Salvaging My Sanity And Peace

Photo by Jon

In the year 2020, immediately after the COVID-19 outbreak subsided, I decided to relocate to my elder sister's place in search of greener pastures.

After dropping a lot of applications in different places, schools, fuel stations, and shops, I eventually got one.

That evening, I, my elder, and her children were in the sitting room watching television when my phone began to buzz in my pocket.

I slowly removed it, it was a strange line. I wanted to decline the call because I don't take calls from new lines, however, something nudged me to take the call, and I did.

“Hello, is this Emreal?” the deep and masculine voice asked.

I quickly left the sitting room to the compound due to the noise from the children and the television.

“Yes, it is, may I know who I am unto?” I answered.

“It is Peter. You submitted an application for the post of a sales boy at my shop yesterday. I want to inform you that you have gotten the job,” he replied.

I couldn't curtail the joy in my heart, I screamed, “Yes! Thank you, Lord.”

“So, you can resume work tomorrow. Come as early as possible,” Mr Peter instructed as he hung up the call.

Immediately, “I shouted, “sister, I got the job.”

My sister came out smiling uncontrollably and gave me a big hug.

“Congratulations, I am happy for you, dear,” she whispered.

I don't know if I slept up to an hour that night, any moment I opened my eyes, I lifted the curtains to see if the day had broken already.

Finally, the cockcrow, I checked the time, it was 5:00 am. I went to my box and removed the clothes I was going to use, then went straight to the bathroom.

Before 7:00 am, I was already at the shop, I had to skip breakfast, my sister did all she could to convince me to eat, to no avail.

Funny enough, even Mr Peter was not yet at the shop when I arrived.

The environment looks strange, especially now that it is still early and no shop has opened.

I sat at the front of the shop on the floor, doubting if I was at the right place or not.

A few minutes later, I lifted my eyes, and I saw a man of average height, wearing plain trousers and a black polo shirt, approaching the shop.

The closer he came, the more the face looked familiar, “Good morning, sir,” I greeted, standing up.

“Morning, did you sleep here?” He teased me as he headed for the door to unlock it.

“Come and take things out,” he instructed after opening the door.

My eyes darted in the shop as I stepped inside. The shop is quite big and full of goods. The manner in which he arranged the shoes was captivating, according to colors and sizes, each brand with its own quarter. I was quite impressed with what I saw.

As soon as I was done taking the things outside as instructed, he said, “Ehen, Emreal, you said you have experience of
Selling in a shop, right?”

“Yes, sir,” I nodded.

“Well, I know it may be hard for you at first because this is a big shop and I am a wholesaler. So, you have to be smart and cautious in dealing with customers. However, I have made things easy for you by arranging each good according to brand and price,” Mr Peter responded.

“Okay, sir, thank you,” I bent slightly in appreciation.

“That's not all, I have a store and it's upstairs outside, let's go there, he added.

“Okay,” I answered.

The building is in the same line as the shop. The shop is facing the road outside the market, and the store is upstairs on the left, adjacent to it.

Being full of enthusiasm, I didn't feel the weight of climbing those staircases. In no time we arrived there and he opened the door and asked me to come inside.

The store was quite big, almost the same size as the shop; it was full of bags whose tops were sealed; only a few were opened. He began to point at different bags and explain what was inside and the goods available in the store. After that, we returned.

My heart began to race when we returned. I was nervous about what I did not know, but after attending to a few customers, my tension subsided.

However, that day was tough, I climbed that stairs countless times. My legs became weak and sore, that isn't the annoying part, my boss is the nagging type, he talks and shouts at everything.

He is that kind of boss that you can not just please, the type that would berate you even for his own mistakes.

I returned home that day so tired and exhausted, and my boss's attitude even made it worse.

But I encouraged myself. I thought it was the first day, maybe it was the pressure from the numerous customers that made him react that way. Who knows, he might be different the next day.

However, he didn't change, it happens to be his nature, and that's where the problem lies. I don't like being in an environment where I am always being shouted at.

I stayed there for a while, and throughout, I was just enduring and managing because I had no peace in that environment, especially anytime he was around.

Mr Peter is not a bad person; he is so kind and loving, I can't count how many times he bought gifts for me, but I can't tell why he is just so harsh.

After sacrificing my peace for almost a month, I decided that I was going to quit the job, but at that point, I already earned his trust.

He trusted me so much that I am in charge of depositing money worth millions for him in the bank.

He could travel for days and leave the shop under my care. Meanwhile, he hasn't stopped being harsh to me, and I was so fed up, but I knew if I told him I wanted to quit, he wouldn't consent to it without any tangible reason. So, I came up with something.

That afternoon, the market was dull, with a few customers coming around. Mr Peter was inside, operating his phone when I interrupted.

“Sir, I want to talk to you,” I said calmly.

Photo by George Pak

He looked at me and continued with the phone for a moment, then stopped operating the phone and faced me.

“What is the matter?” He asked, looking directly at my face.

A chill went down my spine, and my temperature rose. Suddenly, words became extinct in my mouth.

I had to take a deep breath and cool off for a moment.

“Sir, I have been wondering how to tell you this, but don't know how to start.” I used that line as a stepping stone.

“I am all ears,” he said.

“My mother called a few days back asking me to return home for our annual family meeting.”

Ah, ah, he exclaimed, "but we just entered September, who does annual meeting in September?" He asked.

"I wondered the same way sir, well, she has her reasons," i replied.

“okay, that is nice, that is not a big deal. When are you coming back?” he inquired.

I sighed, “Sir, she didn't specify. We are also going for our grandfather's wedding anniversary, so it will definitely take a long time, and I am not sure of coming back anytime soon,” I replied.

He looked at me for a moment and chuckled. “Emreal, take as long as you want and go home and come back, and work for me.”

That statement raised my blood pressure, my body became hot instantly, and I began to sweat profusely.

“No, sir, you don't have to wait; you can find someone else. It will take a very long time. Let me not get your hopes high,” I responded.

Hmm, he sighed, “Emreal, that sounds like a weak excuse to me, but it is okay, you can go, but remember, the door is always open to you.”

“Thank you, sir,” I responded with so much excitement in my voice, you could see it on my face.

It felt like I was freed from a cage. After I collected my salary for the month, I left the job and took a teaching job instead.

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