THE FIRE WAS WAITING

When Daniel resigned from his job, he felt like the happiest man in the world.... He had worked at Benson Electronics for almost three years and every day felt longer than the one before it.

His boss, Mr. Okoro, was the main reason...
Mr. Okoro could turn a small mistake into a national disaster.
If Daniel entered the wrong figure on an invoice, he would shout.
If a customer complained, Daniel would be blamed.
If something went missing from the store, everybody was questioned, but Daniel was always questioned first.
"You people don't take this work seriously!" Mr. Okoro would shout.

Daniel had heard those words so many times that he could almost say them with his boss and to make it worse the salary wasn't even enough to make the stress worth it...

So when Mr. Okoro shouted at him one Friday afternoon because of a mistake on a customer's receipt, Daniel finally made up his mind.
"I'm leaving."..
His friend Michael was sitting beside him when he said it.. "Leaving where?".. He said..
"Anywhere. I can't continue here."..
Michael looked at him.
"At least find another job first."
Daniel shook his head.
"I will find something... There are plenty of jobs out there."..

On Monday morning, he submitted his resignation and when he walked out of Benson Electronics, he smiled.
He felt free.
He didn't even care that he had no other job waiting for him...
He believed something better would come.
And something did come.
Just not what he expected.
Two weeks later, Michael called him.
"Daniel, I found something for you."..
Daniel sat up...
"Seriously?"
"Yes. My cousin's boss needs someone to work in their warehouse."
"How much?"
Michael mentioned the salary.

Daniel became quiet.
It was almost twice what he had been earning...
"When can I start?".. he finally spoke...
Michael laughed.
"You haven't even gone for the interview."
"I already want the job."..

The interview lasted less than twenty minutes...
The owner of the company, Mr. Bello, was quite friendly...
He smiled a lot.
He shook Daniel's hand.
"We are like one big family here."
Daniel liked the sound of that.

He accepted the job immediately...
He didn't ask about working hours...
He didn't ask about overtime because the salary was enough for him and that was all he cared about....

On his first day, Daniel arrived at 7 a.m...
By 7:10, he was already confused.
"Daniel!"
A man shouted from across the warehouse.
"Yes?"
"Come and help with these boxes."
Before he could finish, another worker called him.
"Daniel, take this list to the driver."
Then another person appeared.
"Daniel, Mr. Bello wants you in the office."
Daniel stood there for a few seconds.
He had been working for less than fifteen minutes.

By the end of the day, he understood something.
The salary was good.
The job was not.
But he told himself to give it time.
Maybe things would improve.
They didn't.
There was no proper closing time.
If there was work, everybody stayed.
Seven o'clock.
Eight o'clock.
Sometimes ten.

One evening, Daniel got home close to midnight.
His younger sister, Ada, was still awake.... "Daniel, you're just coming back?"
"Yes."..
"You said this job was better."...
Daniel dropped his bag on the chair...
"The money is better."...
Ada looked at him...
"That's not what I asked."..
Daniel didn't answer.

The next morning, he was back at work before 7.
After three months, Daniel had changed.
He stopped going out.
He stopped visiting his friends...
He barely had time to see his family...
Even on Sundays, he was tired.

One afternoon, something happened.
A stock record was wrong...
Mr. Bello called Daniel into his office...
"Who entered this figure?"
Daniel checked the document.
"I did, sir."..
"Do you know how much this mistake could cost the company?"..
"I'm sorry, sir.".. he said
Mr. Bello leaned back in his chair...
"Sorry doesn't fix mistakes."..
Daniel lowered his head.
For some reason, he suddenly remembered Mr. Okoro.
The shouting.
The long days.
The small salary.
Then something strange happened.
Daniel started missing his old job.
Not because it was good.
It wasn't but at least Benson Electronics closed at 6 p.m.
At least he had time to breathe...
At least he knew what his responsibilities were...

He had left one difficult situation because he believed anything else would be better.
Now he understood his mistake...
He had not looked for something better...
He had simply looked for something different and different was not always better.

That evening, Daniel sat with Ada outside the house, "I think I made a mistake," he said...
Ada smiled..
"You finally realized it."...
"What do you mean?"...
"You were so desperate to leave your old job that you didn't ask enough questions about the new one."
Daniel looked at the ground...
"You're right."..
"Are you going to resign?"
Daniel shook his head.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"I'm going to find another job first."
Ada laughed.
"Now you're thinking."

When Daniel resigned from Mr. Bello's company, Mr. Bello looked surprised.
"But you're doing well here."..
Daniel smiled.
"I'm doing well, sir but I'm just not living well."..
He packed his things and left...
This time, he didn't celebrate...
He had learned his lesson.
Sometimes when we are tired of a bad situation, we become desperate to escape and when we are desperate, we can mistake anything that looks different for something better.
Daniel had done exactly that... He thought he was leaving the frying pan but he didn't realize that the fire was waiting for him...

Thanks for reading..
[Image Generated with Chatgpt]