The Weight of Days

No video available.

The Weight of Days
hamed hamed Jan. 12, 2025, 5:11 p.m.
Views: 13 |

Marcus stared at his reflection in the coffee shop window, barely recognizing the man looking back at him. Three months unemployed had left dark circles under his eyes and a permanent slouch in his shoulders. His severance pay was running thin, and each rejected application felt like another brick added to the weight he carried.

He pushed open the door, the bell's cheerful tingle a mockery of his mood. All he wanted was the cheapest coffee they had—a small luxury he still allowed himself.

"Marcus? Marcus Chen, is that you?"

The voice cut through the coffee shop's ambient chatter. Marcus turned to find David Torres, his old college roommate, rising from a corner table. They hadn't spoken in what—five, six years?

David's smile was exactly as Marcus remembered it: wide, genuine, brightening his entire face. "Man, what are the odds? Sit with me!"

Before Marcus could make an excuse, David had already pulled out a chair. The next hour flew by as they caught up. David spoke of his struggles starting his own business, the near-bankruptcy two years in, and the breakthrough that saved everything.

"You know what kept me going?" David asked, leaning forward. "Remember that crazy programming project we did senior year? The one everyone said would crash and burn? But you—you stayed up three nights straight debugging it with me. You always had that quiet determination. That's still in you, Marcus. It doesn't go away."

Marcus felt something shift inside him, like a key turning in a rusted lock. He remembered that version of himself—the one who didn't quit, who saw solutions where others saw dead ends.

That evening, Marcus opened his laptop with renewed purpose. Instead of sending out another batch of identical resumes, he began working on a project he'd been turning over in his mind for months. His fingers flew across the keyboard, coding until dawn.

Three months later, when his project caught the attention of a tech startup, Marcus sent David a message: "Remember that coffee shop talk? Thank you for reminding me who I am."

Reviews (0)

No reviews yet.