Sustainable Sh*t – The Ascension of a Millennial Hipster

By Hank Fredo

Robert is a successful creative at Publicus and Partners.

For a long time, Robert has been dealing with an inner turmoil, always embracing any new trend. To people around him, his life is perfect.

However, when Robert wakes up one night claiming he has a heart attack, his darkest demons spill out into the open. Visible to everyone, he becomes a source of worry and dilemma to his boss, colleagues at work, and girlfriend.

One day during a meeting with an important client, Robert has a major outburst, leaving everybody speechless. After the event, Robert disappears into thin air, cutting off from society and going into the woods.

In a struggle to discover where he truly belongs, he will settle to be one with nature. A choice that gives him relative peace for a while before he achieves perfect serenity by expending the utmost price.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Seagull Editions
• Release date: May 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223881384

Book preview

PROLOGUE

The wind slowly blew through his beard causing it to move slightly. It was thick and heavy. To the average human, the beard on his chin would seem too long and disgusting. Specks of woods and leaves found themselves in the long growth of hair hanging from his chin. Paired with his equally long hair, he appeared to be a complete weirdo. His clothes were consumed and appeared darker beneath the night.

Under the large canopy of trees that prevented moonlight from getting into the dense forest, he was seen trudging along. He hummed a rhythmless tune on his lips and moved with determination and a wild look in his eyes. He stomped across fallen trunks and piles of leaves as he headed forward.  A wind blew once again and caused a chill through his bones. He held a spade in his hand, his fingers wrapped tightly against the handle as if his life depended on it. He had been with that spade him for most of the past year. It had become a friend. It was almost as if fate knew that the time would come when he would need to use it. He finally saw its use and purpose and was glad that he had brought it along. He looked at the spade with a strange fondness before tightening his fist around it and walking along.

As he continued on his journey, he stopped for a minute. A strange feeling settled in his belly and he blinked twice. Raising his face towards the dark sky, he could tell from the little opening through the leaves that the clouds would soon open with rain. There wasn't much time left. What had to be done had to be done quickly. Bending to his knees, he dug the spade into the ground and proceeded to move dirt from the ground.

His face was dedicated and set as he dug. Sweat clung to his forehead and to his clothes causing them to stick to his body. His muscles rippled as he dug, tiredness not very far at the moment. He paused for a moment to take a deep breath. As he inhaled deeply, a distant memory crossed across his mind and he let it settle for a while.

A picture of himself some years ago, looking different from what he looked like at the moment. He tried desperately to cast the image away from his mind but it returned over and over again. Having little to no choice, he stopped his digging and allowed himself to float with the thought, cringing at how different his life currently was.

CHAPTER ONE

The wind had always given him a sense of peace. A reminder that he was entirely one with nature. He dismissed the thought and focused more on his present. He had a lot to be grateful for. He was cool, his black colored spiky hair was coated in expensive gel, his leather jacket reeked of good living and nothing spoke of success more than his blazing red Ducati. He wrapped his wrists tighter on the handle and drove faster as he headed towards the office. The wind was in his face and gave him a sense of calm. He loved moments on his bike. It almost felt as if those moments were the only points in his life when he was truly and completely free. He sighed deeply and smiled to himself as he drove.

Turning into a corner, the building of Publicus and Partners came into view. Parking in the lot, he pulled off his helmet and placed it on his bike. Taking out his phone to send a quick text to his girlfriend, he walked towards the building with a confident smirk on his face. His steps were exaggerated as he took the elevator to the third floor. Stepping into the office, he shouted some greetings to his colleagues before walking towards his cubicle in the first aisle.

Hey Steve. He greeted with a smile.

Guess, who's late. Again! Steve teased with a smile and continued moving his mouse furiously against the pad.

Robert settled into his table and tried booting up his PC.

Hey Rob, how's that case study coming along? A voice yelled from behind.

He turned his head and smiled at the slim blonde.

Good morning would be nice Mary, he replied.

Dropping her arms on his shoulder, she peered into the screen.

You weren't at the party last night. She commented.

Her comment made him chuckle as he double-clicked on a file.

Go to work, Mary, I was with my babe. He hissed. He knew that Mary was constantly making passes at him. He knew she did that with almost every good looking male in the agency and he wished she would stop. Nonetheless, she didn't and it greatly irritated him. He swallowed and reminded himself to be calm. If he lost his calm and control, he would be less cool and he didn't want that.

Of course! She breathed with a roll of her eyes and walked away to her cubicle just a few feet from where he sat.

He groaned internally. He knew he should have been nicer but he had Emma. Who on earth would have a woman like Emma and then opt for Mary? Only an insane man would!

Ignoring Mary's anger, he texted Emma once more and tried to focus on his work. He had a lot to get done and he hoped he wouldn't end up calling it a day just to rush to her.

Despite work being one of his greatest sources of pride, another source was his hourglass-shaped girlfriend. Emma was a tall brunette with brown eyes and long hair that stopped just above the middle of her back when held in the typical Arianna Grande style ponytail. She was the kind of girl other men wanted but he had gotten. The thought caused him to smile weirdly to himself. Parking his Ducati, he walked towards the elevator and headed towards his apartment.

Pushing the door open, he walked into his plush sitting room. One glance around, let him know that Emma wasn't there.

Emma, he called before hearing the beep from the pocket of his black jeans. Pulling out his cell phone, he proceeded to scroll through Instagram and check out the video his friend just texted him. He burst out in a spurt of laughter before the sound of Emma's heels clicking the floor caused him to raise his head for a second.

Hey, where have you been? He asked, returning his attention to his apple device.

She strutted towards him, a magazine in one hand, her cell phone in the other. She was clad with a pair of black skinny jeans that clung to her like a second skin and an oversized sweatshirt that acted as a contrast to the jeans. Sitting on the sofa, she continued hurriedly flipping through the magazine, alternating between gasping at pages and texting furiously to her friends.

I've been looking through Elle and Rob. I need to update my wardrobe. Their blue knit beanie and this check shirt is all the range at the moment she responded stabbing at pages in the magazine.

Robert walked towards the sofa and sat beside her staring at the long-legged, perfect-looking models in the magazine.

I've been thinking of getting plaids as well, he said quietly more to himself than to her.

Men don't have to worry so much about keeping up but females have to! I'm calling the girls and we tots bursting into the clothing stores tomorrow! She exclaimed, stabbing at her cell phone. Robert replied with a shrug, casually flipping through the magazine. He wondered if men really didn't need so much clothing. How much clothing could one girl need anyway? He thought of Emma's wardrobe and he figured that perhaps women were insatiable with a ton of things, clothing being one of them.

He had some stylish clothes as well but he had never gotten peace from them. Purchasing clothes had always seemed like some sort of superficial pursuit that would not result in any form of pleasure.

He ignored her while she spoke rapidly on the phone, screaming at intervals. He sighed and tried to quiet the storm of dissatisfaction that swirled in his stomach. His life was perfect. His eyes danced around his nicely furnished living room with overly prized prices of art hanging on the walls. He had been excited when he got that collection. It had been at an auction and he knew the worth of those pieces. They were created by a popular artist and he just had to have them.

Bidding endlessly on the collection, he had jumped loudly in triumph when he got them. He bought them at a ridiculous price but he owned them. No one else did.

The picture he posted of them earned him tons of likes on Facebook and Instagram. Smacking his head, he quickly remembered that he had forgotten