The Parting

Reluctant to believe he was the ‘Charlie’ mentioned in it, Mr Campbell took the letter to the other two Charlies, besides himself, he got to know that existed in the company, after rummaging through the employees payroll documents archived in his desk’s shelve. After all, there wasn’t a surname stated in the message.

The first Charlie he asked didn’t have a clue about who it could be, whilst the second wasn’t at the Security Office when he passed by. Among the workers inside there, one of them saw him at the door’s rectangular window; a woman had met his gaze, lifted from her seat, then gone outside to meet him. She eventually explained to him Mr Charlie Jones was on lunch break, which left Mr Campbell with furrowed brows.

“Excuse me, can you please let me pass?” He felt two pokes on his left shoulder after the phrase, and turned around spooked, to face the man himself looked for. “Hey, Mr Campbell!” The Jones extended his palm, then they shook hands. “You alright? Excuse me for a second,” After that, he gazed at his coworker. “Hey, Lilia! I’m back! You can go now.”

The other guard smiled, “One more minute and I could devour you and our other colleagues.” She left.

Charlie, the guard, laughed, and watched she walk further away in the corridor. Glancing back at Mr Campbell, he thought he looked distressed, as if something bad had happened. However, he always looked like that.

“Something the matter?” he smiled.

“Actually, yes,” Mr Campbell didn’t walk around the lake before jumping in. He simply jumped in. “This letter must be yours. I have no recollection of such person in my life, it can only be yours.” And offered it.

The guard picked, then opened it. Within seconds his forehead stiffened. “Oh,” After more moments of silence, he recognized it. “It’s for Charlie Beagles Campbell, actually, and that is you.”

Mr Campbell frowned further, “How can you be so sure it’s for me?” In a hand gesture, he asked back the letter.

“No last names are signed for sure,” The guard turned the paper around, to confirm, then gave it back at his hand, and stared into his eyes with a relaxed face of someone who’s sure of what they’re saying. “But it was Mr Reis who gave it to me. He thought I was the Beagles Campbell in the company, then I told him to not worry; because I would deliver it to the right person.”

He scratched his chin, “I put it under your pile of papers hoping you would not be interrupted by it in the middle of your work. I see you have more work to do then I thought, though.” Mercy glistened at his eyes.

Mr Campbell lost his words for a moment. But he was curious about it. “When did you put it there…?”

“Dunno? Maybe two to three weeks ago…? Almost three weeks ago is more precise.” The guard still smiled.

The HRM manager felt the blood on his veins almost oozing out of him. Three weeks?! Looking downwards, he reflected...

‘That means… that means… doesn’t that mean…?’

“Thank you…” He got lost in the thoughts floating in the front of his eyes. But he snapped out of it, then reciprocated their looks again, along with a pat at the Mr Jones’s shoulder. “I need to go. Thanks for you help.”

The other chuckled. “It was nothing. Sorry for not telling you, I also had work to do. I hope you won’t have that many more work from now and then. Have a nice day.”

Mr Campbell said, “You too,” back, then walked away.

Shite. He knew how this happened. Papers and more papers had been put on his desk for the last weeks because of the company’s increasing down rise on resources. Representatives of all departments took meetings to think together for a solution, and he had been going to those almost every workday. They hoped to find a way that both allowed them to end the company’s debts, and also diminished the termination list of workers as much as possible, if they could, to zero, however, to not fall into further debt, some employees had already been dismissed from the company, then were re-contracted with lower salaries, or they were assisted by the Human Resources Management and others into finding a new job. Charlie Campbell wrote recommendation letters for those, wishing they wouldn’t stay unemployed for long.

Even he could be fired, if this continued on. His HRM co-manager colleague was.

Anyways, in the midst of it all, Silvio Reis was one of the names in the employee termination list.

Two weeks ago Mr Campbell had called him himself to give him the notice.

- Flashback… -

“I didn’t recruit you for this job planning that this would happen,” Charlie looked at a paper of contract end between his fingers. He re-read the terms, making sure there was nothing amiss on the impression. “I didn’t think the company would go bankrupt. Even I can loose my job. Do you follow me?”

Mr Silvio Reis, a tanned brunet of obsidian eyes, nodded to him. His silk, black blue hair, moved softly, although that medium hair was clipped behind his ears. What really characterized him outside of work was his clothing. All black cassock and shoes – almost like a priest. Right then, though, he wore the white cleaner’s uniform.

“I understand,” He voiced.

“Alright,” Mr Campbell put the papers down, then signed them. “Here are the termination papers to the contracted services from you. As you didn’t partake with your will to this, you’ll receive your due unemployment compensation for the amount and time listed bellow,” He pointed on the paper. “Please read, and sign both. One will be kept with us, and the other with you. When you’re finished, I’ll explain more.” Charlie gestured, offering him a seat.

Mr Reis took a seat before his desk, then lasted his own time reading the piece. After he was finished, Mr Campbell explained the reasons for the firing, what rights he deserved, what he couldn’t ask for, and more bureaucracies.

“Although I dislike you to an extent, and I know our professional relation ends the moment you sign these papers, I feel deeply that this is happening to you and others.” Charlie sighed. His distasteful relation with Mr Reis was no secret, but he prioritized the well-being over his own pettiness. “I recently came to know of a model agency recruitment that is going to happen in the Center of Wysterias. The Center district with a path of wysterias.” He gestured a path. “I took a photo of their number and information, and I would like you to write it down yourself, since not everyone is capable of understanding my writing.”

Mr Reis stared at him in silence. His eyes were like tunnels; one could feel he had a depth just by looking into them. They glistened a bit. Like gratitude.

“I would like to,” He picked the pen again, then Mr Campbell passed him a blank paper and his own unlocked smartphone opened on a banner picture. He wrote down with all calmness. Charlie knew that even when things were hard, Silvio could still seem smooth, like he was sliding through the hardships without much friction. Mr Reis had a comfortable aura, despite his resentments against him.

He finished, then looked at the auburn manager again. “Thank you.”

The other stared back in silence. He had no complaints; he only thanked him. What a character.

“You’re free to go.” Mr Campbell gestured to him, so he would go way.

Mr Reis stood up, in all calmness of a moon brightening a forest, softly, then left the room in smooth steps almost unheard.

Mr Campbell glanced at the door once before going back to his work.