That day, I was scared. Shit-scared. At the same time, though, I was driven by a strange sense of adrenaline. That day, I would finally do what I should have done long ago: quit.

  In the past, I had been terrified of abandoning everything I knew—my routine. My boxed days that would repeat all the same, in an endless loop. That day, leaving everything was the only certainty I had. I had to leave, far away. Before Icarus could devour me entirely.

  I arrived at my office. Even though it was dark and aseptic as usual, the first rays of spring were stretching through the windows. I passed my hand beneath one of them, casting shadows on the wall. I tried to absorb the light and warmth as much as I could. Then I began gathering the few things I had kept there.

  “Good morning, Miss—”

  The voice behind me stopped—disoriented.

  “Good morning, I… was looking for you, Sir. I would like to resign.”

  “Ah. I see. Instead I came to make you… a proposal. Come into my office later tonight. We will discuss and then you will make your decision. If by then, you will still wish to resign, you will be free to go.”

  Say no. Say that you don’t want to know, that you’re not interested. Say that you want to leave right away.

  “Alright.”

  Coward.

  In the end, it was still in my best interests to end the employment relationship on civil terms, without raising a stink.

  All excuses. You’re a coward.

  “Perfect.” His steps resounded on the cold pavement.

  That day went by faster than the others. The sun was running from me and I was stubbornly clinging to its rays—A light-starved lizard in a psychotic dance.

  But the sunset came for me too.

  “And so you wish to leave?”

  My boss’s voice abruptly brought me back to the present. I had been in his office for a while, but we had both remained silent for several minutes.

  “Yes. I… yes.”

  Talk, for fuck’s sake. Spill it out.

  “Did you not appreciate my present?”

  What the fuck does that have to do with anything?

  “No, no, it was splendid, but you see, unfortunately it did not fit. Anyway… I’m grateful for the opportunity that you have given me all of these years, but for personal reasons I think it is best for me to—”

  “Grateful, huh? If you were grateful, you would have worn my gift today as a sign of gratitude.”

  “Excuse me?!”

  “You heard me right. You are an ingrate.”

  Show some fucking backbone.

  “Well, I will not stay here just to be insulted again.”

  I got up resolutely and started to leave.

  “I know where you live.”

  The words hit me like a bucketful of freezing water. I turned to look at him.

  “Have you been tailing me?!”

  He stood up.

  “Who else could follow you? Who could ever be interested in you? Who do you think you are?”

  At each word, I was taking steps backwards—trembling. And he was moving forward towards me. Slowly, but sure. Slowly, but relentless.

  “You’re simply worthless!”

  Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

  As soon as I heard those words, I twitched.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  We launched ourselves in a frantic race. I hurled anything I could find to slow him down—folders, binders, lamps, telephones. The pavement became a tangle of cables, papers, and stationery. I made a dash for the elevator.

  The department had two access points: the stairs and the elevator. To reach the last floor by elevator, one needed a special key that only employees had. People hardly ever walked up 11 floors, but for those who dared, there was a door which was almost always open on weekdays. Everyday the boss would open it in the early morning and close it in the evening before leaving, when every employee had already left.

  I pressed the button. The sound of the elevator echoed in the deserted offices.

  Come on move. Fuck. Come on. Please.

  I heard some steps approaching.

  I can’t stay here.

  Taking the stairs in my condition wasn’t really wise, but the elevator was taking too long. I lowered the handle of the stairs' door and I pulled. Closed. Shit. The steps were getting closer. I entered a random office and I hid under a desk. The steps halted.

  “Yes, I locked the door. You know, you can never be too careful. A window ajar. A drain. A duct. A thief just needs a small opening. A criminal doesn’t need much… I should know.”

  What the fuck did that mean? He… No, that couldn’t be... Why on Earth…?

  People don’t always need a reason to do horrible things.

  I swatted away that terrible thought as if it were an annoying mosquito.

  “We both know that sooner or later you will have to pass through here. Or do you hope to hide until morning?”

  While he was talking, I tried to slither silently from one desk to another. I quickly pondered whether to hide in a closet. No, I would limit my freedom of movement and the closet’s door would make some noise. Too risky.

  What about the bathroom? I could lock myself in there. What if he finds a way to get in though?

  No. My only hope was to keep moving and wait for the right moment.

  “If you showed the slightest gratitude…”

  His voice was dangerously close. Fuck. He was in the same room as me. I just couldn’t see him from behind there. I could not study his movements without risking exposing myself and revealing where I was. It was like being blind. I held my breath.

  “If you showed show the slightest gratitude, your boss would reward you…”

  Reward me. I had goosebumps, but I tried to calm down. I heard him exiting the room. Choosing where to hide was a lottery. His movements were unpredictable.

  A jingle interrupted my train of thought. The elevator. It had finally arrived on our floor.

  Did he hear it too?

  From his steps it didn’t seem so. It seemed to me that he was getting further and further away. I couldn’t wait any longer, it was my chance. I retraced my path back to the elevator, trying to be swift and careful at the same time. At a certain point, I tripped on a cable, I lost my balance and I put my hands forward to soften the blow. I landed on some papers scattered on the ground and some of them lifted up in the air. Fuck.

  I tried to get up quickly. If he didn’t hear the elevator, he probably heard the racket I'd just made. What was the point in hiding then? I started running, not caring about the noise and I reached the elevator. I pressed the number 0 and closed my eyes. My heart was racing. I heard the door closing. I made it, fuck. I made it. A crazy joy was filling up my chest. But… the elevator wasn’t going down.

  I opened my eyes again.

  A hand—his hand had interposed between the sensor and the elevator door, which was now reopening.

  No. NO. Please. NO.

  In a panic, I had started frantically pressing all of the buttons. In vain.

  His figure loomed up in front of me—ordinary and insignificant. Yet terrifying. He exuded power in the worst possible way. Anger, desire. Desire, anger. I could see it woven in his eyes. He took delight in seeing me run off, in seeing me scared, paralyzed, and helpless. Now I understood it, and it scared me even more.

  I froze at his touch. It was sickening me to the point that I couldn’t move. My mind wanted to be elsewhere, travel far away. I was detaching from myself. But I mustered up all the rage I had in my body and something snapped—a fist—on the nose. I’d never fought before nor I’d never thought I’d find myself in such a situation. My fist had done nothing to him. My defiance had done nothing but make him angrier.

  Disdain lighted up his eyes. He pushed me against the wall of the elevator and he beat the crap out of me. I shielded myself with my arms, taking punch after punch, kick after kick. Suddenly he grabbed me by my neck and started squeezing tighter and tighter. I was throwing kicks and fists. I was thrashing around, but I was weak and fragile. I felt the energy leaving my body. I felt the light fading.

  “You’re just an ungrateful whore.”

  Darkness.