THE INVISIBLE MAN

I thought about it as I climbed the stairs to the smart guy’s office. In fact, I’d thought about it a lot during the last ten years and one word always came to mind: invisibility. There was no doubt about it, I was invisible. A word with the literal meaning - unable to be seen and that was me for sure because no one noticed me even though I was there all the time. I was there every single minute of every single day I was supposed to be there and without a break; I was never sick. Anyway, that’s what I told the man when he asked, that I felt invisible.  

   The last time I’d seen him was ten years before when I sat in front of his desk staring at his tailored black suit, crisp white shirt and silk pink tie knotted in the Windsor style. Slicked back dark hair. He’d seen me then for sure. I knew because he’d looked at me and flashed some teeth that maybe he thought was a smile but I suspected was more to do with stamping authority. That was after he had abrasively said, “Okay, you start Monday and make damn sure you do what I’ve said. You understand that?” 

I nodded and said, “Sure, it’s easy.” 

“Right, in that case I don’t want to see you again… get my meaning?” 

I nodded again and headed out the door. I knew what he meant, no pissing about, no shirking or I’d be out the door like the last fella. Down two flights to the acres of warehouse space where I stood and stared. 

One hundred racks, five high and that was just one row with three metres between rows. Each rack: four metres wide, two metres deep and two metres high standing back-to-back. Two hundred metres was a long stretch wall to wall but take out the desk, cupboards and shelves along one end wall and you got a figure of one hundred and ninety-nine metres. Twenty-six rows and the difference made up by the lanes each end. Then the width. One hundred metres spread over three joined together buildings, all the same size, with four down-lanes making up the change. I stared, I wondered and saw nobody but did notice the forklifts.  

On the desk only one computer, now my computer. It fired up with a touch on a single button. I scrolled the lists and immediately saw why the last guy had been sacked. The lines of shelves? Files, loads of them stacked high. Stock records. Hard copies. This was a no nonsense, low activity place that demanded duplication. A belt and braces operation. Well, that was okay with me, so I set about formatting the lists into a coherent order. 

Now ten years later I hit the landing and knocked on the door. Inside I stared at the same desk, the same man, the same suit and tie. The slicked back hair that was now grey. The man, still duplicating, didn’t look up from scribbling, “You wanted to see me?” 

My reply was quite simple, “I quit.” 

“I don’t remember you. What’s your name?” 

So, I told him and he stopped scribbling and tapped a few keys. 

“Oh yes, the inventory man. You’ve been here ten years.” 

“Correct.” 

“In all that time I’ve not seen you. Why’s that?” 

“I’m invisible.” 

“Invisible?” 

“Yeah, I’m here but no one notices me so I’m invisible. You just said it yourself; you’ve never seen me.” 

“But I see you do an excellent job. The inventories tell me that.” 

“No one’s ever said, you’ve never said, I just assume I do because I’m still here. I’m surrounded by racks of stuff. Tall racks, long racks, acres and acres of racks in a nondescript space managed by an invisible man.” 

“You're obviously good at the job, indispensable in fact, so why leave - is it the money? I can pay you more.” 

That was actually insulting. If I was worth more and so essential, then… “No, it’s not the pay, it's much simpler than that. I’m fed up being invisible.” 

Then the man got all heated and started to say how I was leaving them in the lurch, how things would have to be put on hold, how the business would be affected but I wasn’t interested and waved my way out the door. He was clearly not the sort to understand after all he hadn’t said a word all the time I’d worked there. Being taken for granted for ten years was plenty enough for anyone to handle. The time to go was already long overdue.