Petra

Petra walked into the office. Ignoring the stares and whispers  as she passed each desk. She knew they talked about her, but she tried to ignore it. Most of the people who worked here had two things on their minds, work hard , then party. Having grown up in a strict home, Petra didn’t participate those things she was a complete novice. She didn’t drink, smoke or use drugs. She was not a sex addict. She never dated, and most of the time, she was the butt of ever joke.

People found that amusing and would often call her cutesy little names-“Old Woman, Stag Sally, Puny Petra.” She knew she was not pretty. Growing up, people around her made sure she knew. She often heard, "If only Petra were pretty, then she would not have it so hard. Too bad her Mom is the way she is." Her Mom worked and left her with an older neighbor that hated kids.

At first she told herself that Mom didn't really have a choice, but later she learned that her Mom really did not care. So she simply took care of herself. They never celebrated birthdays, Christmas, or even trick or treated on Halloween. Mom would rather stay indoors, only venturing out when she had too.

School was the worst. It was a place filled with hateful kids and moronic adults. Petra learned to be invisible. It was hard to be invisible when you were the punchline of every joke, but she survived. She was called names by her peers as teachers turned a blind eye and deaf ear to their taunts. 

The adult world if work was just as bad. Her Mom moved away a few years ago and only called when she wanted to see her. She didn't date, and preferred to be left alone.

At work, someone always pulled some sort of prank. They didn't care that the ink they tossed ruined her only dress, or when they took her material she had to wait for her payday to replace it. It seemed not to matter to them that the cruel things they said cut worse than a double edged blade. They laughed, and each time it seemed to get worse.

It wasn’t funny to Petra though. Many nights, at the end of a long day, she sat in her small efficiency apartment alone and cried.<i>Who ever said it got better after high school. People were mean, always mean.</i> Petra had no friends, just a cat. An old Tom cat that showed up on her balcony and she fed him. She soon realized he was like her alone. No one care about him either, so they bonded.

Their relationship was simple. She’d come home, and place a can of tuna outside. Old Tom would come eat. He wasn’t the prettiest cat. His orange fur was matted. His tail was half eaten off. He had patches of fur missing. He was skinny, and his right eye had been gouged out. He wasn’t very affectionate, but he meowed when he saw Petra. He would even stroke his body against her showing her some affection.

He never stayed long, and soon after he ate, he’d go. She fed that cat for years, even to the dismay of her neighbors that complained about him. Her neighbors always complained. She just ignored them and went on about her day.

Today at work was extremely brutal, and sad.  She went home and placed the dish out for Old Tom. He did not come over to eat. She was worried, but figured maybe he’d found someone more interesting to befriend.

She thought about her day. She had reports to turn in and someone sabotaged her printer. During the day, someone when into the break room and poured salt in the salad she had brought for her lunch.

As soon as she took the salad out, several people had a great laugh at her expense. As her boss came in demanded that the reports he needed be placed on his desk immediately.

She threw the salad away, and went to her bosses office to print the reports. He wanted to know why she could not do so from her own office, and she explained that the wires on her equipment had been  damaged. He frowned.

“I’m going to lunch. Have them done, when I get back.” He demanded and left.  Petra spent the rest of her lunch hour printing out the reports. Her coworkers were tickled pink at the expression on her face when she realized her salad was not eatable. Tomorrow, if she brought her lunch, they were pouring hot sauce.

She really didn’t mind they surmised. After all, it was just fun, right. You see the one’s giving Petra such a hard time, didn’t realize how much they hurt her. They teased her all in good fun.  She cried herself to sleep. She hated that place, but there was nowhere else she could find work.

The next morning, Petra got up and was leaving for work when she saw the remains of her friend Tom, splattered in the street. Cars drove by as if nothing happened. Petra fell to her knees in anguish, that cat was her only friend.

A homeless man was the only one to stop and see if she was alright, as he helped her to stand. Petra called into her job and told them she was not coming in today. As the elderly man risked his life to remove Tom’s remains from the middle of the street,  he had an old box and he placed the old tom cat in it. Then he and Petra walked to an abandoned field behind her apartment building where the dug a shallow grave and buried her friend.

Petra tried to give the old man money for helping her but he refused to take it. “Keep it.” he said. “I don’t need it,” and he walked away. Petra found herself alone once again. She wasn’t going to work so at least she’d be spared the jeers and taunts they levied at her daily.

She looked at Tom’s shallow grave and was relieved. At least he was no longer suffering. He was at peace.

Petra returned to her small abode. She sat on her bed and looked at a picture of her Mom. Like her, her Mom was a loner. She had no friends either. Had she not been raped, she would not have had a daughter.  Sighing with tears streaming down her cheeks, Petra wondered would they both have been better off if her mother had not been raped.

She and her mother never spoke, never really talked. Her mother preferred solitude. She was a constant topic of the teasing she endured growing up. Now she lived in a retirement village in the south, and only wanted to see Petra once a year.

She had no idea who her father was and never sought him out.  It didn’t matter. He would not want her around either. As she lay there, someone knocked. “Strange, no one ever visited her. She walked to the door and peeked out. Her boss was standing there.

She opened the door and he stepped inside. “Petra, I owe you an apology for yesterday. Macy, one of the assistants told me what has been going on. I wish you would have said something. No one has the right to treat you that way and it will not be tolerated. I knew something was wrong when you left yesterday, and I should have looked into it. I don’t blame you for not coming in. I’m surprised you haven’t quit.” He stopped talking.

Petra was silent. Waiting.

“Take the next two weeks off. It will be paid vacation time. When you return, you will see that the office will be different. I promise.” He said.

Petra whispered, “OK and thank you” and walked him to her door. Her boss looked back at the small woman. He was truly concerned. She was alone, had no one. He knew how that felt. He spoke once more. “Petra, there are people out here that care. I want to help you. Will you let me?” He asked. Petra nodded, and he smiled. “OK then. Can I stop by later to visit with you? I really like your company.”

“Of course,” Petra replied. “I’ll see you at six.”

Her boss smiled at her relieved that she agreed to let him stop back by. He had some people at his office to deal with, and he got right on top of things.  He then left to return to work, and Petra enjoyed the first few hours of a well deserved vacation.

THE END

This is a short story I wrote a few years back when I was dealing with some tough issues. We all have issues of some sort. No one is immune, but sometimes it feels like you are the only person that is dealing with them. Petra is that silent side in you that is too afraid to stand up or speak out. I don’t know if  the story will continue, it might. I won’t force it though.

I would love to know what you think. Please share your thoughts. However, I must ask that you refrain from anything mean spirited, hateful, or blatantly inappropriate. Please enjoy.