Now What?

I’m all the way at the very top of the ladder, now what? I’m supposed to be working up here, pulling merchandise to restock the sales floor. And yet, I could, I don’t know, fall off the ladder? I didn’t say jump, I said fall. Accidents happen all the time at various jobs. It is awfully high up here, and a fall would fix everything.

Except what it wouldn't fix. It wouldn’t fix the mess left behind, the mess my coworkers would find, call the authorities about, that mess the fall would create. Do I really want to create that kind of mess? Not like it would be my mess, but still, I’m not sure I want to leave that kind of a mess behind.

I gather up the items and slowly, painfully, descend the ladder a few rungs. Now what? Maybe, a few more steps, then a few more, until I am on the final rung and then the ground. Take a deep breath, let it out, but now what? I guess I could finish this task, put the items on the sales floor, then move on to the rest of my shift, but then what?

I don’t need to think too far ahead, just one step at a time. Get this task done, and then the next one, and before I know it, I will have survived an entire day. And after that, I may just make it through the week.

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