The Magician of the Last Minute

Within the company, he was known as the "Magician of the Last Minute."

He always managed to get things done at the very last second.

To those around him, his decision-making always seemed slow.

"Isn't it getting dangerous if we don't decide now?"

Even when told that, he wouldn't budge.

And then, he would act at the very last moment.

In the end, for some reason, he always made it in time.

His sales budget was also almost 100.0% every term.

"Cutting it close again, I see."

Every time he was told that, he would look a little dissatisfied.

"I made it in time, didn't I?"

That was their usual exchange.

Even as the faces around him changed, his way of working never did.

He wouldn't move until the last minute, and then he would make it in time.

The nickname "Magician of the Last Minute" had also become completely established over time.

And so, he worked for decades just like that.

……

Even for him, a day finally arrived when his "last-minute magic" would no longer work.

It was the day of his retirement.

His final day at the office.

The handover is complete.

The desk is cleared.

I have also finished all the work I had left behind.

I look at the clock.

3:30 PM.

Two hours left until the end of the workday.

He was a little troubled.

This was the first time something like this had happened.

……

His "last-minute magic" was not a habit of procrastination.

If waiting provides more information for a decision, he doesn't decide until the very last moment.

It is scarier to decide something before you know what you would know if you waited.

Instead, he starts the preparations he can make early.

He organizes the situation, increases his options, and prepares a backup plan for when things don't go well.

He controls what he can control first.

He leaves only the things that still cannot be predicted for the very end.

And then, he decides at the moment when he can wait no longer.

That was his "last minute."

……

However, this day was his final day at work.

There are no projects for next week.

There is no budget for next month.

There is no next quarter either.

As a company employee, there is no more work left to decide on beyond this point.

There was nothing left worth waiting for.

“...It ended too quickly.”

As he found himself unusually idle, one of the employees approached him.

“Could I have a moment of your time before the end?”

“What is it?”

“You remember when I was about to quit the company, don't you?”

“I do.”

“You noticed right before I handed my resignation to the department manager and stopped me.”

He thought for a moment.

“It would have been dangerous if I had been five minutes later.”

“It really was down to the wire.”

“But you made it in time, didn't you?”

The two of them laughed.

After a while, another employee came over.

“You always used to remind me on the day of the expense report deadline, didn't you?”

“No, that was every month.”

“Was it every month? Still, I was so busy back then and often missed processing them, so you really helped me out.”

Another person arrived.

This time, it was the department manager.

"Do you remember that major project?"

"I have many projects, you know."

"The one where everyone was ready to move forward, but you were the only one who noticed a fundamental flaw in the proposal."

"Ah, I remember that one."

"And you didn't hesitate to stop it. If it had been half a day later, it would have been a disaster."

He smiled.

"Well, there was still half a day left."

The manager chuckled slightly.

"Back then... I thought you were just a slow decision-maker."

"That's harsh."

"But after a while, everyone understood. You were waiting, weren't you? Watching the situation until the very end."

Another person.

Another person.

A former subordinate.

A colleague from the same year.

An employee from another department.

Even someone I had a long-standing relationship with at a client company showed up.

People who had been saved by him at the very last minute.

Someone who overcame the edge with him.

And someone who occasionally remembers even the most trivial edges.

"The 'Giri Giri Chop' you sang at my wedding reception was amazing."

"That wasn't really a song to sing at a wedding, was it?"

"You stood out more than the bride and groom."

He puffed out his chest a little.

"The reason I barely managed not to get kicked out was probably because my beat was dominating the venue."

"Please reflect on that."

The two of them laughed.

Even after that, the people didn't stop coming.

And then, the last person arrived.

They talked a little about the old days.

About work.

About failures.

About being helped.

Finally, they shook hands.

"Thank you so much for everything."

"Likewise."

That person left the room.

He looked at his watch one last time, out of his usual habit.

5:29:45 PM.

He smiled slightly.

The very last minute was the only thing he hadn't calculated.

The last-minute magician ended his career just as he had lived it: as a last-minute magician.

……

#ShortShort #FlashFiction #ShortStory
#CreativeWriting #LastMinuteMagician #Work #OfficeWorker
#Resignation #DailyLife #WorkStyle

I also have a story about my family's summer that is entered in the "Time with a Drink" contest.
It's a piece I'm a little proud of that has received many likes.
"A Sour Summer" — please check this out as well if you'd like!!