text: Break Free by Jay Lugun Ara tossed and turned. Another sleepless night for her. It was impossible to ignore how things kept repeating themselves in her life and how it became difficult solving them by herself. She thought instead of begging for assistance and understanding here and there, she would feel better if she prayed. Ara was being unfairly treated by her employer. In a few weeks she would be redeployed and had been summoned to leave her office. Working for the company in another state would have suited her was she younger. Now it was an absolute no-no. They simply could not eject her from her seat and replace her but all her supplication had been to no avail. The day before as she walked along the corridor to her boss office, the knob of the door was momentarily stuck and she needed to push hard for it to open. It appeared strange because she had opened and entered that office many a times. Just as she was struggling with that issue suddenly external events also appeared to align with her feelings. She could not help noticing how some days back, while heading towards a colleague office, she found him standing and locking his door at an unusual time. And guess what? That colleague told her squarely that he could not do anything to help her and excused herself. Stuck and closed doors. She wondered if they were signs that there would be delays in her endeavour or people would not stand by her? Or mere coincidences? Whatever they were, she would not be discouraged because she was certain that she was being discriminated against. Other colleagues would simply not answer her calls and Ara was infuriated as she had always stood by them in tough times! She thought of another manager in the same company. Someone she had a short date with in the past but she backed off as they had very little in common. When she called him he listened and even proposed her to meet him over lunch. What a relief! Finally, someone was out there for her! Her respite was short lived because she discovered her ex-boyfriend had other plans and was more interested in having her in his bed! She sat up in bed as she assimilated all the lessons learnt during the past week and how lonely and desperate she felt. At first she thought she would simply give up her fight specially as she found nobody gave a damn about her or how the odds were threatening her health and life. It was so unexpected from a company she served for twenty long years of her life and where she sacrificed many a pleasures in order to invest herself totally in her work. But it was clear that hard work and commitment were dismissed by the new team in management. She was merely another cog in the machine. She could still find another job if she left but she would not lose heart so easily. She wanted to shout out at their faces that it was against the laws of the country to treat her the way they did but she knew her new boss would not appreciate and perhaps make a hell of her life. Yet she mustered all her courage and prepared a long and legally correct letter but the moment she decided to email it to the human resource department, her laptop went blank and started an interminable configuration! She never sent the email. Another blockage or sign? It was hard for her to figure out. Karma seemed all set against her! She cried and felt lonely as never before. To cut out the all-consuming stress from her life, the young woman decided to stop trying for a while. She felt she was living in a bubble thinking day and night of all her options, of her finance, of her choices and she felt sick deep down that her life no longer belonged to her. Rather she was a mere puppet in her employers’ hands. People she had thought to be her friends were simply coworkers and it was entirely her fault if she believed of finding friends or considerate colleagues in her workplace. The following morning, feeling drained out, she left for a long walk in the nearby park. She listened to her inner voice and tried to comprehend what was happening to her and the reasons behind it all. She felt serene as she sat and listened to the rustling of the leaves and some distant birds chirping. Nature seemed to absorb all her pains and distress. Ara also felt refreshed and energized and walked back home and prepared herself a large and generous breakfast. It was days since she had had a decent meal. Besides, she took the day off and cleaned her two room apartment thoroughly. After taking a bath, it was as if she had taken a rebirth. She experienced so much freshness and vigour. The connection felt in the park stayed with her as she went on with her house chores. Later as Ara dozed off on her sofa bed, she prayed the Universe with all her might to send her a sign as to what lay ahead for her. She sensed she was ready to let go and accept her fate because she was too disgusted to fight any more. It was perhaps better finally to leave. When she woke up it was 04:44 on her mobile. She took it and immediately scrolled her contact list and smiled. She knew exactly what her next step would be. During a residential work seminar and a chance meeting a couple of years back, she had come across one of the leading directors in another major branch. That elderly lady had expressed her admiration for Ara’s dedication towards the company. They had shared a great deal together during that week end going for swims and other sports events organized by the company in a spirit of team building. The director’s parting words had been to contact her anytime should she need it. But Ara never did because there was no need of that until now. She left a message to her praying with all her soul that she would call back and she did later on that same day. Lady Luck took on her to inquire and a few days later the matter was cleared up in Ara’s favour! Ara was dumbfounded! How could it be possible that a chance meeting a couple of years back solve a burning issue that was threatening to capsize her life? How was it possible that she woke up thinking of that director? How did her brain made all that connection and came up with exactly what she needed? It was so surreal, so bizarre that she would never be able to explain it to herself! How could she ever explain that to someone else? She felt the Universe did indeed send her a sign at a moment she had tried everything and everyone she knew could help. It was a most incredible occurrence and it happened after she had time to find out some bitter truths about her colleagues’ sincerity towards her. It was as if that incident occurred with a purpose. That of awakening her to the people in her life. Or was it to awaken her to other truths about Existence? Her own dilemma appeared a calculated divine design. Ara had the feeling she was not alone and there was a power somewhere and she could connect to that source to have her prayers answered.