Anne Dunn

Anne Dunn is the sort of person who always has to be busy. Though she’s aware of this fact, she dismisses it. In her mind, there’s too much work to do. There’s another appointment around the corner. The trees, the buildings and the strangers on the street are of no interest to her. Supposing she didn’t have anything to do—well, why even suppose?

A particular September morning is worth supposing, because it was on this day that one Anne Dunn hadn’t a thing to do. She’d graduated from Columbia University three months prior and found the entire summer a bore. It wasn’t that she’d been lazy—Anne? No. Contrarily she’d been moving nonstop.

Upon leaving Columbia she’d landed an entry level position at a PR firm in the middle of Manhattan. What a lovely thing, she thought. She could hear the traffics roar all day while being handed new assignments. What did it matter if these assignments suited an entry level position, it was something to do!

Where were we? Of course, a particular September morning she’d been newly fired. This came as no surprise to Anne, as she was aware she’d be fired eventually, only she dismissed it. Turned out the entry level assignments were menial, leaving her unsatisfied and searching for more.

In her search for more she’d look out the window and into the streets of Manhattan. She’d notice how small the people looked from 51 floors above the street. Her observations and search for more ended at that.

A particular September morning Anne sat up in bed. The clock read 9:01AM. This was normally the time she’d be at work, she thought. This was normally the time breakfast would be eaten, dishes would be cleaned, and clothes would be put on. This stream of thinking was what she so feverishly avoided, and yet here she was subjected to it.

Anne got up from bed and looked out her window. It was a bright day, and the sun gleamed through the trees and into her apartment. She looked down at a man ticketing parked cars. Money, she thought. Rent. What was she going to do about rent!

She scurried to her desk, opened her laptop and began looking for jobs. With a slight tingling at the ends of her fingers, her mood changed entirely. A smile even formed on her face. Rent, she thought.