It was Valentine's eve. I had stopped by the office that morning by 6.am to pick up the gift box I had forgotten at the office the previous night. When I stepped into the company building, there she was, mopping the corridors. I could hear her singing the song ‘How Great Thou Art’ in her sonorous voice. Her voice was clear and loud for someone who looked so bent and fragile. This was the source of our glistening floors and clean workspaces. This person that people weren't aware of. The cleaner nobody had ever seen. Here she was, singing and cleaning. Cleaning and singing. I passed her by and wished her a Happy Valentine's Day.
“Happy Valentine's Day to you, sir.” She beamed back at me and I felt an inexplicable warmth course through me at that oh-so-lovely smile. I wanted to chat some more with her but I was in a hurry. The gift box was for my wife and I couldn't afford to not be there to surprise her when she woke up. So, I bowed slightly, rushed into my office and picked up the gift box. Then I rushed back out, waved goodbye to her and left the office. That was the last time I ever saw her.
When I came to the office later on in the day. She was no longer there. But as usual, the happiness she derived from her job shone. The floors were glistening, the desks clean and arranged and the waste baskets emptied. Finally, I knew the face behind the cleanliness of the office. I was going to ensure HR gave her a pay raise. I stepped into the office and greeted my employees, wishing them a happy Valentine's day. They greeted me back. There was a sort of joy and cheer that could be felt in the air. I sat at my desk and quickly checked in my pen holder, anticipating if I would see the lemon-scented paper sitting there. For five months now, it had become a norm for all of us at the office to see lemon-scented papers placed on our desks. The lemon-scented paper always contained notes full of concern and care from the writer. The writer had been sort of anonymous, as the only thing she signed under each note was,
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs Mary.
We had all tried finding out who wrote these letters but to no avail. None of my employees bore Mary. So, I think we all settled for just receiving these letters that uplifted our spirits.
When I saw the paper, I smiled. I picked it up and unfolded it carefully. I wondered what contents would be in it.
“Dear Mr CEO,
Happy Valentine's day to you. It has been such a joy working for you. You wouldn't know this because you don't know who I am. Your office is so nice and homely for your employees. I have also heard from people about how much you care deeply for them. It makes me happy to just work in this place that has served as a place of comfort and provision to us, your employees. I saw the picture of your wife that you placed on your desk. She's very pretty. I must stop writing now. I have little time. I hope to write again soon.
Your’s Sincerely,
Mrs Mary.
The letter served to add cheer to my already joyful day. I folded it back into it's neat square and placed it in the drawer where I had stored all the previous letters. I stood up and went poked my head out of my door where my employees were busy at their desks.
“Did all of you receive your letters?” I asked while smiling.
“Yeah.”, “Yes”, “Yup.” They replied. They were all beaming as they said this.
I went back into the office and proceeded with the day’s work. Somehow, I had forgotten all about the elderly cleaner I had met in the morning.
A week passed and neither me nor my employees received the lemon-scented papers again. We didn't think much of it when we didn't see it the day after Valentine. It wasn't like the letters came daily. But, it never exceeded three days. So, when we didn't receive the letter, we sort of felt it's absence in our heart and soul. I could see it in my employees’ faces. Normally, they were a joyful bunch, but their joy was a little bit toned down now.
Of course, they would be that way. Those anonymous letters had affected us deeply. They had cleaned our minds and raised our spirits. They had radiated love and happiness into our office. We all hoped deeply that the letters would come once more.
Two weeks passed but they never came. Most of my employees resigned to fate that maybe, the writer had tired of writing letters to the 12 of us. But I was determined to know the source of the letters and why she stopped writing to us. How? I didn't know. But the mystery dominated a part of my mind.
One day, I was going through the letters again. I read the last one I had received. And something caught my attention and clicked. The writer had made reference to ‘the picture of my wife's that I had placed on my desk a night before Valentine's day. I was always the last to leave the office and nobody had seen the picture of my wife. Not one of my employees had seen it. Though my office door was never locked, it meant someone else could have come back to the office after I had left. But who?? I decided to look through the CCTV footage dating back to Valentine's eve.
I checked the footage but shown clearly, I was the last person to leave. No one had come in after that. What was I missing? Then I decided to check the footage of the morning of Valentine's day. And as I watched it, I realized. I saw her. The elderly singing cleaner with her gray hair that was tied in a bun. I watched her as she mopped the office floor and dusted the chairs and desks. I watched as she sat in the lobby and brought out a worn out book from her tote bag. I watched as she tore out pieces of paper and scribbled notes in it. I watched as she shuffled back into the office and placed the notes individually on our desks. She had been the source of joy, hope and love that had came from the letters.
I rushed out of my office and went to Beth’s desk. She immediately stopped her typing and focused her attention on me.
“You are in charge of HR. Did you hire a cleaner five months back?” I asked.
She took a moment to genuflect then replied in the affirmative. “Yes, I did. Mr Sam had just resigned then, if I remember clearly.”
“Okay, do you have the details of the cleaner?” I inquired.
“No, I don't. Remember my system crashed two weeks back and I lost a lot of files. Most of the employee files were among what got lost.” She said dejectedly.
“You didn't do a backup?”
“I was going to do it. I didn't know it was going to crash. I'm sorry.” Remorse tinged her voice. “What's wrong?” She asked.
“That cleaner you recruited has been the one writing the letters in the lemon-scented paper. I saw her in the morning on Valentine's day for the first time. I didn't really take mind of her but I was thinking of giving her a pay raise for her good work. But I forgot.”
“Ohh, that reminds me. I saw a letter on my desk two weeks ago. Just about the time the lemon-scented papers stopped coming in. The letter was one of resignation from the previous cleaner. The one I recruited five months ago. When I saw the letter, I didn't want to bother you about it. So, I just went ahead to employ another cleaner.”
“Can I see the letter?” I asked. She rummaged in her drawer, then passed it to me. I read through it. It was a simple letter of resignation. There was no reason stated there. Just that she had to go and her time was up. And signed beneath it was, ”your previous cleaner”
“You should have brought it to me immediately, Beth. Ensure you start backing up files henceforth.” I instructed.
I left Beth’s desk and went back to my office. I stared at the lemon-scented letters and I realized that maybe Mrs Mary didn't want to be found. Maybe she was just a stranger sent by God to bring joy and spread love to our office and she had left to do it in another place. Maybe she was just a cleaner who loved writing lovely little notes. We would never know. But her lovely letters would always remain untarnished and cherished in all of our memories.
Curator - GuestVoted through #Ecency.
Thank you.✨
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There are still great people out there just like Mrs. Mary. I hope to have just one close person like her
Yes, there are. I believe you will meet great people like her.
Thank you.✨
You're welcome 🙏🙏