Journal #7

Subtext Exercise: The Unrevealed Truth

The phone rattled and broke the disturbing silence. The ID on the television read “Regina Mistique”. Parsing the screen, Ewa let out a deep sigh. Finally, she picked up the phone to hear her sister’s young, sweet voice.

“Hello?” Ewa said.

“Hey! Ewa… How are you?!” Regina asked.

“Oh, things are…okay. I’ve been having a problem at work for a while,” Ewa replied.

“Really?! What is it?” Regina quickly asked.

“It’s just…my co-workers don’t converse. We all just sit and work in our own cubicles. My office is…quiet and it’s…the grey paint is chipped. Uhm, I’m always late these days. I get up in the morning and feel so sick, spend hours in the bathroom just…sick. But I guess it’s worth it, something new will be added to the office, something to bring it alive. Too bad no one will get to spend time in it but me,” Ewa explained.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why your co-workers can’t come together and work as a group once in a while…” Regina snapped.

Why is she on my co-workers’ sides? There was an uninterrupted quietness in the atmosphere; it seemed as if a movie had been set to “pause”. Finally, “I think it’s just because we’re so independent, you know? We’ve got our own lives, our own…situations to take care of. The man in the office next to mine, I barely know anything about him, just that he’s married…I think,” Ewa said.

“Well maybe, since he’s the closest to you… you can get to know him. Tell him about yourself and why you don’t like that hostile environment, cool?” Regina replied. Ewa thought for a minute, maybe she’s right. Maybe I should tell her. . .

“No… I don’t think that’s a good idea. I mean, there just might be some things about his life I don’t agree with as a person, or we might not have much in common after all. I just, don’t wanna get myself into something I won’t be able to handle,” Ewa said.

“I don’t see what’s there to lose. It isn’t that serious, just open up to people Ewa, geez,” Regina whined.

“Regina, you won’t understand. Some people cannot…get along. Plus, I’m too exhausted lately to even waste my time,” Ewa said.

“Ohh, well I really hope you get back on track. Ewa, I miss you,” Regina said with haste.

“Regina… I have to go. Talk to you soon,” Ewa said, behind tears and hung up. As much as she resisted, Regina was right.