The workload is increasing as years are passing. Irritability is becoming the second name of Neeraj. It has been a decade to this kind of routine. Being an assistant to his boss Mohan is not easy. There are deadlines and efficiency is paramount in such scenarios. Neeraj is an assistant editor and most of the days he has sleepless nights. Some mornings Neeraj just wants to pack everything and leave. He needs money like any other person to make ends meet so he kills this thought and continues working. This masked presence at work is literally taking a toll.

On weekends he prefers sleeping for twelve hours at a stretch. The breakfast is at lunch time. Lunch happens when the world is having their tea or coffee. Dinner is at midnight. There is no booze thankfully. Saturday is like a blur. Phone is on silent mode and it’s on Sunday that he calls back if his mood allows. At noon Neeraj’s day starts with lunch minus breakfast with his parents who live twenty minutes away with his married elder brother Mayu. Mayank owns a restaurant gifted to him last year as dowry thus every day demands his time till it becomes the talk of the town. 

The brothers hardly meet as time does not allow it but they do stay in touch through texts and sometimes calls. This too adds to Neeraj’s frustration. His idol brother Mayank had quit his job of a cashier at a private bank and is still dancing to the tunes of his in-laws. The first child is always very dear so Mayank is always the obvious choice of their parent’s needs and things. Their mother and father have retired and are looking forward to their grandkid who is due this October of 2026. Neeraj stays in a rented two room house for his own peace and space. 

Marriage is very much on the cards but that can be delayed for another 15 years. He is not dating but he has an account on a matrimony site which he hardly checks. Masturbation through porn twice in two months keeps him sane usually. That’s all he can do for himself as most of the week he brings work home and everything else is rushed then. He hates to rush pleasure and now he is falling in a pattern which he has no mood to change. 

Women excite him indeed but he has no time to indulge in them. Being 27 is good but busy schedules simply wreck exciting situations. His dream is to head a publishing house and just to get there a lot is at stake. His mental ability to detach from that dream is becoming harder and harder as days are rolling. He is paid handsomely but promotions happen a bit late at the place of his work. He wants to stick to this reputed firm as international exposure is not out of question. He just has to make the right moves to get there and then the ultimate dream could happen. 

Headaches have been regular for quite some time now. Neeraj wears spectacles, he is younger than Mayank but looks older. His work friends keep to themselves as those occasional rebuttals are more frequent now. His obsession to outshine others by hook or by crook is generating a lot of negativity within him. He may lose his footing and many have fears about it. Genuine ones want Neeraj to achieve his goals but not in the way he is rolling the dice. In meetings he hogs the limelight. Neeraj was competent initially but consciously takes credit for others’ work now. 

After a couple of months a board meeting is due for announcements. Neeraj’s obsession to get what he wants is bringing him closer to insanity. He just can’t see clearly what is right and what is wrong. His termination letter has already been signed as the management is observing all his activities. Home visits are declining, weekend sleep is a no show, interaction with his elder brother is zero. It seems a once decent, endearing and hardworking guy Neeraj Bhardwaj is scripting his own ruin.