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5 minutes...

He was sitting strangely. Don’t even know if we could call that sitting. He was at his work station. His feet had crept under the desk as far as they could go. His head rested on the top of the chair. His torso made a 45 degree angle and his legs formed an extension to his torso making him almost vertical but slanted. His eyes were shut. If one saw closely there was slight moisture around the eyes. His body was still and he lay there motionless.

James sat at a desk which pretty much overlooked the entire floor. The vision was pretty panoramic. His workstation was right opposite James’. The messenger on James’ laptop was buzzing away. Line after line appeared on it and James looked at them intently. He typed “Sure”. “I will catch up on a call with you next week. Thanks”. He seemed pretty satisfied with the reply he got and looked up from his laptop for the first time in 45 minutes. He saw the still and motionless colleague on the opposite desk. It was unusual. He had never seen him like that before. James could only see him from the neck and above. He could still see his eyes. He saw the dampness and wondered. “Was it his wife? He did mention being overextended. Could it be cash?” He should probably broach this during lunch.

Mr. Dinger was a pretty stern man. He prided himself on running a tight ship, which was his team. He had worked 14 hour days for the last 10 years. His last vacation was 4 years ago. He liked a daily update on all the projects his teams were involved in. Naturally his days were rushed. It wasn’t any different that day either. He was mentally preparing for his next meeting when he passed the workstation of a fully stretched team member. He could only see the back of his head but there was absolutely no mistaking the posture. “My team has enough time for a pre-lunch nap?” he wondered. “I should have Steph check on what he is working on”, he made a mental note.


It was 5 minutes. He didn’t really know if it was 5 minutes but it certainly felt like 5 minutes. The doctor had recommended a 5 minute shut eye. She had also recommended that the neck be rested so that the serum could settle in. That was the only way his dry eyes could be treated. He capped the bottle of eye drops, dabbed his handkerchief on his eyes and switched his laptop back on. 

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