Wait

He trembled in anticipation, seated on the sole couch in the small room he was in. The bare lightbulb above him flickered and died. He got up agitatedly and pulled the curtains apart allowing light from the streetlamps light up his room. He made as if to sit down again but instead he started pacing. Glancing at the clock, he kicked his stack of books in frustration. Time seemed to be passing extremely slowly to his eyes. He was restless. The minute hand seemed to him to be moving at the pace of the hour hand. A dull throbbing pain in his foot made him regret kicking his books. Staring at the mess on the floor, he pondered whether to pick them up or just let them be. It would be hours still till he would get what he was waiting for. A small slip of paper. A piece of paper that would determine his future. The clock indicated that it had just turned four in the morning. He had not slept yet waiting for that one slip of paper.

He walked up to the table. It was finally time. His eyes were bloodshot and his muscles were aching but he ignored them. This piece of information mattered to him more than life. Or rather, it was his life. He took hold of the slip that was passed to him and started to read the words on it. Before he could read a single word however, he collapsed onto the hard wooden floor. Exhaustion had got the better of him. People started moving towards him but he held up the slip with a shaking hand and read through it quickly. He let his hand fall no longer able to escape the necessity of sleep. The wait had been long...