The Online Hoax

  • 08 Dec - 14 Dec, 2018
  • Ayesha Adil
  • Fiction

Earn online. Earn while you stay at home. Earn while you study. Make millions staying home and earning online.

So attractive, right? And so convenient. No more dragging yourself out of bed and spending at least 45 minutes to one hour in the morning routine? Then commuting to reach your workplace. No social life and no drive to consume on healthy hobbies or activities. No memberships at libraries or gyms. You won’t be able to go there anyways.

So when I decided to leave work, finally as Fawad put it, I began to explore the “earning at home possibilities.”

Now don’t get me wrong. I won’t be stuck at home all the time. I’m not planning on becoming a hermit. I just wanted some healthy on the side occupation to help me make some money and keep me productively engaged. I didn’t want my brain cells to rot and atrophy.

I also joined a library and I enrolled for a hair styling and cutting class and so adding to this would be my stay at home job and it would take care of the major part of the day before Fawad came home every evening.

I was feeling pretty smug. I mean, I had this. I was hardworking. I was very good with the English language and I was very smart. Who wouldn’t want to hire me?

Before I started to search for possible openings I decided to upgrade my resume.

It seemed rather outdated and there were a lot of things to bring up to par. I changed the format too. Brought it more up to style. Everything on the left-hand margin etc.

I was busy on the laptop when Fawad texted to ask how I was doing. Still my knight in shining armour. After our fight many days ago we had been distant for possibly one minute or so, such was our bond and later he had said he was sorry. He was genuinely apologetic and I of course understood his point of view. I was being stubborn and unreasonable.

Besides, once I had resigned I was engulfed with a great feeling of freedom. No more planners and noisy classrooms and occupational hazards of losing my voice or my senses. I even thanked Fawad for pushing me into this.

I could blissfully focus on taking care of myself and my baby. The only book I needed to read was “What to expect when you’re expecting”; eat well and sleep well and basically vegetate.

Hmmm, yes you guessed it right. By month two I was losing my mind. I felt so utterly and miserably bored and useless. I had done it all and still had more time to do it all over again.

That’s when I took the library membership. I would step out of doors and go to the library and just read in silence or even socialise casually in the reading room with my fellow library members. But even that wasn’t enough. I attended the entire library events, even the ones not meant for my age group. I admit the 2 and 5 year olds were surprised when I was there for the story readings but I just pretended to be with one of the tiny tots, trying to mingle in as well as I could.

Then I coaxed Fawad into letting me take the hair styling and cutting classes.

That was huge fun. I got to express my creative streak and I became really good at it in a short period of time.

I did mess up a few clients’ hair slightly but that’s what you get when you agree to a free hair-cut from a trainee. I had no qualms about it at all!

But when I felt that my classes would be over soon and I would be left with the boring library sessions I decided to search online. The internet was full of real-life stories of people who had made millions working online and I would be the next millionaire. I could just feel it.

Once my CV was upgraded, I sounded so accomplished; I set out to find the best place online. I searched for places that needed content and creative writers, also online ESL.

I filled up their forms, answered their questions, made accounts and noted down all the passwords that I had used. Once done I felt exhausted. But I was hopeful.

I would definitely get a call soon or an email; one of these companies out there would ask for my expertise and would pay me top money for it!

I worried whether too many would call back; I had applied to at least 5! What would I do then? How would I choose? I decided that I would pick the ones that required the least amount of time but paid the most. Also I would not pick the ones that had insane deadlines. No time constraints, maximum money gain and the least amount of work. Yes, my priorities were all set down.

Now just for them to get back to me.

I received a few emails asking me to check up on my computer systems and the number hours I was willing to work etc., nothing major. All done and answered I waited for my first project.

Fawad casually asked me how it was going and I replied that I was hopeful for an answer soon enough. And I actually was. How naïve!

I had planned expensive holidays with Fawad. I even thought of refurnishing our home. In fact, I had thought of changing our place of residence and buying a new house. I had made huge sand castles in the air, all of which came crashing down upon me.

That phone call never came nor did that email. I never got one single project to work on. All my dreams to be a millionaire were flushed down the drain. I

felt extremely disappointed, I felt like a failure, an imbecile.

That’s when I realised what a huge hoax this was. The age-old philosophy of working hard and succeeding was right after all. Rome was not built in a day and similarly to reap the benefits of one’s hard work one needs to work hard. It’s quite simple.

I told Fawad that I had given up on my online work. It was too time-consuming anyways. The waiting for sure was eating up my time.

“I’ll probably make a blog or something when I get around to it,” I said and began to clear away the dishes.

As I walked into the kitchen I thought I heard something from the direction of Noor’s nursery. I turned around to see that Fawad had gotten up and opened the door and was now inside.

I guess before I could step into anything major I should address the pending task of finishing the nursery for baby number 2. •

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