My hair is rather gray now; more than when I started working here sixty-one years ago. My job has allowed me to come in contact with many individuals who have lives much more interesting than my own. They've all come and gone over the years, some of whom lasted a while and others not as long. I knew few personally and most only by profession while working under me.

I browsed through applications that laid on my desk. After several, I came across the name Brittle P. Nut. I had never heard the name around town before. Pineapple Valley only has a population of two-thousand. Everyone knows everyone else. Days later, he appeared in my office doorway. He entered meekly peering down at the floor the whole time. His eyes never met mine once.

My assistant, Caramel, was hidden behind the gaunt man. Caramel was the one who brought Brittle to my office. Caramel, himself, was a rather short pudgy man who was an asset to the company. My best worker indeed! He was near balding age and a rather jolly man. He's been working for me for the past twenty years.

When I first saw Brittle, he stood taller than anyone I had seen before. He was probably in his twenties, although years of age showed clearly on his face. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he hadn't slept in days. Poor fellow I thought. He stood silently the whole time and continued to stare blankly at the floor. He never said a word.

The position of running the conveyer belt had to be filled immediately. Production had been at a halt for nearly three weeks already. My company was losing money quicker than a plumber could be called to fix a leaky pipe. Peppermint and Caramel couldn't pick up the slack anymore. A new man had to be hired. There was just no other option. Both of my other men had their own positions to stay loyal to.

Caramel was in charge of the packaging department and Peppermint was in charge of coating those delectable candies we produced. I couldn't ask anymore from them.

Now, would be a proper time to introduce you to Peppermint. Peppermint was a thin man in his early thirties. He was rather slow in the mornings, but picked up speed in the afternoons. No matter where he is in the building, he's always carrying around his coffee cup filled to the brim. He, unlike Caramel, has a full bush on his face; not at all complementary to his other features, if you ask me. Peppermint is a man of expectations rather than, the will and common sense to get things done correctly.

Brittle was hired and started the next day. He was a quick paced worker, yet he still walked around the other parts of the factory completely aloof to his surroundings. He didn't speak but two words to any of us. It was obvious that he very much preferred to be in hermitage.

Each set area of the production line was in a different part of the building, yet all were confined to the first floor along with my office. Caramel and Peppermint had offices on the second floor. There was no other place to put Brittle's but on the third. The third floor wasn't much; it consisted of mostly storage rooms. It was dimly lit to conserve energy and the walls were painted a gray color. I felt bad having him so isolated, but it was the only space I had.

Brittle continued to be a good worker for some days. Caramel was the first one to come to my office and complain about Brittle. He knocked gently on my office door that was closed at the time.

"Excuse me Sir, I'm here to let you be aware that packaging is on the decline."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Instead of packing ten boxes a day, I'm only packing five," stated Caramel.

I felt my cheeks turning red with aggravation. "How can that be? You're the last one the candies come to before being shipped out."

"Well Sir," began Caramel, "obviously they aren't coming fully in my direction."

Annoyed, I spun my chair around and faced the bookshelf that stood behind my desk. Minutes later Peppermint barged in.

Out of breath he said, "Sir, something is happening to the candies. In the past two days, I have coated much less." I took a deep breath and spun around in my chair to face both Caramel and Peppermint.

"This can only mean one thing," I said. "The problem must originate in Brittle's department. I got up out of the chair and all three of us proceeded to his part of the building.

As we entered through the swinging doors, Brittle stood hovering over the chocolates that slid down the conveyer belt.

I cleared my throat, "Ahem. Brittle, what are you doing?" I stated. Shocked at our presence he looked up.

Imagine my surprise when he said, "Mmm….melts in your mouth, not in your hand."

It was clearly evident that, indeed, the problem started in his department. I turned towards Caramel and Peppermint who were standing in awe. We stood in perfect silence as we fixed our eyes upon Brittle. His face showed full composure, and he was not the least bit disturbed by his actions.

