Break, away

‘‘When was the last time I was sitting in a park in broad daylight?

No wait, this is not just any park; this one is in Melbourne, a city that I have always wanted to visit.’’

She smiles to herself as she pulls out her laptop. There is still work to be done of course, but the fact that she is not stuck in a cubbyhole, brought a sense of contentment.

She never understood how creativity can flow in such contained spaces.

But as this is the case for most offices in Taipei, and the fact that she works at her favourite museum, the size of her office is not exactly her main concern.

‘‘This is what I have wanted to do since university, so I can’t really complain, can I?’’

But what is up with that heavy burden on her shoulders, that tight knot in her stomach? And what happened to her appetite?

Being able to take a break and breathe after working day and night for the past 25 days is a true relief. It has finally given her a chance to reflect.

Marketing for exhibitions gives her a real thrill. She loves coming up with new ideas on how to promote the art works in order to close the distance between artists and viewers. It is most rewarding to see how everything on paper comes to life.

As she logs in to her email account though, her inbox reminds her instantly, why she is here sitting on a bench in the park during weekdays, and why she is able to take leave whilst others are working. For the simple reason, next Friday will be her last day.

Bombarded with assignments and requests from her boss, her colleagues, her clients, she suddenly realized the reason behind her fatigue, and why it has accumulated to this extent — because she always says ‘‘yes’’ to others and ‘‘no’’ to herself.

The fatigue has taken its toll, and when she has the chance to advance her training in marketing and languages, she leapt at the opportunity.

‘This has to stop. Why don’t I just let auto-reply explain why I am unable to respond? I have travelled all this way to rejuvenate, am I just going to keep on doing what I do when I am at work?’ She smiled to herself again, this time out of ridicule.

As she closes her computer, a red leaf falls from the tree above and lands on her lap.

There is a beginning and an end to all things, however beautiful it is.