In a huge office looking out over the cityscape…
A beautiful woman in a business outfit was busy working.
Loraine, a secretary in a huge company, worked through thick piles of documents for hours.
When she was done, she handed them to the opposite table, where a man in his 60s, Mr. Bale, the CEO of the company, would be signing them.
"Well done, as usual," Mr. Bale smiled as he browsed through the files just handed to him. It wasn't new to him to receive such thick piles of paper done within a day, for signing.
He was satisfied with how quickly his secretary worked through all the documents assigned to her. Sometimes, he even wonders what he did in his past life to deserve such a capable secretary.
Loraine simply nodded at his compliment. She didn't know how capable she was and how much lighter his work life had become ever since she became his secretary.
Or was she simply shy about getting complimented?
Mr. Bale then inquired about another matter.
"Is everything ready for tomorrow?"
It was a meeting for the following day and everything should be ready by now to prevent any problems later.
"Yes, Sir. Everything is prepared for tomorrow."
"Very good. As always, Loraine is extremely efficient!"
Mr. Bale was delighted. As the company's CEO, he never regretted hiring Loraine as his secretary.
"Thank you, Sir. I'm simply doing my job," Loraine replied modestly, with a smile.
After discussing all the details of the plans with Mr. Bale and giving the other necessary information and instructions to other secretaries working for the company, Loraine left to go home.
Once she walked into her apartment, her calm and collected demeanor was off and she slumped on the sofa.
"Ah, I claimed it was done, but there are still a lot of things to complete.
Mr. Bale obviously knew, yet he still added additional paperwork!
I guess I won't be able to sleep tonight."
Loraine groaned as she prepared her computer.
"If I knew the work would be so difficult, I wouldn't work as a secretary."
But although she complained, she knew in her heart that she would continue to do it because the pay was quite good.
Money, as the saying goes, runs the world, and this was true.
Nowadays, money is required for everything—survival, luxury, achievement, and even love.
She, for one, needed it to achieve her dreams.
At the age of eleven, she witnessed firsthand how difficult it was to live without money when her parents passed away.
Loraine strived hard to improve her quality of life because of this.
With the support of her grandmother, she studied harder than others. She was able to enroll in one of the nation's top universities thanks to her intelligence and effort.
She was already working in a large corporation when her grandmother died.
At the age of 27, she was working as a secretary for a huge company that had a lot of business ventures in various countries.
"At my age, I'm already working so hard; when will I be able to realize my dreams?" mumbled Loraine.
She was envious of those who had the freedom to live their lives as they pleased.
Whether it meant spending money on luxurious items, taking long trips, working without a set schedule, sleeping carelessly, or engaging in a variety of other activities.
Due to this, she performed her duties effectively.
However, she had to endure a heavily packed schedule. She had to lose a lot of sleep in order to outperform other secretaries in the corporation, get a higher salary, and earn more company bonuses.
After saving a lot of money, she intended to do anything she pleased. Hopefully, that time will come.
"OK, time to work again!" she exclaimed, encouraging herself to complete all of the additional plans and documents.
She was grateful that the information she needed to sort out wasn't confidential. Otherwise, she would have to work another overtime shift at the company.
Doing it at home was better since she would do her work however she pleased.
"It's finally done! My head and back hurt again," she complained as she rose and stretched her limbs.
It ached from long hours of sitting.
Sometimes, she truly wonders why she had to work this hard.
But every time she recalled all her hardships in her younger years, she knew she needed to ace this job for a chance at a better life.
Who knows, maybe, someday, she would finally be able to live as she pleases without having to work herself too hard.
"All right, time to sleep."
Lorraine was relieved that the work was finally done.
She hurriedly went to her bed to gain some sleep because she barely had three hours until her morning alarm would ring.
This was becoming somewhat of a routine and she knew she needed to sleep better soon but she needed to work hard for survival.
When would she achieve work-life balance?
.
.
.
'Huh, why does it feel like I'm floating?' Loraine thought when she realized she suddenly felt so light.
When she opened her eyes, she discovered that she was indeed floating.
"Whoa! What's going on?!" Lorine exclaimed in shock.
She looked around frantically, wondering what could have happened.
Was this some kind of prank or was she brought somewhere?
"Oh, I'm still in my room," she sighed in relief.
"Wait! Why is my body lying down right there and I'm here in the air?!" Lorraine was frightened as she gawked at her body lying motionless on her bed.
She wanted to see her body more closely and she somehow floated closer to her own body. She didn't even know how she did it.
"Wait, why do I look so pale? My hands are… cold!"
Lorraine flinched when she discovered that she was no longer breathing.
"Is this for real?"
She checked her body once more and there was no heartbeat.
Her body was cold.
Her skin color had become too pale and was beginning to turn purplish.
Did she just die from overworking?