BY GOVIND BHISE
The office internet had stopped working because of heavy rain outside. Water streaks slid slowly down the giant glass windows while distant thunder rolled somewhere beyond the city skyline. Employees treated the outage like a small festival.Self Improvement Story Some gathered near the coffee machine laughing too loudly at unfunny jokes. Others leaned against desks scrolling endlessly through social media while pretending to complain about deadlines. The entire floor smelled faintly of wet clothes, printer ink, machine coffee, and cold recycled air from the central AC vents above.
He stayed near his desk quietly.
His computer screen reflected against tired eyes while unopened emails filled the monitor. Somewhere behind him, somebody was talking about vacation plans in Thailand. Someone else argued about football scores. Chairs rolled across the floor. Phones vibrated constantly. The office looked alive on the outside.
But he felt completely invisible inside it.
That was when he overheard two coworkers standing near the glass partition behind him.
“He still works here?” one girl asked casually while fixing her hair.
The other guy glanced toward his desk and laughed lightly.
“Yeah. Honestly, if he disappeared tomorrow, nobody would even notice.”
Neither of them whispered.
Neither of them sounded cruel.
That was the strange thing.
The sentence wasn’t dramatic enough to create a scene. It wasn’t insulting enough to fight over. Just one careless observation tossed casually into conversation before both of them moved on to discussing online shopping discounts and weekend drinking plans. But something about hearing your entire existence summarized so casually changes the atmosphere around you forever.
He smiled faintly like he hadn’t heard anything.
Then he stood up calmly and walked toward the washroom.
Inside, white fluorescent lights buzzed softly above cracked mirrors. A tap near the sink dripped every few seconds. Somebody had left wet tissue paper crumpled beside the basin. The room smelled like cheap handwash and damp walls. He stood there staring at himself for almost a full minute without moving.
His reflection looked unfamiliar somehow.
Dark circles under tired eyes.
Uneven beard.
Dry skin.
Expressionless face.
Not old enough to look this exhausted.
Not young enough to blame confusion anymore.
For years he had convinced himself he was simply “busy.” But standing there alone under harsh white lights, he finally realized the truth was much uglier.
He wasn’t living.
He was repeating.
Same alarm every morning.
Same train station.
Same office chair.
Same fake smiles.
Same empty weekends spent recovering from weekdays.
His entire life had quietly become a loop.
And the worst thing was…
He couldn’t even disagree with those coworkers.
If he disappeared tomorrow, what exactly would change?
The office would continue normally by Monday morning. His employee ID would stop working. Somebody else would eventually sit at his desk pretending to care about deadlines. Group chats would continue sending memes without noticing his silence. His landlord would rent the apartment to another exhausted stranger within weeks. The trains would still arrive on time. The city would still glow at night.
Life would continue perfectly without him.
That realization followed him home through the rain.
Outside, traffic lights reflected across wet black roads like broken pieces of red and yellow glass. Cars rushed past spraying dirty water near sidewalks while impatient horns echoed endlessly between tall buildings. People walked quickly beneath umbrellas holding takeaway coffee cups and grocery bags, each person trapped inside their own worries. Somewhere above the crowded street, loud music played from a rooftop bar where silhouettes laughed against glowing neon lights.
Self Improvement Story
The world kept moving normally.
But something inside him had started collapsing quietly.
When he finally reached his apartment building, his wet shoes squeaked softly against the staircase floor while climbing toward the third level. The hallway tube light flickered weakly near his door. He unlocked it slowly and stepped inside darkness.
He didn’t switch on the lights immediately.
Instead, he removed his shoes near the entrance, dropped his office bag beside the sofa, and sat down on the cold floor without moving much. Only faint city glow entered through partially closed curtains. Around him, the apartment looked exactly like his mental state.
Unwashed coffee mugs near the sink.
Clothes hanging over a chair for days.
Dust near the television stand.
Instant noodle packets stuffed carelessly into the trash bin.
It looked less like a home and more like evidence that somebody had slowly stopped caring.
Rain tapped softly against the window.
Somewhere upstairs, footsteps moved across the ceiling.
He rested his head against the sofa and closed his eyes for a few seconds.
Then suddenly, without fully understanding why, he opened his laptop.
Not for work.
Not for movies.
Not for distraction.
For the first honest search he had made in years.
“How to leave everything and start over.”
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