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A feeling of desolation overwhelms Toni as she replays the moment in her head. “You’re fired… you’re fired… you’re fired.” The thoughts continue to penetrate her mind and she is unable to escape a black hole of devastation. “How- how could they do this to me?” she cries as she collapses to the floor and weeps in the corner of the dark room. Everything that she had worked for--all the blood, sweat, and tears--had been rendered useless.
Knowing that there is no use to continue crying, Toni regains her composure and wears a mask of confidence as she leaves the office. Carrying her belongings in the “box of shame” (as her colleagues refer to it), she can feel eyes darting towards her; she can hear whispers of pity. Yet, no one dares to approach her. Everyone just observes her from afar, like a caged animal at the zoo.
Toni rushes out the door, unable to handle the stares of sympathy and commiseration. She reaches a full sprint and doesn't stop until she arrives at her apartment. Toni enters her home, but it doesn’t feel like home to her. She sits on the apartment floor, realizing she had never spent much time here. She was always in the office, pulling all-nighters and picking up weekend shifts. She never had a life outside of her work; her job had become her everything, and she had just lost her everything.
Toni peers at the caliginous sky, and she feels suffocated by the darkness. At that moment, she knows that she needs to leave. She packs her bag, unaware of where she is going or for how long. She finds herself at the airport and approaches the nearest desk, in desperate need of exhilaration. “I’d like to go somewhere, right now. I don’t care where, but somewhere far away, please.”
“Uh, we have a flight to the Lofoten Islands that leaves soon. I could get you on that flight,” the worker replies, slightly confused.
“Thanks,” Toni responds.
After over 20 hours of torment, Toni reaches her destination, nervous and intimidated. In a foreign country with no place to go and isolated from the rest of the world, she enters a panic and breaks out into a cold sweat. But as she looks to the sky, all her anxieties vanish.
Vibrant hues illuminate the sky, creating a masterpiece of nature. Greens that shine as bright as emeralds to purples that resemble the brilliant shade of lilacs capture the eyes of Toni, and she stands in complete awe of its beauty. Coruscant stars embellish the sky and scintillate with a warm glow. For the first time in a long time, Toni feels unconfined, at peace. Her mind is no longer spinning with worries and trepidation. A sensation of tranquility comes upon her and she can finally breathe. "I am as infinite as the number of stars that glisten in the darkness and as boundless as the colors that paint the night sky. I am free.”
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