Cory

Cory stared out at the blankness of his future. A whole range of emotions flew through him like bad chili, leaving him with an emptiness in the pit of his stomach. Blankly, he began packing up the broken pieces of his life, the whole time trying to think and not think, simultaneously.

    After twenty years in the company, he had given them everything, his life, his soul. In return he was unceremoniously thrown out along with hundreds of his co-workers. They told him not to take it personally, that it was not his fault. The economy is just bad; we will give you a call when things pick up again. We really appreciate how much you have given to this company, but we have no choice. Cory had nodded unconsciously throughout the ordeal, his head reeling with the consequences of these actions. There was no reason to yell or cry, there was nothing he could do. Never had he felt so emasculated. Like some autonomous being he had entered his car and drove home. It will be okay, he whispered to himself as he drove. The words meant nothing.
   

There were no job offers, even with his impressive resume. His years of hard work and dedication meant nothing. The knowledge he had acquired over the years was meaningless, in a field overflowing with recently fired workers. He managed to find a job. It was nothing like what he used to have as he had settled on the first job that was willing to take him. The pay was lousy as were the hours. Plodding on his computer screen at work Cory desperately tried to find a way out. When he returned home his wife would complain about his hours, about their lack of funds, about everything.  

Cory began spending his days across from his computer screen fervently adding numbers silently praying that this time he would realize some sort of mistake. Of course, he had not, it all added up; they had no money to pay all of their bills. On his shoulders he could feel the weight of his problems, his wife's complaints, his children's wants and needs. They would have to sell the house they would have to move to a smaller place. Maybe he could get another job. There was no easy answer.

Reminiscing, he thought of his old job, his old life, and his old dreams now being squashed by the monotony of his daily job. Useless, was a word he began to use when describing himself. Constantly he was searching for a better opportunity never finding one.

His boss laughed at him when he asked for a raise. There was no way out, there was nowhere to run, unless.

The plan was simple and almost perfect. Well, perfect for his family, less perfect for him. But, he was dead inside anyway, crushed by his inability to be a man, to provide. His life insurance with Colorado National was worth a lot of money and all he had to do, was make it look like an accident. The outcome was clear, his family would be provided for, and his shame would disappear.

The pain was excruciating but he managed to smile as he died, he had done it. As the man he had provided for his family, they would be fine, it would all be okay.

"In the news today a local man was hit by a garbage truck on his way home from work. EMT's arrived at the scene but were unable to save the man before he died."

"In other news another insurance Company, this time Colorado National has been forced to shut down due to the failing economy. Thousands of clients were left with nothing after bankruptcy was declared."