They were talking about the space between us all and the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion...

Brick felt his focus slipping again as he tried balancing his elbow on the armrest, only to have it shift down, away from him. He felt a sharp surge in his chest, like something was trying to pierce it from the inside out. Gripping his left arm close to the firm muscle tissue below his left shoulder. The color drained from his sight for a moment before pouring back.

"Brick Mann. Brick Mann?"

The voice belonged to the ever vigilant secretary that kept the office running tight. She had her hair tied back tight, so as to keep her locks from tearing the world apart.

"Yeah?" Brick asked as he tried to feign normalcy.

 "The boss would like to see you in his office."

"Okay," with slow, careful steps, Brick put his never ending list of promos to rest while he marched down to the opposite end of the room. The pain still lingered inside him and yet it was outside of his consciousness as well. It was as if the whole room were a massive migraine.

Turning the knob, Brick entered the small corner office that distinguished the employer from the employee. An empty symbol of power that was nonetheless  statement of hierarchy and status quo.

The boss, a larger than life presence without so much as a whiff of vulnerability, sat waiting with the patience of the Himalayas. His unbreakable posture and titanium eyes were no joke (not that anyone would joke about the boss.)

"Brick," he says in a bass whisper. "Sit down."

Feeling to drained to stand, brick was only happy to oblige. His mind, feeling squeezed like a citrus fruit on a summer day, was pressured to discover the reason for the impromptu meeting.

"Those promos will be ready by the end of the day."

"Oh, well that's good to hear." The boss was pensive and in no mood for filler chitchat. "Brick..."

"Yes, sir?"

"Are you happy?"

"Excuse me?"

"I was under the impression that you were getting accustomed to the language."

"Oh, I am."

"Then let me rephrase. Are you happy working here?"

"I guess so, yes."

"You guess?"

"Happiness is an elusive emotion, at least that's how I see it."

"I see. Let me try to explain myself then. I don't know how it was on the other side (he points at the door next to the entrance  to his office which leads to another space entirely, one that brick is all too familiar with, despite the freshness of his current occupation). "The only way that we can get you to enjoy your stay with this company is for you to stop thinking of yourself as a separate unit in this space, building a wall against this reality, and embrace the fact that nobody can change you, except you.."

"I..."

"Can't you see that you're one of them? Until you accept the group with Slate and the rest, you'll never grasp the truth..."

"I wish that I could but..."

"Those buts are stopping you. Everything you need, you already have. Within and without you. The time will come when you'll see it. I know it shall."

Brick just kept staring outside, but all he saw was another soul being dragged toward a large shining tower in the distance, only to be shattered into infinite shards of light.

"I have been here before, but I wasn't myself."

"You have to ask yourself, what's more important: to gain the world or lose the soul?"

"What a choice..."

"Life will flow on, within you or without you."