Jeff ran into Tom’s office in a frenzy, startling Tom.
“Jeff, what’s wrong?”
“My imagination…She’s gone!”
“What the hell are you talking about?” asked Tom.
“My imagination! She’s no longer there! I’ve been trying to find Her in my mind, but I can’t! It’s like She’s been kidnapped, or She ran away!”
“Jeff, calm down, take a deep breath.”
Jeff sat down and took in a long deep breath. Tom eyed him curiously. His first thought was that Jeff had finally lost it and he should try to fix him, but then he decided to try something different. He was going to embrace Jeff’s idea and see if he would help lead him out of the darkness.
“So, when was the last time you remember being with your imagination?” Tom asked.
Jeff closed his eyes and tried to remember the last time he had used his imagination. He went back through his memory to the day before, then back a week, then a month. Oh fuck, how long had it been? Tom sat patiently, waiting on Jeff to respond.
“It’s been over a month,” Jeff replied.
“Over a month now,” Tom repeated. “And you’re just now realizing She’s gone?”
“I know! I’ve been so wrapped up in this project, in this deadline, it’s all I’ve been doing for the past several months.” Jeff looked at Tom with a concerned expression on his face.
“So, how did you come to realize that She’s gone?” Tom asked.
“I was sitting at my kitchen table a few days ago, thinking about all the time I’ve been spending on this project and how much time had gone by since I spent any time writing. So, I decided to take some time and write. I sat at my kitchen table for over 3 hours, and NOTHING came to mind. NOTHING! I tried again the next day, and then the next, and the next. Still, NOTHING.”
“Interesting,” said Tom.
“What should I do?” asked Jeff. “I need to find Her, I miss Her!”
Tom studied Jeff’s facial expressions. “Well, Jeff, you’re in luck.”
“I am?” asked Jeff with a quizzical look on his face. “Why’s that?”
“Because I know where She is,” said Tom.
“Really?”
“Yup!” replied Tom. “You see, why you’ve been busy working on this project, I snuck over and kidnapped Her.”
“You what?” asked Tom, rising from his chair.
“You heard me. You’ve been so consumed with this project and She was getting so lonely. She reached out to me. She needed attention. I was apprehensive at first, but She wouldn’t stop begging for help. So, I decided, fuck it, if you weren’t going to pay any attention to her, then I would.”
“At first, we had a lot of fun together. She was so excited to have my full attention. Then, She started missing you. She wanted to go back, but I wouldn’t let her. I told her, ‘why would you wanna go back? He doesn’t give you the attention you deserve. He doesn’t even realize you’re gone.’
“‘But, he needs me.’ She tried to convince me. But I wasn’t having any of it, so I tied Her up and waited for you to come find Her. And here you are, exactly 48 days later. Jesus Jeff!”
“You son-of-a-bitch!” Jeff glared at Tom.
“You want her back? Then get that fucking project done and she’s all yours!”