Career Choice

14.

A new record. At least, it was for him. He knew he was nothing compared to others in history, but all that mattered was his own.

So, how to handle number 15? Because, there was no sense in stopping at 14. Why did people just barely break a record? Why not shatter it?

His goal was at least 25. That would definitely turn heads. Then they would write stories about him.

He stood up and stretched. He had to take a breather. He had been cooped up for too long on this last one. Stepping outside he took in a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. The crisp snow crunched under his boots. He always found snow amazing. Here was something that was molded high in the heavens in a dramatic fashion, only to fall down as soft as a feather. Deceptively so, for enough of these feathers could crush buildings. But here it lay, harmless, almost crying out for someone to play with it. He reached his bare hand down and grabbed a fistful. The cold felt refreshing on his overworked fingers. He squeezed the snow in his hands and watched it compress into a ball. Another marvel. Continue to apply pressure and this soft blanket becomes almost like a steel trap.

He let it fall from his hand. The red stain stood out in stark contrast to the pure white. He looked at it part in disgust for the blemish it was against the pristine background and part in awe at its uniqueness. He stepped on the ball with his boot and ground it into the snow. All that was left was a pink smudge. He shuffled some fresh powder with his shoe on top and the stain disappeared. Everything could be covered up.

He closed the door behind him and started walking off into the forest.

He hadn't always wanted to become who he was, but then again few people do. Most start off life with a fantasy notion of their ideal self only to have that dream stifled or shattered. An astronaut was his childhood dream, which he found comical since he always had a fear of drifting off into space and not being able to make it back to his ship. Maybe that's why it was his goal. We always tend to want to conquer that which frightens us the most. He still had the vision of flying among the stars in a spaceship, but he also knew that it would never come to pass. His chance had long since vanished.

He walked up to the small stream that still flowed despite the desperate attempts of the cold atmosphere to freeze it solid. Dipping his hands down into the water, he washed them clean. The crimson mixed with the crystal blue and flowed downstream until it disappeared around a few rocks in the bend. He smiled slightly. He loved it up here.

His smile quickly faded, however, as he thought back to the reason for his unique career choice. He could still feel the sting on his face from the beatings, even though it had been many years. Somehow, even though the body heals and forgets, the mind holds on. He had only been able to withstand so much before taking matters into his own hands. He thought that running away would solve the problem, but problems like lions only seem to chase harder when their prey tries to escape. The drugs, alcohol and sex that followed all blurred together in his memory. The only image that came ringing clearly back into his mind was the hand coming at him over and over and over again.

He had to conquer that which frightened him the most. That was when he started his current career. The first day on the job was brutal and he made a lot of mistakes. But who doesn't their first day? Luckily, he was able to clean up his errors and move ahead. By the time he had completed his fourth project, he was flawless.

He crouched for a moment next to the stream, then stood up and walked back to the door.

"Hello there," came a voice from behind him.

He turned around and saw a man dressed in mountain gear that looked like it had been purchased from the store that very same day. The man's cheeks were flushed as his body tried to compensate for the altitude and the cold. He could tell that this man had never been hiking in these types of conditions before.

"I said, hello there," the man repeated. "Do you live up here? I didn't think there was anyone who could live in these dastardly conditions."

He stared at the man without moving a muscle.

"Yes, well, I was hoping you might be able to help me out. You see, I was traveling with a group of people when I saw a small rock outcropping and thought I would try and summit it to get a few pictures. However, I am now hopelessly lost and was ready to give in when I saw you."

He gave no response to the man and still stood with one hand on the door handle. Though his body did not move, his mind raced. Years on the job had fine tuned his thoughts where it was now second nature. The whole project was completed in his head before he even released his hand from the door.

15.

Looks like it's going to be a long day at work.