A coincidence?

The pain was unbearable, but I silenced my cry as my gaze followed that woman who had stepped on my feet without bothering to stop and apologize, even without even turning around. And the more the pain renewed my curses and indignation, until the pain began to subside a little, and I felt that I might have overstated her blame. I made up an excuse for her as if she did not notice, for example, that she had crushed my feet with her shoes.

The next day, I saw her coming towards me. My secrets spread a little and I thought to myself that perhaps the hour of apology had come. She must have put it off for the right moment, the corridor was crowded at the time and the hospital staff restaurant now appears to be the place to apologize. She saluted and then said, "Excuse me, this table is my favorite for me and my colleagues, so can you find another table for you please?"

Her strange request surprised me, as I had never seen her and her colleagues in this place as she claims, and then she did not leave me an opportunity for discussion, but she turned around as if what she said was something I had to implement.

Moments later, I saw her while she was her colleagues at the same table that she had left for them, and they started laughing and whispering, so I felt as if I was talking and mocking them, but I left the hospital restaurant apologizing for the implementation of her wish without any discussion or argument.

At the elevator I found her waiting. I almost held back, but she noticed my confusion and smiled. The elevator door opened, so she preceded me straight away and said kindly "Please, Mr."My heart contracted with this gentleness and I felt that something would happen as soon as the door closed, but nothing had happened and I was, during those few moments, looking downwards without being able to even contemplate her features. It was moments filled with silence, suspicion, and contemplation of this person sitting next to me in the elevator.

I asked my colleague about her, and he said that she is a new employee, and that she was able to win the approval of the manager. I did not try to go into questions with him, and I was satisfied with this brief information, as I was ashamed to tell him that she stepped on my feet and did not apologize.

The buffet attendant asked me, "How many spoonfuls of sugar do you want?" I answered him "Three," but I was surprised by a female voice behind me saying in a commanding tone, "Only one spoon!" He turned to the voice and found her standing, saying, "Are you not afraid of diabetes?" Then she asked the worker to only put one tablespoon of sugar. The worker and I responded to her, and this time too, she did not leave me an opportunity for discussion as I quickly left the place.

I sip tea that I did not like and cursed her in my heart, before I cursed my hesitation and undue fear of her. Whenever I went to work, I became obsessed with meeting her in a corridor, office, or even a restaurant. She came to represent me awe and confusion. That damned confusion that reveals a state of fear and helplessness. I thought I would take the initiative and ask her why she did not apologize, about her constant intrusiveness, and about this commanding power that she deals with me, but I was afraid of my initiative in a hospital full of malicious harassment complaints from female employees.

I found her knocking on my office door and confidently stepping in, and found me sweating and amazed, terrified and astonished that something was imminent.

She sat on the chair saying, "We have a blood donation. Register your name and phone number."

She did not ask me if I wanted to donate or not, but rather put the paper in front of me and busy browsing the book "In search of Lost Time" that was placed on my table. After I hand her the paper, she expected to ask me about the book or make a comment, but she turned around and walked out of the office.

Before going to sleep I think about her and invent scenarios for her existence. Sometimes I imagine that she is sent by someone, and sometimes I expect that she tormented my confusion and extended her methods, and sometimes I get optimistic to the point of believing that everything that happens is the beginning of an intimacy between us, so beautiful love may form this strange. Then I will be filled with reassurance and let my imaginations run wild, but I feel sad when I try to evoke her features and I am not winning anything from them.

My phone number that I wrote on revealing the names of the blood donors was the only hope that the matter would take an emotional dimension. I imagined that she would keep me and gave up her voice as she came laughing and cheering in an unexpected call. Then I will express all my silence and panic that was, and I will blame her for not apologizing, intrusive, and for my confusion over the past period.

But days passed and nothing new came. I no longer come across her in any of the expected places. I felt relaxed and confident in the fact that there was no longer anything to confuse me at work, but this comfort and reassurance quickly faded when I caught sight of her standing as we were getting out of the hospital gate, and I do not know whether she was actually looking at me, or I imagined it in the throes of my anger while I was faster Steps towards my car with all my negative feelings, thoughts, and confusion.

She became the ghost that I feared and avoided. I no longer think of anything other than that I have to present to the director my wish to transfer to another department. I found that this was the perfect solution, and without giving up an opportunity I went to the manager with self-belief that this ridiculous and trivial crisis would end.

When I walked into his office, my eyes collided with her presence, and she took the place of the manager.

In a low voice, not without confusion, I saluted and remained silent for a while, asking me, "What do you want?"
I answered her that I want the manager, so she smiled that smile that we described as sweet and the other half loving cruelty, and she asked me, "What do you want from the manager?" I hesitated a little and then replied that I wanted him on a personal matter.

Her voice raised somewhat and said, "It seems that you are not following what is happening in the work places administration." Then, without waiting for my answer, she continued, "Today a decision was made to assign me to run the hospital until the director's return."

I did not know at that moment whether I should bless her, submit my request, or completely leave the office, swallowing what I came for.

Her voice came to me asking, "Do you want time off work?" I almost said yes, but I answered without count, "No."
I put my paper on her desk, she took her reading too long, then raised her head, saying, "You are an exemplary employee and good at doing your job. Why do you want to move? Do you have a problem with someone? Is someone bothering you here?"

I said in the same low voice, "There is no reason but the desire for change!"

She smiled, shaking her head, "So the solution is changing!?"

Then I got up and left the office without regard to my presence and without expressing an opinion or decision about my desire to move. I felt that the indignity had reached its highest ceiling, that this woman was deliberately insulting me and that my silence helped her a lot in persisting. At that time, I thought about revenge, but as soon as I wondered about the way I could get revenge on a woman like her, I was ashamed of myself.

At night, when my anxiety increased, and restlessness dominated everything, the mobile screen flashed with a message saying, "Do not reach your feet in front of a woman crossing the road again."