Marco, why did you do it?

Marco was a hard working young man who decided to venture out and with a backpack on his back, he hopped on a bus and ended up in a city at the other end of his home country. With his savings he managed to rent a room and the next day he was on the streets with his best attitude looking for a job to support himself.

After several attempts, a coffee shop gave him the opportunity to start working immediately. She would start in the kitchen, washing dishes and washing the floor. Her mother had taught her that work does not dishonor, so in good spirits, she looked for her uniform to change into, left her belongings in the locker and began her work.

The first few days were exhausting; in order to earn a little more money, he offered to work overtime. He would arrive at his room exhausted and after a shower with warm water, he would sleep peacefully like a baby until 6:00 a.m. when the alarm clock would ring.

His determination to stand out in a good way, responsibility, respect for everyone and learning other trades got his boss to send him to a barista course in the afternoons. Quickly after passing the induction he was preparing exquisite coffees in the cafeteria.His creativity led him to invent combinations with never-before-prepared coffee, hot or cold, and Marco increased the number of clients in an overwhelming way.

His boss was happy with the results; something told him that this young man had potential. Due to the number of new people frequenting the place, they extended the working hours. At first Marco was thrilled, more work meant more money. Until one day he collapsed.

He came up with a plan to get rid of clients and get back to his usual work rhythm. He started with a reduction in the quality of the coffee, thinking that this would keep customers away, but all he got were complaints and complaints. In view of the fact that his plan did not work, he understood that he had to do something more aggressive.

He opted to mix the coffee beans with a laxative, so that the customers would run home to empty their stomachs. It didn't work either, the bathroom in the cafeteria was collapsed and people were not leaving.

Now Marco thought that the only way was to get rid of them completely. So instead of laxative, he used rat poison. Thus began a series of deaths of people who were healthy and then suddenly fell to the ground with no vital signs. When the post mortem studies were carried out, all the victims had coffee mixed with rat poison in their bodies. After some investigations, it was discovered that each of the deceased had drunk the coffee prepared by Marco.

A commission made up of different police forces appeared at the cafeteria and handcuffed Marco. When he arrived at the police station, the pressure was such that he ended up confessing to his crime. After a short trial he was sentenced to life imprisonment. His mother appeared on the scene begging for clemency for her son. The locals nicknamed him "Coffee Bean Killer".

The reception for the prisoners was terrifying. Among the dead were their relatives. They beat him and threatened to make him live hell on earth.

When he went to his cell, he fell asleep almost immediately from the physical pain caused by the blows. Then he woke up in the wee hours of the morning and tears soaked his pillow. He was remorseful.

He woke up when a ray of sunlight illuminated his face, confused he looked around and did not understand what was happening. He was in his rented room and without a scratch. He made himself a cup of coffee and began to remember the nightmare of the night before. He prepared to go to work and talk to his boss about reducing his workday, even though his salary would be affected.

All that work was going to make him sick with stress. First there was his mental health.

When he arrived at the cafeteria, he told his boss about the horrible nightmare caused by overwork. He understood and they agreed on a work schedule of no more than 7 hours a day. From that moment on, Marco was happier and more customer friendly. His boss recognized what a hard worker he was and how much he had excelled and did not reduce his salary. Soon Marco was able to move into a small bachelor apartment where he could have his mother and friends visit him.

This concludes my participation for another week of the "Creative Writing Challenge". There is still time to participate. link

I want to invite @alexarelatos this week to have fun creating a story.

The templates I made in Canva with the free versión.link