A Semi-sweet Ending

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     As his shaky finger moved unsurely toward the ENTER key on his laptop he closed his eyes. Then with a shallow but intentional certainty he pressed it. This will relieve my suffering. This will release the world from the burden of my existence. The next few moments were filled with a swell of chaos and noise eventually subsiding to reveal his lifeless body, completely unnoticed, lying just in front of the trash-strewn table. This is how he had always figured he would go, and if he were here to see how well his plan had worked he would have been pleased.

     The plan was hatched months earlier after someone had poisoned his little puppy dog, removing the only bit of joy in his life. Now, the only question was how to move himself into the next stage of existence. "To launch oneself wholly into the spiritual realm from the physical would most appropriately be achieved by a wholly physical act of undisciplined lust for something in this material world", he thought.

    

Rewind to an hour ago as Harold, who is ostensibly ill today, is in the break room of the huge Caterpiller manufacturing facility in Illinois where he has worked for years. He is arranging the room to make retreat impossible once the flow of people has begun. With a company wide email invitation completed now and only the SEND command left to accomplish he takes a box from the large plastic bag and sets it on the table just behind him. Now, all that is left is to send the notice of the free donuts in the break room.