Chasing the Unreachable Love

Chapter 9

Day 3: Stockholm

The day ended up being much shorter than I had expected; even though I planned to ski all day, I was already tired by the end. My attempts at skiing down the mountain were repeatedly unsuccessful. My skills had really let me down, making me no better than a toddler learning to walk. The main problem was that I did not know I was a terrible skier. I had much higher expectations about my skills...

When I was lying in the snow and people saw me, they were shocked. I had been lying there for minutes. People still tried to help me up, but I told them not to help me, since I was okay. However, I was pretty fed up with everything after that short time out there and I headed to my hotel pretty soon after that.

When I was heading back to the hotel at the time, I thought I might go back to the mountain cabin the next day. That was where I met Swedish people and that creepy man. The mountain cabin was, however, a pleasant place to visit because you could spend some time just sitting or drinking etc. It didn't matter if there were cruel or good people out there. That was the only place I could be in peace and quiet since I always turned my phone off.

I sat down on the white couch and turned on the TV for the first time during my vacation in Sweden. I pressed the remote control start button. I was amazed at the size of that TV. That TV was like the one I had.

I remember one time, when I was at my parents' home and we talked about their TV.

"I would like to say that you should replace your old TV to a new one," I said back then to my mum.

"I don't think we should," she replied and looked at that thing back then.

"Mum, come on! That TV is over 10 years old, it must be replaced immediately. It might explode!"

As she pushed back my advice, she said, "It doesn't need to be replaced. We still like it how it is."

"Doesn't it disturb you how that picture on that TV is? That picture isn't so appealing anymore. And all for that, that has so small screen!"

"It doesn't matter," my dad remarked back then. "leave it, son," he added as he looked into my eyes.

"But dad! Please consider my idea, because I don't want any issues with that TV. Safety is the most meaningful thing to me," I told him. He nodded, but that was it.

"Okay, fine. We should take it into consideration, hon'," he replied to my mother. She rolled her eyes after that.

"No dear, no! It is our sacred trust! Our treasure! I don't wanna get a new one."

"We have to take some steps into modernity," dad said and that was all for conservation. She gave it up then, but they didn't get the latest one still, however even though they told them they would buy a new one.

I skipped 10 channels until I found one that caught my attention. It seemed like there was discussion about a United States since the images showed skyscrapers and flags of the US. After I started digging into the news for a few minutes, I realized that everything seemed very familiar. All the people, the place - everything was familiar, just like the environment in which I usually tended to live...

Then I found out something chilling. The news was about me and my firm! The news line, which was also in English, mentioned how my co-workers had a hard time after I left for my vacation to Stockholm. It then showed a small clip of my worker giving an interview.

"Did you know that the CEO left for Sweden?" the reporter asked in English.

My worker replied, "I didn't know it until I found out today. We had a hard time dealing with all the complicated matters since he left us to handle them on our own." My eyes widened even more after hearing it. I continued to watch.

"Do you think that this was a terrible thing to do since you weren't informed beforehand?" he was asked.

"Yes, definitively. How could he do that? If he could hear this news, he would probably have a heart attack. I want him to feel the same way we feel right now. And the worst part is the fact that, despite our best efforts, he cannot be reached because his phone is off," my worker exclaimed angrily.

I grabbed my head with both hands because it was so jaw-dropping. Even though this case was so delicate, I started crying even though I had never cried so much. I felt something profound that had an undescribable impact on me.

I felt as if I wanted to rip my eyes out at that point. I had no idea why I had been sobbing. Did I cry because of my workers or did I cry because I was mentioned in the news? Did they encounter so many problems? Where was the vicepresident?

The news showed another interview clip. At that time, it was with my vicepresident.

"How do you describe this situation right now?" the reporter asked him.

"I think what he did was a terrible idea. He did call me beforehand, and he informed me that I had to present what he had prepared. However, he was unable to attend since he left. I did tell him what he told me was crazy, but he pushed his thoughts on me and I had no choice since I was the second head of the firm," he told the reporter.

"How is the form right now doing?"

"There's a lot of work at our firm, but I have a hard time dealing with all the troubles pretty much on my own. It seems that it's chaotic here."

"Do you want to say something to him right now?" the reporter asked his last question.

"Yes, I want to say that he's out of his head! The move he made was wrong, and now we're in trouble without him. He has a lot of work to do, and so do I. I have to sign new business contracts and do other paperwork. If you listen carefully, Christian, know that I will not offer you any mercy if you return to the States!" he said angrily.

I started to bite my lower lip nervously as I looked angrily at the TV screen. My vicepresident was also so angry and he was almost in a rage as I called him. It seemed a lot of trouble for sure out there which made me even more anxious. I messed up my already messed up hair with both of my hands and held my head with hands.

After turning off the TV, I glanced nervously around the room. I stood up. As I walked to the window, I pulled back the white curtain and looked down. I saw a news crew with at least ten photographers whose camera lights flashed. There was more to worry about than flashing lights and photographers.

Then a man called out from the crowd in fairly fluent English: "Hey, we know you're there! Come out and talk to us! We want to know everything!" I swallowed hard for that because he said it that loudly. Agreed yells and talk was heard.

I pushed the curtains back to the windows and slid down onto the cold floor. I crouched and covered my knees with my hands. I felt very guilty. Teardrops began to fall onto my burning cheeks. The idea of heading to a mountain cabin didn't disappear. However, I was afraid of the press, which kept me enclosed in the walls...Why was I even hiding?