Caramel, Peppermint and I left leaving the phoenix alone. I concluded it was best to forget the incident of the present and leave it for future contemplation.

As the three of us walked back to my office, I addressing Caramel and Peppermint said, "Well gentlemen, what do you think of all this?"

Jittery (since it was mid-afternoon) Peppermint said, "I-I-I think think he he he should go."

Caramel nodded in agreement. "He's making us lose business, Sir. People depend on our services," Caramel stated.

I knew both men were correct, but I couldn't bear the thought of tossing Brittle out. His aloofness I had started to grow accustom to. Yet again, what right did he have to stay?

He certainly did not bring in more money for the company; nor did he bother mingling with any of us when orders were slow.

I left the office early and put Caramel in charge of locking up for the night. It wouldn't be till Monday that any of us returned. Within the blink of an eye, Monday morning soon came. As I attempted to unlock the door to the building for a day's work, the key just spun in the lock.

Did Caramel forget to lock up on Friday? I thought to myself. As I walked in, everything was silent. All the machines were off and not a sound could be heard. I proceeded to my office. As I opened the door, I began feeling the wall for the light switch. I stood with the feeling in my gut that I was not alone in my office. The presence of someone or something lurked in the dark. As the lights began to flicker on, I saw the image of Brittle sitting in my chair. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the light. Was Brittle really sitting in my chair, or was it all just in my head? I wondered.

When my eyes finally adjusted to the fluorescent lights, I saw him sitting with candy wrappers covering my desk; while wildly spinning around in my chair. I stood a moment in silence observing his peculiar behavior. "Weeeeee!" he shouted in excitement. "Weeeeee he he whoo whoo whoo!" He reminded me of a young child on a merry-go-round. He was completely unaware that I had entered. I don't think he even noticed that the lights above had been turned on.

Suddenly, the spinning of the chair stopped. Brittle, quite startled, looked blankly at me. His eyes appeared glazed over.

"Brittle, you should not be here now. You should be home asleep."

He let out a laugh and said, "Mmm….melts in your mouth, not in your hand."

"I'm serious Brittle. This is my office. You have your own upstairs." There was no response. I thought I had gotten through to him. Instead, the spinning of the chair began once more.

"Brittle, you must leave at once!" I said in an irritated manner.

"No, Sir! You leave. I stay. You need air, go take a walk," he replied.

"No?" I questioned. "How dare you defy me!" I snapped.

Despite the fact it was four in the morning, the idea of a walk didn't sound half bad. With my coat still on, I shut my office door. I left the building as the chilly, dew-filled air hit against my face.

I took a walk to a nearby church on Maple Ave. There was absolutely no traffic. The town appeared ghostly. Only the gas street lamps hummed in unison. It amazed me that a town that appeared so lifeless would be full of life with many people bustling around in a few short hours. I stood gazing up at the church. It was the most beautiful sight to look at so early in the morning.

I left the church as a distant memory in my head; as I walked around some more. The more I walked, the more I knew that Caramel and Peppermint were right about getting rid of Brittle. I had finally come to the conclusion that Brittle must go. I returned to my office after what I assumed was around twenty minutes later.

To my surprise, upon my return, he was still in my office eating our freshly made chocolate and spinning around in the desk chair.

"Brittle, you must leave, not just my office, but the building itself. You're no longer needed here. Go now, you're free!" I said. In his own little world he was.

He looked up to see me standing by the door, laughed, and replied, "Mmm…melts in your mouth, not in your hand."

Aggravation and anger overwhelmed me. I turned around, walked out of my own office and slammed the door loudly behind me. As I reached the lobby area, Caramel and Peppermint were strolling in. I assumed that it was past five, as that is when they normally come in.

"Good morning Sir," they said in unison. Peppermint yawned as the words came out of his mouth. I informed them that Brittle had stayed on the premises overnight. Caramel readily apologized and told me that he gave Brittle the keys to the building. Brittle told Caramel to go home and that he would lock up. Clearly, that was all a lie now.

