Challenge #04564-L180: To Stop the Smouldering

They say he who works hard will be wealthy. In the Alliance, your effort is actually rewarded. You're a hard worker, you deserve this apartment, and all that you have. Please do not deny yourself simply because of what you were so cruelly told in your past. -- Anon Guest

Where I grew up, you had to earn air, and pay back the debt you accrued when you were too young to work. You had to earn enough air to sleep, the food on your plate, and any medical help you couldn't live without.

Death... you got for free.

They said that if you worked hard enough, you could get ahead. Work your way up the pyramid. Achieve the dream and pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Most of the time, I couldn't even afford boots.

So working myself to the breakdown point is a habit. A bad habit. I believed my whole life that work is life. Getting used to the Alliance way of things is... it's a steep learning curve.

That's why I'm applying for a Keeper. A Minder. Nursemaid. I don't know what you call it but... someone to stop me doing the bad habits. Make me aware of when I'm starting so I can stop. Someone or something that's not going to divert me into a different bad habit, you know?

I'm able to recognise I need help. What I'm having trouble with is the terror about how much I'm going to owe because of this request.

I'm... still... trying to fully grasp the concept of "public services".

[Photo by Lucas Santos on Unsplash]

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