He could not have been luckier

He could not have been luckier.

He used to jog religiously, every morning; had set the alarm for 04:00 am, waking him up from his deep slumber, frustratingly every single day. Now the alarm arouses him no more, he just lies on messy bed, staring up at the white ceiling of his cluttered bedroom; his bony fingers reaching out for the half-burnt cigarette occasionally. His room smells of foul odor and the air is so thick that you could almost touch it, Glen has been staring at the ceiling all morning. His phone rings somewhere beneath the pile of clothes and trash in the dark, damp room. Glen continues to stare at the ceiling. “Is she coming again tonight?”

Although, Glen always wanted to slip back into his warm blanket and forget about all the toil he had to endure while jogging, but he had his motivation. It was not the lame jokes that his colleagues passed around the office about his bulge, the unfitting clothes that burst at the seams making him look muddled, his boss treating him like a door mat; he could have taken all these silently, ignoring everyone who made him realize his oddity all the time. Well, this month was out of the ordinary as the guys stopped passing their stupid comments, whenever Glen passed by their cubicles the ladies were always whispering to each other, jealousy evident on their grumpy faces. There was a buzz in the office about the new girl, who stunned the guys and mortified the opposites.

It was June when Aisha joined the office as a Public relations officer; she was perfect. Glen had not even noticed her until one day when she entered the elevator; they exchanged pleasantries. Glen was awestruck by her beauty and intelligence, the way she carried herself was simply enlivening. He didn’t have a hint on what she thought about or felt for him, pity or whatever he didn’t care. The daily elevator ride with an angel was the most anticipated moment for Glen every morning, he was falling for her and he found it very hard to ignore this fact. She was the only one in the entire office who had not ridiculed him, she always made him feel comfortable, eyed him with utmost diligence.

On Friday morning he mustered up enough courage and as soon as Aisha entered the elevator, he blurted out, “How about dinner tonight?” Aisha looked at him for brief moment; smiled and replied “I would love to, How about your place at 08:00?” Glen was transfixed he didn’t even hear what he said. The entire day in the office was trapped in slow motion; he felt he was floating with a silly smile stuck to his face. He could not have been luckier.

Glen was on the seventh heaven, although discreet about his everyday rendezvous with the angel, he had set certain goals to impress his new found love. Losing that entire bulge was his urgency, jogging seemed to be very effective; he was losing weight fast, in fact very fast.

He no longer goes jogging really; he cannot even get up from his bed, last week he received a letter from his boss, stating that his services were no longer required. Now, Glen weighs only a quarter of his original weight, his hands are bony and the shape of his ribs stick out of his chest, he looks pale, very pale. He scratches the bite marks on his neck and wonders when she will be coming.

He could not have been luckier.