Voice equilibrium
I withdrew into a shell. I did no work because there was none. I ignored emails that required responses. I stopped smiling and talking to colleagues. I took days off […]
Finale grotesque
The last standing man in HQ, Mr. Yamada, was very enthusiastic about “improving” the overseas operations and considered me one of his disciples to execute his plans. He was young […]
Venom to venom
I was fighting a lone battle. I was allowed no more attempts to prove my worth to my colleagues, most of whom were polite and left me alone. But only […]
Plan B
I don’t remember how the breakdown unfolded. I believe I called Stuart and told him about the call and everything that happened since my relocation was agreed upon. I might […]
The call
I told Stuart I didn’t want to give up Germany yet and wanted to give myself another couple of years to achieve something. Stuart said it was fine. Summer was […]
The promise
Stuart moved into his new flat by the end of summer. He was in no haste to furnish it because he was very particular about how he wanted his new […]
Weight of debt
Stuart started viewing flats in the same neighborhood he had lived in since university. He invited me to the second viewing once he narrowed it down to a few. The […]
Property ladder myth
In early summer, Stuart told me he would purchase a flat. He had been talking about it before, but I didn’t realize he was that serious. I shuddered—the housing market […]
Accent politics – part 2
I didn’t fully grasp how political accents could be until much later. In a novel Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian woman who returned from […]
Accent politics – part 1
Since I arrived in Europe, especially as I started seeing Stuart, I became increasingly conscious of my accented English. Because of a stint in California, my accent was tinged with […]