It was an unpleasant day at work. For the whole last year, where the COVID was a gigantic monster, and the workspace left no space to relax, I expected to get promoted. 

Chasing the targets was an absolute nightmare, but my happiness was boundless when I found overpassing them. 

"What! After doing such hard work and completing every single target, I am not promoted. And on top of it, my seniors are not even ready to talk about why this happened?" I said to myself in utter disappointment. Completing the day's work, I left the office at 7 in the evening and headed to the market to get the grocery.

"Home Sweet Home," I thought as I reached home. 

Finally, it was the weekend, and I thought to relax and try to find some new opportunities to apply. This was not the first time I thought so, but talking about this has always been a demotivation point. I always heard one thing, "You have a good position and job; why are you trying more. And well, you will be married in a year or two, so why take so much pain."

Not a single sentence of these made me happy ever. But trying to explain again and again gives pain and anger. Thinking so, I heard the grumbling noise. Yes, I was hungry, and I surely need to cook now. Unfortunately, the day is yet to end. 

After cooking, I thought of watching a movie and relaxing. I lay down on my bed and started the movie. It was around 10 in the night, and I suddenly heard a knock on the door. A shiver ran down my spine. First I thought it was imagination and so I continued to watch the movie.

KNOCK KNOCK!!!

The knocking was loud and more rigorous this time. I gathered the courage and got down from the bed to open the door. Seeing through the peephole, I was shocked. There was nobody out. I took a deep breath and started to walk back to the room. 

Suddenly, I was a flashing light with a screeching sound. This time I was furious and thought these must be the colony kids trying to scare me for fun. I rushed to the door and opened it in a snap. 

For a minute, I felt numb. A strange figure appeared from the dark. Round face, pear-shaped body, dark black popping eyes, and what's that antenna type extensions on the head. I was speechless. "What should I do?" I thought.

As the ghoulish figure approached the door, I started to step back to the room in haste. 

"Do not fear! I am not here to harm. Consider me a friend.", the figure said at once. 

I stopped and asked in a trembling voice, "Who are you?"

"I am from another space, and since my spaceship de-routed, I landed here.", he said.

This time I gathered a little courage and moved ahead, "Ok, Is there anything I can do for you?"

I can see the figure now. He seemed friendly, and seeing him smile; I felt a little comfortable.

"No, I will be gone in some time. Do not worry.", he said and smiled.

Yes, the encounter was surprising and totally out of the blue, but I started to cherish it now. Again, a strange silence hovered in the air. "Can I say something?" he said. I politely obliged his request.

"You are great at your work, and still, you let others demean you. Why are you scared? There will be a failure when you try, but you will succeed at the end.", he said while I heard everything blankly. 

"You have the potential to go and try for new opportunities. Success is just a step away from you. Do not let others define the height of your flight.", he said. That moment he was called back to the ship, which was ready to take the flight.

We smiled and bid goodbye to each other. Suddenly, the bell rang, and the milkman shouted at the door. I almost fell off the bed.  It was 7 in the morning now. I hurried to the door to get the milk.

When I came back and settled down on the couch, I started to think about yesterday. Was it a dream? Why did all that happen? I was still perplexed. 

I switched on the TV to check the day's news. 

The headline prompted, "Some unknown figures spotted at night. No one harmed."

The day still is a mystery, but yes, it taught me something important. 

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND NEVER LET OTHERS DEFINE YOUR POTENTIAL.