Just what do you do when you encounter a situation where you don’t really want to know the answer? If you, my dear reader, have someone very close in your life, think about this. If they suddenly disappeared without a trace and you knew where to find answers, would you charge in to find them? Or, would you hesitate? Would you think “What if they don’t love me anymore?” or would that never cross your mind at all? Regardless, it is a decision you must make because you are in that situation. So, the decision is yours to go in and find the answer or to hesitate and be devoured by your fears.
Those thoughts were running around the streets on that rainy day. The front door of my employer was sitting there, pools of water running down the sides of the doors. It was the middle of the day as a car pulled up across the street and slowly parked. It was the middle of the day, yet it looked like evening. Gray storm clouds covered the skies and blocked out almost all of the light the Sun could offer. Some cars had their lights on as they drove by and even some street lights had naturally turned themselves on. It seemed to be a dreary day.
It wasn’t just dreary outside, either. Inside that car sat Rebecca, staring out the window. It was parked and it was off, and she just stared across the road to that place where I worked. It was right around the time I would normally leave to arrive, and she was staring and thinking. There was much hesitation in her mind at that time. ‘What do I do when I get inside?’ ‘What if he’s there and doesn’t want me anymore?’ ‘What if I don’t find any answers?’ A million possible outcomes were going through her mind.
10 minutes went by. Then 20. Then an hour. Never for a moment did she stop staring at that door, hoping but also not hoping to see me go in or come out. After some two hours, she finally mustered up the courage to open up the car door and step outside. The rain continued as she did so, and the cold, freezing droplets hit everywhere on her head as she walked across the street. She wore no umbrella for she was far too distracted by the heat of the moment. Her racing mind along with her turning stomach.
She finally came up to the door and saw that it was already open. The door hadn’t been latched, but she hadn’t seen a single person go in or out since she parked her car. So why was the door still partially open, and on a rainy day no less? Maybe it was just fate’s way of nudging her on the path of getting inside and finding out answers. Maybe.
Once inside, she saw the same open hall that I had seen when I started there. A large hall area with a desk up towards the end. She was seeing just what I had seen on my first day of work. As rain still dripped off her rain boots, she walked forward, slowly making her way towards the desk. It seemed to be the only place in the room that would have some information or a way to talk to someone. It made sense, too. There’s no reason to have anything else there but that.
She finally made her way up to the desk and looked over the top. While she expected to see some sort of secretary or receptionist there, she saw no one. The computer at the desk was turned on, but the chair was empty. It was just as it was for me when I began those days where my receptionist friend wasn’t there when I was. A desk that seemingly should have been occupied, but it wasn’t. Not even a ghost was there to greet Rebecca.
The only other way was the door leading back to the work areas. Rebecca saw the door and she slowly walked over to it. It didn’t look like an incredibly heavy door to her, so she just shrugged and grabbed at the handle. With even the slightest pull, it gave out a dull clicking sound. She tried pulling and pushing and turning, but it just wouldn’t budge. She’d come all that way to find an empty lobby and a locked door.
She let out a sigh and just held onto the handle for a while. She had parked outside, spent 2 hours being nervous, and she came in for what seemed like nothing at all. Her hand clenched the handle tighter and tighter with every moment. The nervous feelings were going away and she just wanted answers at that point. She stared down at the ground and a tear ran down her cheek as she thought longer and longer.
How would you view the situation? Your loved one disappears after some issues after they start a new job. You get worried and the place they work looks practically abandoned? There’s not even a secretary there to talk to and find out? What would you think about the situation? What kind of company has locked doors like that without anyone to answer the phone or greet you with information? I know I would be pretty worried if Rebecca’s situation and mine had been reversed.
As she practically clung to that door handle, she didn’t even hear the soft clicking of foot steps approaching behind her. They came closer and closer and all she cared about was getting inside that door. She didn’t realize at all until she heard a voice just inches behind her.
“Excuse me. What are you doing?”