The Man Who Refused to Have a Bad Day
Every morning, Daniel woke up at exactly 7:00.
And every morning, something went wrong.
On Monday, his alarm didn't ring.
He woke up at 8:30.
“Oh no!” he shouted.
He jumped out of bed, ran to the bathroom, and discovered there was no water.
He looked at the shower.
The shower looked back at him.
“Fine,” Daniel said. “We don't need each other.”
He brushed his teeth using the last bottle of drinking water and ran outside.
His bus was leaving.
“Wait!”
He ran after it.
The bus driver looked at him.
Daniel waved desperately.
The driver waved back.
Then the bus left.
Daniel stood on the road.
For a few seconds, he was silent.
Then he smiled.
“Well,” he said, “at least he waved.”
He walked to work.
It took him forty minutes.
When he arrived, his manager looked at him.
“You're late.”
“I know.”
“You missed the meeting.”
“I know.”
“You also look terrible.”
Daniel smiled.
“Thank you.”
“That wasn't a compliment.”
“I know.”
His manager stared at him.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because I still have teeth.”
His manager had no answer.
On Tuesday, things became worse.
Daniel's wallet disappeared.
His phone battery died.
His laptop stopped working.
And at lunch, someone accidentally took his sandwich.
Daniel opened the empty lunch box.
He looked around.
“Who took my sandwich?”
Nobody answered.
His colleague Mark slowly raised his hand.
“Sorry. I thought it was mine.”
“What did you have for lunch?”
“Nothing.”
Daniel looked at him.
“So you knew it wasn't yours.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you eat it?”
“I was hungry.”
Daniel sighed.
“Fair enough.”
Mark looked surprised.
“You're not angry?”
“I am.”
“Then why aren't you shouting?”
“Because shouting won't bring my sandwich back.”
Daniel stood up.
“Come on.”
“Where?”
“Let's buy another one.”
Mark smiled.
“You're buying?”
“No.”
“Then why did you say let's?”
“Because I don't want to eat alone.”
They went to the cafeteria.
Daniel bought the cheapest sandwich.
It was terrible.
He took one bite.
“This tastes like cardboard.”
Mark laughed.
Daniel laughed too.
“This is the worst sandwich I've ever eaten.”
They finished it anyway.
Wednesday was even worse.
Daniel received an email from his landlord.
His rent was increasing.
Then his manager told him the company was cutting salaries.
Then his car broke down.
By evening, Daniel was sitting on a bench outside his apartment.
He looked exhausted.
His neighbor, Mrs. Wilson, sat beside him.
“You look sad today.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
Finally, he wasn't smiling.
Mrs. Wilson asked, “What happened?”
“Everything.”
She waited.
Daniel started counting.
“My rent is increasing. My salary is decreasing. My car is broken. My laptop is broken. My phone is broken. And I think my sandwich yesterday changed my personality.”
Mrs. Wilson laughed.
Daniel smiled a little.
Then she asked,
“So what are you going to do?”
“I don't know.”
She looked at him.
“You always smile when things go wrong.”
Daniel was quiet.
After a moment, he said,
“I don't smile because everything is good.”
“Then why?”
“Because everything isn't going to be good all the time.”
Mrs. Wilson listened.
“If I wait for my problems to disappear before I allow myself to be happy,” Daniel continued, “I might spend my whole life waiting.”
She smiled.
“That sounds wise.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No. It sounds expensive. I'm still paying rent.”
They both laughed.
The next morning, Daniel woke up.
His alarm didn't ring.
Again.
He looked at the clock.
8:45.
He jumped out of bed.
Then he stopped.
He looked at himself in the mirror.
“Okay,” he said.
“Let's see what goes wrong today.”
He went downstairs.
His car still didn't work.
He walked to the bus stop.
The bus was late.
He waited.
Twenty minutes.
Thirty minutes.
Finally, the bus arrived.
Daniel got on.
There was only one empty seat.
A man was sleeping on it.
Daniel stood there.
Then he smiled.
The sleeping man suddenly opened his eyes.
“Sorry,” he said.
He moved over.
Daniel sat down.
“Thank you.”
The man looked at him.
“You're smiling.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked out the window.
“I have no idea what will happen today.”
The man smiled.
“That's scary.”
Daniel nodded.
“Exactly.”
Then he laughed.
“But it's also interesting.”
And for the first time, Daniel understood something.
A happy life wasn't a life without problems.
It was a life where problems didn't get to decide everything.
His car could break.
His salary could decrease.
His bus could leave without him.
His sandwich could disappear.
But he could still laugh.
He could still call a friend.
He could still enjoy the morning sun.
And he could still choose happiness.
Not because life was easy.
But because life was his.
And he didn't want to give that choice to his problems.
The bus suddenly stopped.
Everyone moved forward.
Daniel's head hit the seat.
“Ouch!”
The man beside him asked, “Are you okay?”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“Yes.”
Then he smiled.
“Today's going pretty well.”
“Really?”
“No.”
Daniel laughed.
“But it's funny.”