Alex had long lived with the idea that something had to change. He spends his whole life as a squirrel in a wheel, but at the same time he spins in one place. He got a job as an assistant manager when he was twenty and worked all his life in the same position. He was also burnt out and didn’t have time for work.
He decided to return to his hometown. In the capital he would never be able to buy an apartment and in his small town he bought a one-room apartment so he would not have to live with his parents again. He got a job as a math and physics tutor, and he began spending more time on his hobbies, taking walks in the fresh air. His salary was less, but it was enough to live on, and working with children really lifted his spirits. He felt happy again, and people like that always attracted others, so he met Anna. She was a teacher, too, but of English, too, and once aspired to go somewhere far away, maybe abroad, but in the end she found nothing calmer and better than her native city. On the background of common interests and topics, they started dating and did not procrastinate with the wedding.
When they were both renovating Alex’s apartment, his old boss called him. The position of department head had become vacant.
– The pay is good, but no one wants to take it, because there is a lot of work, and everyone has families, children, and they have no time. Do you want to try?
Alex had once dreamed of a promotion, a big salary and all that, but now he suddenly realized that his priorities have changed dramatically.
– No, thanks. I have a family, too, and I moved away.
– Aren’t you going back to the city?
He hesitated for at least a second to answer:
– No, I’m not. I’m doing just fine here.
