Illo Friday: Emergency

The Interview
Swish! Zoomed the elevator. Ting! As the two mirrored doors parted ways right in front of me, I saw an empty room with plain white walls. A lone portrait of a woman hangs by the right and on my left, a glass wall with the encryption “Je Maintiendrai” served as a divider for the corridor and a smaller room.

Name please? A startling voice greeted me, without noticing that I have moved from the elevator unto the 26th floor lobby. As I gave out my name, a small piece of glossy paper was handed to me. V005, it read.

It looked bigger than what is seen outside. This smaller room served as a waiting room for the people who will be interviewed. A big sign that says no mobile phones allowed welcomed everyone that comes through the door. I sat by a wooden chair at the farthest corner so I could see everything at front. Either that or I would like to avoid people staring at my back.

A glace at my watch indicated that there was nothing else left to do. The windows will open after an hour, said the gateman. And by then we should be ready with our papers. I surveyed the room and it was only me and seven other fellas sitting. No word was uttered amongst each other and the distance of each chair didn’t help at all.

But the view... yes, the astonishing view made me gasp for a big gulp of air. On my right, the only thing that divided me and the whole city was a clear glass. How I hoped it was a very, very thick glass! I was afraid to put down a finger on it. My paranoia screamed in my mind that the glass will fall off and the air will suck me right out of the building! I moved a couple of inches further away from the glass but the city didn’t felt smaller and the streets down below didn’t disappear. Yes, I am afraid of heights…but nothing scared me the most than being the next one to be interviewed.

So for emergency cases as this, I took out my pen and ripped a piece of paper from my duplicates file folder. It was a photocopy of my bank statement. I folded it and then with the faint silence and an occasional clearing of throat from the person in front of me, my hand drew what my eyes saw. A quick three minutes is all that it takes to calm me down. And I stared outside unto the world. Waiting… for my turn.



"there but not here"
4" x 5" (orig.)
sketch on recycled paper