Unforeseeable Futures

He’d sacrificed everything: anniversaries, holidays, births, deaths, graduations. Nothing was as important as pursuit of the almighty dollar. He’d told himself that this was the way to care-take. This was his contribution.

He’d made sure that his assets were always liquid, flowing from one Market investment to another. Who knew that paper value was risky? Had it all felt so intangible at the time?

He sat, staring, shoulders slumped, engulfed in the awkward silence around the rarely used kitchen table. Strangers stared back. The future of his family lay, insolvent, on the surface of the pink slip – starkly staring back.