A Short Story, Creative Essay Example

Max and the pursuit of a dream

‘Love is a powerful thing, but where should it apply?’ it is a question Max has pondered many a time sitting outside his father’s house. At the age of 23, Max felt that he was destined to be somebody in the world. Having attained a Master’s degree in Business management, he grew weary of the fact that he was only wasting his days living with his parents, while his life amounted to nothing and his dreams seemed to swell in his mind with each passing day.

He wondered how life would be in the big city, the farm he inhabited seemed to be fairly too ordinary for him, and the thought of applying himself as a farmer to take after his father seemed to be a thought that would poison his intelligence rather than develop him into a responsible man. Then it dawned on him, ‘in business, entrepreneurs take risks.’ He recalled a lesson he learned in university on his way to getting his masters degree, his prized possession. He was the cream of the crop during his time at the university, and this fact served to motivate him to conclude he was destined to be more than a farmer.

The time came when he sat down his parents and illustrated that he needed to get into the big city and make something of himself. A tear from his mother and a sense of pride from his father was the memory he had as he began his departure to the big city. ‘They probably support me.’ He mumbled to himself as he began his journey to the big city. On his arrival, his face light up as the tall buildings looked down on him, the lights seemed to be brighter than the sun, and the quiet and tranquil nature of the farm was replaced with the noise of traffic jams and people on the phone trying to make a deal here and there.

A sign read ‘nothing comes easy, it’s all about the hard work.’ it was a reminder of the challenge that faced him in the big city, but somehow to Max; he felt he was where he belonged. As the last person to get off the bus, the bus driver looked at him and with great pessimism told Max ‘Good luck!’ max responded with a grin and told him ‘Thank you, have a nice day.’ A whiff of the polluted city air, and Max knew that he was in the big city, a far cry from the farm fresh air.

Days came and went, Max had began work at a café, as he understood that he had to start at the bottom to make it to the top, advice he learnt at school and from his mentor, his father. The pay was enough to pay his bills and feed him on a monthly basis. It was not much, but the hunger for success drove Max on, all he needed was to keep the dream alive. He had grown into a well-liked individual in the café, the manager had come to change his opinion of Max, and even managed to give him a bonus from time to time, which served more to keep him at the café rather than to make him happy; such was the potential that Max exhibited at the café.

A man walked in one day, nothing special about him, but he would be the man that would propel Max to new heights. ‘What’s good on the menu?’ he asked, ‘That would depend on your budget sir.’ Max replied. Amused at the response the man responded ‘I am looking for the cheapest meal for the most value.’ Max smiled and then revealed a solution, ‘how about you have the toast, with two scrambled eggs, with a glass of juice and an apple on your way out, the mal will be under fifty dollars but will be quite filling.’ The man replied, ‘And how would you know this?’ ‘Based on my income, it would be what I would order.’ Impressed by the response, the man ordered the same meal. True to his word, the man concurred with Max on the level of satisfaction for the price. ‘My name is Jeffery.’ He stated when paying for the meal, ‘I am Max, thank you for coming and have a nice day. ‘Jeffery smiled and left the café.

A week later, Jeffery had become a regular customer at the café. He took the time out to buy Max lunch and even pay for the time he spent talking to Max when he was not working. The day had finally come; it was the day that everything would change. Jeffery looked at Max, amazed at his level of intellect he asked him ‘Have you ever thought of work outside the café?’ ‘Yes, I always do, I want to venture into the field of management as it is a passion of mine since I can remember.’ Jeffery smiled and stated that he had a job for Max, and it was based on the field of management for his soda company. His (Max) face light up like the first day in the city and accepted his offer. The café manager was reluctant to let Max go, but he understood that Max was meant for greater things; his only request was that Max never forgets the café. Max smiled and responded ‘after all you have done for me, it would be impossible to forget.’

Life in management was the best feeling for Max, everything fell into place, he knew what he had to do, and when to do it. He was an immediate success at the company, increasing the company profits by over 15%. Jeffery did not just get Max to improve the company profits, but in him he saw his successor in waiting as Max reminded him of himself in his younger days. Max, true to his word never forgot the café he worked in, as he supplied them with free soda and he always had lunch at the café. After 6 years of being marketing manager, the inevitable happened; Max became the owner of the soda company, succeeding Jeffery. On revealing the news to his parents, all he got was the same tear from his mother, and a satisfaction from his father, which served to illustrate dreams do come true.