text: It was a bright and extremely hot Monday morning. Shielding his eyes from the unrelenting sunlight accompanied by heat threatening to burn the hair on his head, he soldiered on towards the towering building looming ahead. The pavements seemed to be absorbing all the heat as they enveloped him in an embrace that felt like he was bathing in a volcano. Once again his poor planning had got the best of him and he was penniless forcing him to walk all the way to his destination. “Damn! I hope my armpits don’t just pour open, “ he thought to himself taking a quick sniff in his armpit. What had seemed like a short stroll that would not make him break a sweat turned out to be a lot further than anticipated. He stared at the tail lights of a beautiful, brand new Mercedes-Benz that whizzed past him even before he could turn his head fully to admire it’s beauty. It was at that moment that he realized to his dismay that he had made his seemingly accurate calculated guess concerning distance while he was sitting in the back of a taxi moving at full speed. Nonetheless, he marched on with a confident gaiety stride that reflected none of his personal woes or internal turmoil. Donovan cursed silently under his breath as he stumbled over a stone that left a visible mark on his not so well polished shoe. Stooping to fix the dent on his attempt to look immaculate, he instantly felt light headed and two stepped off the road desperately trying to fight the feeling that held him in a hostile grip threatening to drag him into the underworld. Donovan allowed himself a little smile. Nothing was going to deter him from making it to the interview for a job he so desperately needed despite the activities of the previous night. He smiled fondly at the memory of consciously making a bad decision to have subsequent shots of Tequila and Jaeger in an utterly pointless competition with a stranger who turned into a best friend the very night they bumped into each other. The stranger had turned out to be the son to a prominent politician in the country. What was important about that was his struggle to shine under his father’s shadow. A struggle Donovan knew all too well and could easily relate to. It was refreshing to know he wasn’t alone in the fight for independence and individual identity. In his defence how was he supposed to know that he would be called for a job interview so soon. The economy was so screwed up it took months to get any feedback. Life outside his comfort zone had been full of unexpected and consistent struggles. “How come there’s nothing free?” He often wondered to himself. “You literally have to buy everything from the food you eat, transportation all the way down to the line you hang your clothes on,” Donovan complained to himself. One of the many lessons he was learning the hard way ever since he made the headstrong decision to become independent was how tough life actually was. However, this was a welcome challenge to the determined young man who took it all in as a life lesson. Being the last born in a highly authoritative family was way more of a strain than a few bills which could be handled with a proper plan and budget. Donovan was tired of being controlled by principles and philosophies that were clearly not doing the family any good. The level of dependency was too high and no-one was allowed to nurture their personal ambitions. It was a one size fits all situation. All were expected to go to school, get good grades become a Doctor an Engineer or a Lawyer. Not that there was anything wrong with that, the issue was the compatibility of the plan and the intended audience. Donovan had an uncle who was nothing short of phenomenal at playing soccer. The crowd in his community was always more interested in watching him play than the rest of the team who were reduced to a supporting act. It was a small price to pay because you were guaranteed victory. Uncle Vincent literally needed an exorcism from the spirit of soccer that possessed him. He adapted to all roles on the pitch with ease and unrivalled sportsmanship. Much to everyone’s surprise, Vincent's skill was looked down on and any scholarship offers to groom him into a full-time professional were instantly rejected by his parents on the basis of the offers not proving to be able to stand the test of time. Simply because his path was unique it was discarded. Uncle Vincent over time succumbed to depression, he picked up nasty petty thief habits that often made Donovan’s mother who happened to be his sister burst into tears. Donovan was young but vividly remembered all the grief she suffered silently on her own.” I will never drink alcohol in my life or smoke anything,” he would often vehemently say to himself and declare to others. During his High school he was an active member of church and spent most of his time doing Christian activities. All in an effort to be different and make his mother proud. That was not the case now. He often joked about how he ended up being worse than all the people he endeavoured to surpass on a moral scale. In spite of it all he had decided he would keep his new found bad habits but with restraint. Combined with his decision to study a course outside the family expectations and his new found love for bad vices Donovan had become quite unpopular among his relatives. It left him vulnerable and further exacerbated his situation. Nonetheless, the sun shines on us all. The gods were not impartial to Donovan, he managed to graduate with a distinction much to everyone's surprise. He even got a job shortly after. Life was suddenly going great for the black sheep of the family and he soon became quite popular among peers and family members alike. This was the impetus that gave him the courage to move out of an all expense paid shared apartment with his cousins. A move which was shockingly received with heavy criticism, no one ever dared to venture out on their own. Nothing could stop the momentum of this new found man he was growing into. He loved the freedom that independence came with in his own little apartment. Even The process of finding the house was fun. Donovan and his workmates took a drive around town with an agent they had found on social media. They settled for a secure apartment exactly the right size for him. The yard had a series of identical apartments all painted blue. They had neat little flowers growing at the porch. The lawns were quite small but well maintained with a perfect carpet of grass. It gave off the vibe that it was a secure and decent place to live and raise children. Donovan despised the fact that he would have to squat in a bath tub but that was a small price to pay. There was barely any space between the toilet and bath tub however it was only his problem alone and no one else. The kitchen wasn’t perfect. It was small and had wooden beams and boards that looked better suited for a thatched house in a rural area. The sink pipes needed some work done because a few drops of water escaped and seemed likely to make a small puddle if left unattended to. On the bright side the rest of the house was perfect. White tiles adorned the moderately sized living room floor and bedroom as if it were reflecting the smiles of angels gazing upon it. He took in the sight with a huge grin knowing that the short falls would be a bargaining chip to reduce the price of rentals. Life had become difficult upon the loss of his previous job a month ago and it was necessary to take every opportunity as if it were the last. As he approached the company building, the air even felt cleaner Donovan was already happy to have such an opportunity. As he approached the large gate, his eyes marvelled at the large writings. “éxito- Definite Success” was written in bold blue letters over a red brick Wall. As if those words were placed there just for him his faith only grew stronger. Donovan proceeded to open the wide glass door that was architecturally placed right below the company’s name. A beautiful lady in a pink satin dress sat right in front of him. Her eyes appeared to have been cleaned by silk pearls. The white glistened from her Cornea as if life itself worshipped her existence. “Why now?” he thought. If God was tempting him he would be glad to fail as if he hadn’t had enough distractions throughout his journey. She smiled a smile enthralling he was taken aback. The lovely red ribbon that formed her lips revealed a dazzling set of teeth.“ Good morning. You must be Donovan. Please take a seat.” She motioned with her hand in a graceful movement directing him towards a sofa fit for top executives. “Mr. Carlos and his panel will see you in a moment.” Her voice was so angelic. “Was she singing or speaking?” he asked himself as he walked towards his seat still bewildered by the lady who seemed to be in her mid twenties. Barely 10 minutes had passed before he was ushered into a conference room. The dark hard wood floor echoed his steps as he proceeded to a chair that had been placed at the far end of a large rose wood table fit for Kings to dine on. Donovan sat down and raised his eyes to finally see the panel set before him. “Good morning. Welcome to éxito. We are glad to have you.” The first speaker demanded respect and from his tone and demeanour it was evident that this was Mr. Carlos, the man he was meant to impress before the rest of the panel. The questions immediately began to pour out and Donovan ensured that he was calm before each response to ensure that he always appeared confident. As he responded to all the questions he thought deeply of what he would expect to hear on the other side as an interviewer. The team appeared pleased but there was one lady. She barely smiled and she had a follow up question for each of his responses. However, Donovan felt that as long as Mr. Carlos liked him, he had achieved his goal. The rest was in God's hands.