Outside the Box

1

It was back to work for these people, the wearying employees of Parable Co. It was no longer Sunday, so they were on their way back to work, commuting during rush hour, stuck in traffic, and in intense heat. Not to mention that working in the office space of Parable Co. was so mundane it was becoming so monotonous. Monday has always been the worst when it comes to employees. Everyone was becoming bored of it all, so much so that they would become very tired than they actually looked. Except one. His name was John Keith Langstrom.

Langstrom would always go to work with a neat white suit with black pants and black tie. His short black hair was also neatly slicked-back and shining. He would go to his cubicle, work and type in his computer with bright, content eyes.

He didn't know why, but some employees would act brighter as if a great burden was loosed from their shoulders every time he was around them. They would often greet him their good mornings whenever he passed by their cubicles or when he walked past them in the hall.

Langstrom was also a part of the company's I.T. employees. Whenever there were technical problems, he would help his fellow employees wholeheartedly.

Langstrom was in his cubicle, typing in his reports on his computer, when he got a call on his phone. He answered the call "Yes?" he said. A female employee was on the other end, informing him that her printer's connection to her computer was malfunctioning. "I'll be right there," Langstrom said, hanging up the phone.

He stood up and left his cubicle and went to the cubicle of the employee who reported the printer. He started the process of troubleshooting the printer when his boss walked in. "I need you in my office, Langstrom," he said with no signs of hostile command to be found in his voice.

The troubleshooting had already finished, and the printer was functioning properly again. He went with his Boss to his office. Langstrom sat patiently by the Boss' desk.

"Langstrom," the Boss said.

"Yes, sir?" Langstrom said, patiently.

"Are you aware of the influence you have with the others?"

"What do you mean?" Langstrom said, naively. He really had no knowledge of how the other employees had been acting around him.

"So you don't. Let me explain, then. A lot of them have been...jolly whenever you're around. It could be because of your attitude. But they like working with you. Our working rate has risen because of you. So I decided to give you a raise."

Langstrom's face lit up with joy when he heard this. He smiled from ear-to-ear, the widest he had ever smiled. "Thank you, sir," he said, with great humility.

And so, when Langstrom's shift had ended, he went home still with the wide smile smeared on his face.

Next day arrived, and it was more or less the same routine for the employees of Parable Co. They commuted and got stuck in the same traffic and had to endure the same process of work in Parable Co. Even Langstrom was the same happy-go-lucky self.

But when Langstrom walked through the doors of the building's entrance, his eyes caught something on a door. It had a golden ray of light beaming underneath the door. It didn't look like the lights of the building. It was queer and mysterious. It piqued his curiosity. His smile had completely disappeared.

But a coworker patted him on his shoulder, breaking Langstrom's tranced state. "Come on, John," he said, perkily, "Let's go."

Langstrom made one last glance at the light under the door. But it was gone.