Rejecting Weakness - Man made gods Part 5

Being a busy world where hard work equals big rewards, it's no wonder why someone like Nathaniel would work hard every day. He works as an electrician and as a result, he gets dirty, hurt, and tired beyond belief constantly. There are times that shortcuts present themselves to him, but he never takes them as they would lessen the quality of his work or disadvantage someone else so he stays fair so he in turn can also be treated fairly. Nathaniel doesn't have any relatives as they've all died of diseases and he doesn't have any friends so he lives his life alone wishing someone was there who could talk to him, care about him, and understand him. Alas he doesn't know where to look and is too busy right now to think about it. As he works on repairing the electrical systems of a business building, there are a couple of things he could do so that the system will be good for a while, but he'll need to come back every couple months or so. The business does pay good money for him to do repairs since they trust the company he works. If he doesn't, it could be a while before he gets another good paycheck such as this one.

"Do it," a voice in his head says.

Nah, he thinks to himself. He fixes the electrical system the way he's supposed to and makes sure everything works as they should.

A month passes by and his loneliness takes its toll on him as he doesn't feel as good as he used to. He still keeps his work ethic and does his jobs efficiently and properly. Nathaniel isn't able to get any real rest or any form of comfort though. It's been this way for a few years and he might be on the edge of breaking.

This next job involves fixing another electrical problem in the crawlspace of a house. As he looks through the crawlspace, he finds several valuable antiques that could be very valuable. The owner of the house didn't tell him anything about items being down here so they wouldn't know if he took anything.

"Do it," a voice in his head says.

No, Nathaniel thinks to himself. He takes the items and shows them to the owner of the house and it turns out that the items are valuable family heirlooms that the owner forgot they had. Nathaniel is thanked and given a good tip as a thank you. The owner plans on selling these antiques to give their family much needed financial relief and a small vacation.

Another month passes by and Nathaniel is getting a bit sick due to his decaying emotions. He still works as hard as always though they don't reap any special rewards.

Today's job has him fixing a hospital building's electrical systems. They're paying him double since the electricity in this building is incredibly important in saving lives here and keeping them alive. There are things in this building's electrical systems that could allow him to make constant visits to fix it like the business building at the risk of the building's electricity going out for a short amount of time.

"Do it," a voice in his head says.

I can't do it, he thinks to himself.

"But what do the lives of the other people here matter to you? They don't know you so they won't be thankful that you helped their lives continue."

I don't do it for fame or fortune, Nathaniel thinks, I do it because I'm supposed to.

He does what he needs to and leaves the building to his car where he is jumped by a criminal. He is beaten and his wallet is taken away. A nearby police officer chases after the man and retrieves Nathaniel's wallet though the criminal gets away. Nathaniel is thankful though he wishes something good will happen to him later to repay him for today.
A month and a half passes by and Nathaniel becomes sick from not much rest from his job and from his depression. The voice always seems to talk to him on every job and he keeps saying no to it though the offers from it get more and more enticing. Today's job goes over well and the voice doesn't talk to him. It seems like it's going to be a rare good day, but he's attacked by the criminal who jumped him before. Nathaniel lets out all of his pent-up anger out on the criminal and almost beats them up to death.
"Do it," the voice says, "He deserves to die. Take everything off his body and sell it to make your life better."
No! I'm not going to listen to you! Nathaniel thinks as he just sits on the criminal and calls for the cops to arrest him. He is given a cash reward for getting this criminal who has evaded arrest for a while. Even though Nathaniel has a good amount of money in his pocket now, this still doesn't solve his depression and loneliness. Sure he can buy a prostitute or something like that, but that'll only last a day. He wants something that will like a lifetime. Someone who will be with him for the rest of his life. Lo and behold a woman walks up to him and talks about how brave he was for beating up that criminal and staying his hand to avoid killing him. She wants to know how he gets his strength and he tells her his story. The two eventually bond and get married a couple years after. Good things come to those who wait even if that wait can feel like a lifetime.