having lunch in the large company hall, had come to accompany a group of employees from different parts of the world, convened for a common project.
Customers, not knowing many of the products on display, asked Cloudy for explanations. The girl explained the contents of the dishes to the Spanish, French and German representative. When it was his turn, the chief smiled, intending to make fun of her, making the request in Chinese.
Cloudy bowed. “I don’t know the details of that language,” she replied, repeating the sentence just uttered. “But I think you asked me if that kind of wood is edible!”
The representatives, following her reply, burst into laughter, placing their hand on his shoulder, and then heading towards one of the tables. The chief remained for a few moments to watch her with uneasy attitude before grabbing the plate and joining them.
“Are you crazy?” the other girl in the same service had warned her. “He’ll fire you! You made him look bad!”
She could not find a logical reason for having to leave the studies in search of a job with which to settle the previous instalments of an open financing in the useless search for a cure for her mother. She had left, punctual as the doctors had predicted, but with her she took away even the few resources available.
After years of privations to return her accounts to a normal condition, it came also the day to celebrate the last instalment of the financing. That was the moment when, sitting alone at the restaurant table, she realized she could not share her joy. Even the sense of duty had demanded its payment, relegating her to solitude.
***
In front of the chief’s office, in an waiting well beyond the announced summons, Cloudy puffed once again while that door was slow to open, prompting her to continue her reflections.
Cloudy was hired by a multinational company in the professional translation industry. She knew five languages correctly, so that she learned them from childhood and acquired a competent familiarity with them.
But that day, in the interview for recruitment, they offered her the only job available: kitchen assistant, in the preparation of food.
***
The situation changed late in the morning when the boss, not usually accustomed to having lunch in the large company hall, had come to accompany a group of employees from different parts of the world, convened for a common project.
Customers, not knowing many of the products on display, asked Cloudy for explanations. The girl explained the contents of the dishes to the Spanish, French and German representative. When it was his turn, the chief smiled, intending to make fun of her, making the request in Chinese.
Cloudy bowed. “I don’t know the details of that language,” she replied, repeating the sentence just uttered. “But I think you asked me if that kind of wood is edible!”
The representatives, following her reply, burst into laughter, placing their hand on his shoulder, and then heading towards one of the tables. The chief remained for a few moments to watch her with uneasy attitude before grabbing the plate and joining them.
“Are you crazy?” the other girl in the same service had warned her. “He’ll fire you! You made him look bad!”
The Travel - Incipit
Undelivered Speeches
Part 1
Available to be published
Fairy Tales
Poems
Novels
Undelivered Speeches
