The Weight of Tomorrow
Six Months Earlier...
The alarm rang at exactly six o'clock.
Brian didn't need it.
He had already been awake for almost an hour, staring at the ceiling of his tiny one-room house.
The rain that had fallen during the night had found its way through another hole in the iron-sheet roof. A plastic basin sat in one corner, half-full of brownish water that dripped steadily from the ceiling.
Drip...
Drip...
Drip...
Brian sighed.
"One day," he whispered to himself, "I'll laugh about this."
He wasn't sure whether he believed his own words.
He reached for his phone.
No missed calls.
No interview invitations.
No messages that would change his life.
Instead, the first thing he saw was another rejection email.
*"Dear Applicant,
Thank you for your interest in joining our company. After careful consideration, we regret to inform you..."*
He didn't read the rest.
He had memorized those words months ago.
Delete.
Another rejection.
Delete.
Another rejection.
Delete.
It had become a routine.
Three years earlier, when he graduated, everyone had celebrated.
His mother had slaughtered her biggest chicken.
Neighbors came to congratulate him.
"A university graduate!" they proudly said.
"Your family has a bright future now."
Brian had believed them.
He believed he would get a good job.
He believed he would move his mother into a better house.
He believed his younger sister would never struggle to pay school fees.
Life, however, had different plans.
A loud knock interrupted his thoughts.
"Brian!"
It was his landlord.
"You promised me I'd get the rent today."
Brian swallowed.
"I know, mzee. I'm still looking for it."
The old man folded his arms.
"You've been looking for two months."
"I'll pay."
"With what?"...