My name is Nikolai Baranski and I often ponder what profession I will take in life. In my honest opinion, a true man’s worth is when he applies himself to the job that he favors and does not succumb to misery. As it came the beginning of 2020, I felt my prospects of securing a job in the field of history were growing. Unfortunately, my dream of wanting to become someone important never bore much fruit. In March of 2020, everything changed as an unknown disease flooded the outskirts of Pennsylvania. It caused many to live in needless fear. It was later decided by state officials to wear masks and practice social distancing in the hopes of containing the disease. As one year passed, the world finally had several vaccines, but the virus ever lingers into the minds of all.
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When I had my close encounter in February of 2021, I wondered if someone in the heavens was looking out for me. Though I believed this to be a possible dream, there were several questions that triggered my curiosity.
“Who were these people?” I thought. “Why was I chosen, what did they shoot me with, and who was that woman?”
“Nikolai, report to front end.”
As I stopped thinking to myself, I looked to my left and saw my boss staring at me. He had a black vest and denim jeans with a haircut that corresponded to the current culture. On his shirt, his nametag read “Bill: Assistant Superintendent for the Grouch.”
“Sure thing, Bill,” I replied as I went back to my cashier post.
In my lifetime in Pottstown, the Grouch was a retail store that sold not just decent groceries, but appliances and other essentials. After being in the company for five years, I often pondered if the store would ever improve their stock. Unfortunately, it never happened, which caused several customers to angrily protest the latest products that the Grouch sold.
By the time my shift concluded at 10 p.m., I turned off my station, punched out and left the store in a mixed mood. Just as I was about to head out, I accidently bumped into a woman who dropped her essentials on the ground. They were in a brown bag, and the items littered were simple grocery products.
“My apologies, miss. Let me get these groceries for you,” I promptly said to the woman.
Luckily, the grocery products were not leaking or damaged. As I reached down and put them back in the brown bag, the woman touched my hand, causing me to look at her. She had brown eyes and long brown hair that extended to her shoulders. In addition, her attire was very traditional.
“Could she be the actual woman in my dreams?” I thought after I gave her back the groceries.
Before I could ask her, she said, “I know you, Nikolai, and we are watching you.”
Nicholas Bartelmo is a fourth-year student majoring in history. NB790429@wcupa.edu