Why would such a man stay in an empty building? Did he have no home to return to? Now that I thought about it, his application from weeks ago said nothing much of his former life before employment here. All that I know about him is that his name is Brittle P. Nut and that he comes from out-of-state. Nothing else was mentioned about a previous job. Hmm…Contact information wasn't even listed now that I recall.

Brittle was definitely an eerie man. His appearance began to haunt me while being in the same proximity as him. Caramel and Peppermint wondered if I had announced to Brittle that he was free to go. I said that, indeed I had, but he refused to leave only saying his common phrase as a reply.

Sometime later that day, he removed himself from my office. Although, I did not witness this act. At last, the nuisance who had latched itself to me finally fled me. I was rid of Brittle for good.

After their lunch break, I instructed both Caramel and Peppermint to deliver a shipment of ingredients to the storage rooms. Upon their return to the main floor, they eagerly informed me that my nuisance had not left the grounds like I had thought. I instructed the men to go back to work as I marched up to Brittle's office.

"I've told you once already," I started. "you must leave. You do me no good being here."

Once more candy wrappers surrounded Brittle. He sat coldly looking at me. Did he think I was joking? I left without saying another word to him. Something more had to be done to rid of this nuisance.

I informed Caramel and Peppermint before closing, that the factory was going to be moved to another location. Brittle was still refusing to leave, so my company must leave him.

Moving trucks were called in the following days. Everything was moved to a new location some miles away. Brittle stayed in his office isolated throughout the entire move.

"Farewell Brittle," I yelled upon leaving. "Take care fellow." Caramel and Peppermint stood waiting by the door for me.

I gazed at the bare wooden floors and empty space. Sixty-one years of being in the same exact building, my father founded this company on…Now I was leaving behind my start of life.

We began at the new location as the search for a new employee was under way. I worked the conveyer belt in the meantime. Never will I hire such a person like Brittle again. Our former customers loved our new location and business boomed once more.

Weeks later a man, in a black suit, followed by two police officers entered through our doors.

"Excuse me Sir," the man said. "Do you know a Brittle P. Nut?"

"No, the name rings nothing in me," I said.

"We ask that you come to 367 W. Elm," stated the officers. I was quite confused.

I agreed to go and see what all the fuss was about. Caramel was left in charge of the building as I left with the three men.

Upon our arrival to my former place of work, nothing seemed to change. The building itself looked the same. Lights were unseen and everything appeared dismal. Gloom hung over the structure.

The officers, who clearly had a set of keys to the place, let us in. I followed behind as they lead me to Brittle's former office. The man in the suit opened the office door.

To my surprise there was Brittle. He laid as still as stone with candy wrappers around him. Chocolate candy stained his clothing and was held melted in his hands. I approached him wearily waiting to see his reaction at the sight of seeing me.

"Brittle, what are you still doing here?"

There was no answer.

"Brittle, speak to me."

Once again there was no answer, no witty reply, no blink of his eyes.

I placed my hand upon his chest as I turned my head looking at the men.

"Could this be?" I questioned. "Is he really…." The last word failed to come out of my mouth.

"Yes," said one of the officers. I removed my hand and laid my head down on Brittle. I knew that I should have never left him. He caused no real harm to my company. Here, I was the one abandoning him like so many others must have done in the past. I stood to my feet and walked out the door of his office.

An isolated man whose aloofness did so much as to haunt me, would never haunt another being again. He had passed a lonely man looking for acceptance rather than the ignorance of others. I glanced back once more at the sight of him. He left this world without many words, in the process of doing what he loved most: eating chocolate candies.

The newspaper reports claimed he was a chocaholic. I knew better. He was a man of insecurities looking for a place to belong. He longed to be cared for and I was his refuge. I knew better. I should have never let him go. I should have never left him. After all, he was nothing but a Brittle Peanut… easily broken.