Reset

Photo by Russ Ward on Unsplash

For the past few months, Julie had been feeling beaten down by life in general. The latest of those punches: her mother hospitalized for pneumonia, her brother slid off an icy road and totaled his car, and the boss recently made her his pet project to pick apart. As Julie stepped into the office building’s elevator, she experienced some of her worst nightmares.

Julie stepped into the empty elevator, selected the fifteenth floor, and the doors glided shut. The elevator dropped about a foot and jolted to a stop; Julie fell to the floor. “No, no, no,” she screamed at the elevator. “Why me? Why now?”

She knee walked to the doors and began pounded on them. “Hey, can anyone hear me? Anyone? I need help.” Julie slumped back on her heels, buried her face in her hands and sobbed. The intolerable silence inside the elevator forced her into action. She wiped her face with her hands and then wipe them on to her pants. Now on her feet, she straightened her clothes and looked for a way out.