The Offer She Turned Down

Marta has a small design studio in her city. Two years ago, she said no to a job in Berlin. Her mother was ill, and her flat was cheap. On a grey Sunday, a message from her old colleague Jonas arrives.

“Come and see us,” Jonas writes. “We are a big team now. We have a new prize!” Marta looks at her phone. She is happy for him, but she is also sad. She thinks, “I am not in that team. Why?”

Marta thinks about the day of the job offer. She was afraid, and she answered the same evening. “I want more time,” she says to her sister on the phone. “And I don’t want to think about it every day.”

Her sister says, “You have your own studio now. That is good. And you can change things today.” Marta is quiet. It is true.

That evening, Marta writes to Jonas: “Congratulations! Do you need people for freelance work?” Jonas answers in five minutes: “Send me your work.”

Marta feels better. She opens a new document and begins her message.