“Let's see, clean the toilet …”

“Check”

“What's next?”

“Oh... Right, I have to deliver Mr. Ramirez's letter to the post office.”

Ahh... Sorry about that, I was just talking to myself. Making a to-do list helps me cope with work. Anyway, where are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself yet.

The name's Ina. I'm 36 years old, a single mom and I'm what people call a "workaholic". I have a daughter and her name is Ella. I got her name from my favorite movie. She's now 17 years old and is about to start college so I'm working as hard as I can to support her education.

I'm currently working in a marketing company selling kid's toys as an assistant for 16 years. I know, my work isn't even a profession, but what choice do I have? I never finished my studies because I got pregnant when I was a teenager. The guy responsible for it ran away and as soon as my parents discovered that I was pregnant, they disowned me. I had no choice but to raise my daughter alone.

I'm pretty thankful to this company though, for hiring someone like me who hasn't even finished college. That's why I'm working as hard as I can to show my gratitude to this company and to make sure my daughter would never experience the same hardships as I did. I want her to live the life I never had. Have her finish her studies and have a loving family. I will do anything, even if it means scrubbing the toilet until I die.

Well, that's pretty much it, nothing special at all.

After I delivered the letter, I came back to the company to continue my work. While holding my to-do list and checking my next task, Johnny approached and greeted me with a smile on his face.

“Good morning Ms. Ina”

“Good morning Johnny,” I replied while putting my to-do list back in my pocket.

Johnny is a new employee here in the company I'm working at, roughly 6 months, I think? He told me he applied here because he had stopped going to college. His parents can't afford his tuition fees anymore so he was forced to work instead. His work mainly consists of deliveries and carrying loads. It's fitting work for a young and passionate man.

As soon as we finished greeting each other, I asked him a question with an astonished look on my face.

“Why are you here? I thought you were out delivering.“

“Ohh… About that, I finished delivering early,” he replied excitedly.

“A-actually, I finished as soon as possible so that I can grab lunch with you,” he added.

“Is that so? I'm sorry but I can’t right now, I still have lots of work to do, I answered him directly to the point.“

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“then let me he–”

“N-no! I mean you don't have to, I can handle it on my own. You know how Mr. Ramirez is when it comes to working right? He wants his employees to focus solely on the task given to them, if he sees you helping me then both of us will be in trouble.”

“I-I see,” he replied with a disappointed look on his face.

“Ugh- I feel bad, he looks so down. I should at least cheer him up.”

“Don't worry, we can still do it next time.”

“Y-yeah, you're right. See you later Ms. Ina.”

“See you,” I responded.

Look, I interrupted him because I knew he was going to offer me help. It's not that I'm scared of Mr. Ramirez getting angry at us, It's just that being alone with him is too awkward! I'm not that dumb, it's not that I'm boasting or anything but it's pretty obvious he likes me.

I know that he's kind and passionate but I'm already in my 30s. He's just 3 years older than my daughter! I don't have time to entertain anyone, I'm already too busy with my work and I want to avoid drama as much as possible. You don't know how fast gossip spread around this company.

As soon as Johnny left, I continued doing my task. I'm already behind schedule so I'll continue doing it even during my break.

The next task that I have to do was check the products stored in the warehouse. My job is to double-check it inside and make sure it's properly stored and that no toys are lying around to avoid accidents.

As I came inside the warehouse, I was astounded by how wide it was and how much work I had to finish just for this day. There's like a total of 20 metal shelves in here, each containing boxes full of products. The metal shelves are 4 times my height so I have to use a ladder just to check the top part. It's actually pretty scary here, and kind of a drag really. But you know, I have to do this, for my daughter's future.

Speaking of...

“I wonder what she's doing at school today?”

I felt happy remembering how determined my daughter is in her studies. I always come to school during events to put medals on her neck. Thinking of her gives me the extra push I needed to keep going.

I sighed in satisfaction as I finished doing my task.

“Thank goodness I'm done, it feels like I've been in here forever.”

“Let me see…”

“Oh, it's already 4:00 pm?!? I can't believe it's already this late.”

As I checked the time on my phone, my stomach started growling and my body started aching.

“Ugh… Maybe I should've eaten and rested during lunch break. But also, I'm trying to earn as much money as possible, I'm even thinking of working overtime.”

“Maybe I should rest for a while, it's not like someone's gonna see me resting during my work right?”

I sat in the corner, and when I closed my eyes, I fell asleep. This is the first time I felt so peaceful. I don't have to think about work or anything at all. It's like all the fatigue that built up in my body is fading away.

It's only been a minute since I started resting but then, suddenly, something started moving. The floor, the walls, it's all moving and it's very powerful!

“It… It's an earthquake!”

I was asleep but I woke up as soon as the earthquake started, it was so scary! It took a while but the earthquake calmed down until it finally stopped.

“Oh, thank goodness, it's finally over. Jesus, that was super scary! I'm glad nothing bad happened. I have to get out of here as soon as possible, there's still an aftershock. I have to…”

“Uh–”

“Huh? Wait…”

“I can't move my body! I-I can't shout either!”

“What is happening?!? “

Now that I think about it, maybe it's because I've never eaten anything, and that I didn't have enough rest.

“But, why now?!? I have to get out of here!”

“Someone…”

“Someone hel–”

I wanted to shout and ask for help. I was trying to, but my body just isn't responding to me. That's when I suddenly heard something. A metal creaking, like a screw ready to let loose. That's when I realized I'm in trouble.

“Earthquake? Warehouse?!?”

I just couldn't think anymore. I started panicking and my body still isn't moving. The noise is getting louder and louder, until all of it. The boxes, the metal bars, all those heavy things fell over me.

…

Damn it… Damn it all!

I had so much time to get out, if only I ate and rested…

Just like that...

I died.