The Quiet Hero Among Us

I was always puzzled by this one coworker – quiet, plain, invisible. We used to joke that her whole life was just her cat and the TV. Then came her last day at work. We said our goodbyes, and the director, with a serious face, asked, “Do you even know who she is?” Turns out, she wasn’t just some lonely lady. Her name was Ms. Ionescu, and she worked in our accounting department. She sat at the far corner desk near the copier. Nobody ever visited her. She brought the same sandwich every day and ate it while reading a paperback novel. Always wore beige. Always nodded politely. Never joined the lunch group or the birthday cake chats. I started at the company fresh out of college. Full of energy, eager to prove myself, always talking, always networking. People liked me. I climbed ranks fast. But I never once stopped to ask Ms. Ionescu how her day was going. I mean, why would I? She didn’t seem like she wanted to talk. We had this unspoken rule in the office – if someone was quiet, you left them alone. No questions. No prying. And Ms. Ionescu? She was the queen… CONTINUE READING…