Sinner's Song

"So being young and dipped in folly, I fell in love with melancholy."

Part 2: Envy

Cheers and congratulations erupted in the office as soon as he stepped inside. I pinched the bridge of my nose, fighting back the head-splitting migraine I got as he approached my cubicle.

"Hey Verde! Lookin' miserable today too I see," Marcus grinned, leaning on the wall to my cubicle.

I glanced at the employee board and glared at his name decorated by a golden plate at the top of the list. Right below him was my bland silver plate that read:

Verde Invidia

"Forgive me if I'm not thrilled to lose my employee of the month position to a slacker like you."

"Aww, don't worry, I'm sure you'll get it next time!"

When his mocking laughter finally disappeared into his cubicle, I groaned. What was this, the 5th time in a row he beat me? It was becoming tedious. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't understand what was so special about him. He was never on time, his reports always had mistakes, I'm pretty sure he gets his buddies in management to give him special treatment too. Yet everybody looooved him. Like he was a bloody god in this damn office.

It's not like I can do anything about it either. The boss doesn't care as long as we meet our quota for the month anyway. Next month. Next month I would beat him if it's the last thing I do!

"Verde."

My head snapped up to the sound of a deep, muffled voice.

"B-Boss!"

Leviathan, the head of the department of Envy. He was a tall lanky man with deep, sunken eyes that remained obscured by his long braided hair most times. He always sounded like he was underwater when he spoke. It was disorienting because you could never tell which direction he was coming from. You would only ever hear ripples of his voice reverberating through the office, even when he was right next to you.

"What can I do for you!"

"It's your turn to manage the fountain. Get going."

Without another word, he slithered away into his office as if he would evaporate if he spent any more time outside. Gathering my things, I did as I was told. All eyes were on me as I stepped into the corridor leading to the fountain. My eyes caught Marcus' and he glared at me, presumably pissed that I was the one on fountain duty today and not him. Every employee would kill for fountain duty. It was our chance to show off by bringing as many souls as we possibly could in the short shift we were given.

I smirked at Marcus. It was satisfying watching his face twist with anger as I shut the door behind me. The sound of my heels clicking on the smooth marble floors was accompanied by the soft rising of bubbles. The tall glass walls of the corridor separated me from a glorious aquarium. At the end of the corridor were huge doors that lead into a small dark room. The only light it got was from the few rays of sun that filtered through the suspended ceiling of water.

At the center of the room was a platform surrounded by shallow waters. I stepped up onto the platform and right on cue, a coin dropped into the water in front of me.

"Please, grant me this wish!"

Looking up, I could see the blurry figure of someone clasping their hands in front of the fountain. Their weary prayer drifted down the fountain as a plea that echoed off the stone walls.

"Please let me get a good job! One that's even better than my brother's! Please let me get a job quickly so my parents never compare me to him again."

I picked up the coin and looked up into the water, seeing my eyes reflected back to me as they began to glow. "Your wish has been received."