𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒊𝒅𝒆

"Ding Dong," The phone's alarm rang and as soon as I opened my eyes, dark clouds of frustration consumed me. "Was it not just few hours ago I closed my eyes, how is it 5am by now?" I snuggled in bed but my mind kept reminding my soul how one more minute in bed could ruin the day's plan.

"Gosh, when will I ever stop hustling," I gently whispered and reluctantly got out of bed. The smell of petrichor filled the air that morning as it was pretty cold, with a deep breath I headed to the kitchen to make a very hot beverage to keep myself warm. Few minutes after turning on the gas cooker, it went off, turns out that the gas was exhausted. It was annoying.

"Why today?" I sighed and sat on a stool in disappointment, helpless and wondering why my day had started on an awful note. My mind began thinking about an alternative to keep myself warm but before it could come to a conclusion, it was 6am.

I didn't want to be late for work so I rushed into the bathroom staring at my reflection with so much frustration. I knew on a good day I would be singing at the top of my voice in the bathroom and probably goofing around. I slowly washed off my body and at about 15 minutes past 7 I was already at the bus stop waiting for a bus. "I just hope nobody tries to get on my nerves this morning." I kept praying.

The whole tape played again in my head at how irritated I felt waking up at 5am, "it wasn't a new thing but why does it hit differently today?" I thought out loud about everything on the bus. It obviously wasn't the best of the best days and at that point my temper needed to be kept in check so I don't transfer aggression to someone else but my face gave me away when I got to the office.

"Ha Amie, what's wrong, you're wearing a very straight face today, and it is very unusual." Cecilia my favorite colleague observed and she wasn't good at hiding her emotions. I didn't want to snub her, neither did I want her to feel bad for caring so I just had to spill it.

"See Cecilia I think I woke up at the wrong side of my bed today and I am not even in the mood to talk to anyone," I replied swiftly heading to my seat.

"Oh, that happens to everyone, so sorry to hear about that, but you know I'm always here to cheer you up," Cecilia wasn't ready to give up on me as she accompanied me to my seat wearing a big smile. She gave me a Pat at the back and left.

I commenced my duty anyway but heard my cell phone beep, when I checked, Cecilia had sent me a very short and inspiring note. "Hey Amie, you sure will be alright, I might not know exactly how it hurts or how bad you feel today, but I know this too shall pass, please wear a smile , it's going to be a good day afterall." as short as the text was, it hit differently knowing it came from someone who genuinely cared about me. "Sweet girl" I giggled.

My whole countenance changed immediately and I allowed myself enjoy the moment. My desk was full of different files which needed to be sorted out. Suddenly a client walked right toward my table. She needed clarity as to our services and I kindly attended to her.

Before leaving, she left me a tip, according to her, I attended to her cheerfully. It was as though Cecilia's words worked like magic, it truly will be a good day!

I decided to face the rest of the day with optimism knowing how I felt initially was part of being human. I realized we break down mentally, physically and otherwise when the body craves rest especially if it has been stressed out.

Although this happened so many years ago, each time I remembered how Cecilia genuinely cared about me and made me felt better with her kind words. I try so hard to be a reason someone who was having a bad day smile and I've successfully done that a countless times. Thanks to a great colleague whom the universe blessed me with, her kind gesture made such a great impact in my life.