Ending
When Mr. N called me into a meeting room and told me he would cut the contract with me, I felt the weight lifted off my back. Mr. N’s face showed a sign of irritation, like when a child couldn’t get what he wanted but pretended he didn’t care. Me, I cared less and was glad to go, though it was just earlier than planned and not voluntary. “Alright.” I said. “You won’t have a place back in Japan. No one wants you,” he said, as though he was carefully choosing a card one by one until he could make me cry. “That’s alright,” I said lightly, as I had no intention to return to HQ but didn’t believe Mr. N that no one wanted me. They would have wanted me but wouldn’t be able to if Mr. N wielded his power to stop it. Mr. N continued to tell me the contract will end at the end of December, and if I wanted to look for a job in Germany, they’d introduce agents, but the next employer had to sponsor the visa. Seeing he had finished with his cards, I pulled out mine. “No thanks, I will leave Germany. Instead, I would like the financial compensation and the moving cost to be paid by the company.” He looked half disappointed he couldn’t see me cry but half relieved that didn’t happen. “…Tha..that’s fine,” he agreed. “Ok.” “Ok.”
Stepping out of the meeting room, I thought I’d skip straight out of the office. The ordeal was over! It was a moment of relief like a patch of the downward slope during a strenuous hike. However, the next uphill climb was just around the corner, and I didn’t know how steep it would be.