The Wishmonger: Origins

The Beginning

My alarm rang, I snoozed it and tried to go back to sleep. WHAT, A CLICHE START??!! Guess what, that's how millions and millions of people start their day. This isn't an adventure book, where the Sun shines brightly and every day looks fresh and promising. No, this is the real world, my friend, wherein everyday is the same, and all that sunshine just means a greater electricity bill.

I am Carl Trent, a mediocre office clerk, living a dull, boring life. Like all my so-called "friends", I too am a sore loser, who has neither money nor love. Even my parents gave up on me a long time ago, preferring to move on the next world. The only consolation to me is that even superman was a clerk. But I don't have the "super" of superman, I am just a man.

I'll just skip the boring routine of the morning, that is the brushing, showers, quick breakfast and long traffic jams. Hey, I don't even remember half the day when its over, that's how mechanical it is. Let's skip to the interesting part of the day, of how I got fired from the office, and I fired the office back.

I went to the office and sat down at my workstation. My colleague, John, was laughing. I ignored him and tried to work, but just then I got a call. 

"Come to my office." My boss said, and he hung up. This didn't seem so good.

I went inside his office. "Yes, sir?" I asked him.

"You are fired." My boss said. I guess this had to happen some day. My boss and I had a sort-of rivalry between one other. At first I thought it was because I am dark, while he is white, but later I realized it was just that we couldn't stand each other. He was too stiff and formal, whereas I was always chilling. He wanted every part of a project to go according to plan and meet the deadlines, but it didn't matter for me so long as I could meet the final deadline and finish it on time. And such other trifles always put us against each other.

"Can I know why?" I asked him.

He said nothing, and instead pulled out his smartphone. He played a video on it, and passed it to me. 

"That's why" He said, passing his phone to me.

The video showed me walking inside someone's house, in a drunken fashion, and as I saw myself abusing our company in words that I didn't even know the meaning of, I realized this was John's party. So much for enjoying with "friends". He must have snitched on me, that's why he was laughing so hard. Damn him.

"In my defense I was drunk." I said. I really needed this job, my credit card bill had soared high up, and I was planning to start paying it off from the next month, for the last 6 months. But without a job, I won't be even able to pay the interest, forget the whole amount.

"I don't need your defense. Do you even know the amount of damage this could have caused to our company?" he said.

"But it didn't, did it? John recorded it, shouldn't you fire him instead?"

"Indeed, he had the audacity to send it to me as a joke. But I won't fire him."

"Because he is white?!" Boss always got hurt when accused of racism.

"No, because there is nothing holding him back from publishing the video otherwise." Failed.

"Look, if you fire me..." Here I was getting desperate. "you are going to lose a very valuable, hard-working employee. Even if you keep me, John won't publish the video. You have got nothing to lose and everything to gain if you don't take away my job."

"I can't promote this kind of behavior." Talking to my boss was like talking to a wall.

"No one's asking you to promote it!" I cried.

"I don't have time for your petty squabbles. You are fired from this office, do whatever you want." He said, and took up his smartphone, expecting me to go out. But, I decided, it won't be so easy this time.

"Look, if you fire me from the office...I'll have to fire the office myself."

"Hahaha!!! You think a petty employee like you can do anything against such a big company? I already have evidence which justifies me firing you, so do your worst. Fire the office itself, I have never heard of such a silly thing!!" The boss laughed heartily, and then paused. "Except star wars, and superman. That's sillier." 

"Enough!! You shall regret saying that!!" The boss didn't listen to me. He seemed to have misunderstood my words. I wouldn't have done it, but he blew my fuse. He insulted the very fandoms I loved. Now the office was to be fired.

I went out in a storm of fury. John eyed me curiously, but I paid him no heed. He was a loser anyway. I went outside, into my old, battered car. It was a red fiat punto. I took out my lighter and a jerrycan of gasoline. My mom used to tell me to always keep an extra liter for "just-in-case" situations, and wouldn't go in the car otherwise. She went, but the gasoline remained. I put it in my black office bag. Now it was time to put it to good use.

I went inside the office, into the boss's room and set it on fire. Right in front of him too. The best moment of my life, though it led to worlds of pain afterwards.