"Change"

He had just begun to put on his coat to leave the studio and go home when Patrick, Elliott's boss, told him about the next project. Something about a church for Rio de Janeiro. Elliott looked through the window and realised it was night already. The rest of the architects were preparing to work all night, and had started calling their families warning them not to put their plate on the dinnertable. Having nobody to call, Elliott started thinking how he was going to feed Buzz, his pet cat. "I think I left his bowl filled", he wondered.

The studio had been working for Brasil for the past 2 months. Actually, the pressure had been really high since the studio had that client. At first, the hours at the gimnasio were cut off. Secondly, the phone calls to his girlfriend became frequent, warning her she would be having dinner on her own. after that came the weekends, fully dedicated to that important and wealthy client. the weekend before, he had received a letter from Sarah, his now ex-girlfriend, explaining to him why she left him. His friends stopped meeting him: he never had time to respond to their phone calls or emails.

The church for Rio de Janeiro had been growing. Elliot had been living in the office, just like his co-workers. He only went home to feed Buzz, have a shower and shave.

One month later, the boss called together all the architects and opened a bottle of the finest champagne. "Congrats to all of you. You have been very professional. Many thanks for your effort in getting this". Elliot was feeling relieved. During this month he didn't get the time to think about Sarah, or his friends, or his family. Only Buzz had a bit of his attention, and only because he had to fed or he would die. "Wonderful job Elliot! I must confess you were absolutely essential. I will give you a promotion for this!", Patrick said. "Oh, god, I can't believe it! Thank you very much Patrick. Oh dear, I'm actualy feeling funny! A bit strange I must say....". And BANG, he fell to the ground.

A day later he wakes up and realises he's at the hospital. No one's there, only him all by himself in a strange bed. He notices this huge bouquet of flowers from the studio. "Probably had had another church, but this time for Brasilia!", he thinks. The nurse arrives with the doctor and Elliot is told to stay at home fot the next two weeks.

His house feels strange to him. His bed isn't as confortable as he remembers. He checks his phone calls and listen to the messages: his best friend Paul phoned to invited him to his birthday dinner and refers to his cellphone as useless, as it's never turned on.

He finds himself in front of the tv, watching terrible programs. Nothing is good and he is getting bored. Only Buzz satisfies him. He's now thinner than he was, but remains a true friend. Elliot is now conciousness of what his life had become. He starts asking himself about the path life he is taking. "I do not love architecture this much to suffer with this", he thinks. He remembers his old guitar and gos looking for it.

He notices he had forgotten some notes, but quickly gets into it. Looks for his old music that he had composed at the age of fifteen and finds some good songs. The next two weeks were spent praticing. Elliot feels awkward with the joy that he's having. He never thought that something so simple could make him so happy.

One month later he picks up the phone and decides to call his old friends to tell them about what had hapened. He explains to them about all the stress and pressure that his old job had, and also about his day in the hospital. "I'm sorry for not be there, and for not having time for you. The truth is that I decided to leave my old life. I'm going to be a musician! Can we meet again? Paul, please come have dinner at my place today. I want to show you my musics!" In the same day Paul and Elliot meet. Elliot feels so sad and disapointed to himself that he can't look to his friend's eyes. He feels ashamed. "Oh, come on Elliot. It's fine now. Let's have dinner so that you can show to me your musics!", Paul said. Elliot felt relieved, and said: "I'm sorry mate, but I changed!"