Rage of Angels

 “Another miss of the sales target, and you’ll be shown the door”, the manager barked at him. He just bent his head down and nodded. His eyes were almost brimming, but he didn’t let anyone see those tears.  He walked quietly out post the review meeting, and headed toward the bus station. 

He was one of the very few who didn’t ride a bike. It meant he took longer time to attend to the sales calls. While his colleagues easily made 10 plus calls a day, his numbers barely ever got there. Yet, he had managed to achieve his targets most months, but had failed to reach them in the last couple of months. Others had failed too, but at least they could justify themselves that they had made more calls than him. Hence, he was the target of the manager’s ire. 

He needed the job. Who didn’t, he thought, and smiled sardonically, as he stood at the bus station looking for Route 37 that would take him back to his small hovel that he called home.  The day was getting darker, the bustle was slowly increasing, as officers-goers were making their way back. He wondered if he would find another job soon - something that didn’t involve sales. He wasn’t growing any younger for finding new avenues, he chided himself, despite the qualifications. 

As he waited for his bus, he suddenly noticed a woman absentmindedly moving towards the tail of a bus that was turning. His brain didn’t have time to scream and let her know. He just ran towards her and pulled her away from what could have been a nasty blow if not fatal. The woman was shocked to find herself being held by a stranger, a man at that. He too realised and tried explaining through his own shock, “the bus…you’d be hit…”

He suddenly felt someone hit him hard on his head. He tried to turn around even as he put his hands on the head to block any further blows. More blows followed, even before he could do anything. He lost balance and fell to the ground, and just as he realised someone was using more than hands to hit him, he started losing his consciousness. The last words he heard before he blacked out, “How dare you touch my wife….”