Acknowledging your guilt
Nestled in a cool green valle, lies the small town of Greenstone, with the gentle Gosp River winding through it. Max Scott is the town’s mayor, though his reputation is less than stellar. One morning, he receives an unexpected visitor: Melanie Bardell, a county administrator. Melanie’s purpose is straightforward: she needs Max to sign documents that would secure essential funds to enhance city services, especially since Greenstone has been expanding rapidly over the past decade due to the opening of a nearby factory beside the old town. This growth has led to a surge of small businesses and, with it, a demand for improved municipal services, like more medical services (first aid), bus service, improve shool structures, nurseries, etcetera.
Melanie and Max have a long-standing, rocky relationship. Melanie harbors frustration toward Max, who she sees as an absentee leader. Instead of attending to city matters, Max offloads tasks to his team and spends his days with friends, using his mayoral title to benefit his private ventures. Her unannounced visit is no accident; she’s strategically timed it, hoping to catch Max alone, knowing that he often prepares for meetings with his team in advance to deflect her questions to his team and exempt him of giving any explanation.
Max seems irritated, protesting that this unscheduled visit disrupts his day, but Melanie is insistent. She reminds him of his duty to sign the county budget document, urgently needed for Greenstone’s development. When he asks for the document, Melanie explains she emailed it to his private account that morning. To download and print it, he must access this account himself, as only he knows the password.
Reluctantly, Max opens his laptop, pulls up the email portal, and tries to enter the password. His first attempt fails, much to Melanie’s silent satisfaction. Each second he struggles, her confidence grows. “Everything alright, Max?” she asks, barely masking her amusement.
Max hesitates, blaming a slow internet connection as he tries to collect his thoughts. But as Melanie steps closer to peek at the screen, she raises an eyebrow, “Could you have forgotten your password, Max? By law, only you can access it.”
After a pause, Max takes a deep breath. “You’re right, Melanie. I may have been neglecting my responsibilities. But I know the password—I’ll prove it.” Acknowledging his failings eases some of the pressure, and, with a clearer head, he successfully logs in, downloads, and signs the document.
As Melanie leaves, she reflects on Max’s admission. While he ultimately did his duty, she still sees little true commitment in him and hopes for new leadership in Greenstone soon. Her last thought is simple but satisfying: “At least he admitted it—better than nothing.”