The hustles of work as told by Ivy D. Kunihira. Story 2

At 4am Jonathan was woken up by his wife. Their son was convulsing and throwing up. Without hesitation he was out of bed. He rushed to the neighbour’s house in hopes of getting a car ride. Jonathan’s neighbour was gracious enough and offered to drive Jonathan and his family to the nearby hospital. This ride saved the son’s life as he was quickly attended to. By 9am, Jonathan’s son was doing much better. He was fast asleep while on drip. Then came the medical bill and Jonathan could not help but sigh in despair.

Yesterday the landlord had issued him a serious verbal threat as rent for the past month had not been paid, the school holiday was coming to an end and his son who was in primary one needed school fees and scholastic materials, his sister had sent him a message yesterday evening that their mother was unwell and today he is seated in the hospital with a medical bill that he has no money to clear. This bill would have to paid before his son is to be discharged. More to that is a list of medication that the son required which he had to buy.

As Jonathan sat in the hospital, staring at the medical bill, he felt like he was drowning in a sea of financial woes. The weight of his responsibilities was crushing him. He thought to himself, “Dear God, how can all these problems befall one person?”. For a brief period, he stared into the blank space reflecting on this life and a heaviness engulfed him. Suddenly he was afraid of not being able to sort out all his financial obligations. The fear of not being able to pay his bills, of losing his home, and of not being able to provide for his family was suffocating him. It was as if he could feel the weight of his worries crushing his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. It was like his insides were being ripped out and he could not stop it. As he sat there, feeling defeated and helpless, tears began to flow down his cheeks. It was a moment of pure vulnerability for Jonathan. He had never felt so broken and alone before. The pain in his heart was palpable, and he couldn't help but wonder how he would get through this difficult time.

He was woken from the daze by a phone call. It was his boss. “Jonathan where are you?”. In the confusion and worry, he had forgotten to call his boss and inform him that he was in hospital with his son and wife. He tried his best on phone to remedy the situation, but the boss was not willing to listen and did not care. As Jonathan rushed out of the hospital, his wife's hand weakly grasped his, but she knew he had to go. His boss's words still echoed in his mind: "I don't care about your personal problems, Jonathan. You're late and you just cost me a customer”.

Once at office, he found a furious boss. Jonathan oversaw sales and all the boss could see was a loss of revenue. The office had been opened late and a critical customer had left disappointed. “Do you know how much money you cost me Jonathan?” Shouted the angry boss. As Jonathan stood before his boss, he felt the weight of his world crumbling down upon him. The weight of responsibility, the burden of his child's illness, and the stress of meeting sales targets all converged to create a perfect storm of frustration. His boss's angry words, like a piercing arrow, struck right at the heart of his vulnerability. Jonathan felt all the anger and frustration begin to rise. He felt an overwhelming desire to take out his frustration verbally and physically on his boss. The only release his mind and body needed from all the pent-up emotions was right in front of him. And then in a brief moment of clarity, Jonathan realized that his boss was not just a source of stress, but also his meal ticket. Without this job, his child's medical needs would go unmet, and his family's well-being would be severely jeopardized. The weight of this reality slowly began to lift the stormy clouds from his eyes.

He opened his mouth and all that he could utter was “Good morning boss, I am sorry. This will never happen. I talked to Mr. Mukasa the client who was not able to be helped early in the morning and he will be back today afternoon. I will make sure to remedy this situation.” At the mention of Mr. Mukasa’s return, the furious boss seemed to calm down somewhat and left Jonathan to his own problems.

Jonathan was left to his own mountainous turmoil of emotions and with a little relief that his job, the source of his income which was supposed to relieve the grave financial burden was safe for now.