Days of a Kuwaiti Bank Teller

Working as a teller is sometimes akin to working as a bartender. A myriad of people find themselves at my counter. The more time they spend there, the more likely it is I will hear a personal tale. Some of these counter confessions are heartbreaking, while others are added to a list of things I wish I didn't know.

A good teller manages to both console and run transactions. I confess, I'm not always a good teller. Every so often I need to break for five just to regain my composure. I've always seen the world through rose-colored glasses; the eternally foolish Pollyanna. These confessions bring my world tumbling around my ears. 

"I got laid off three months ago but my parents are unaware that anything's changed. I need to use my savings to pretend there's still a salary being transferred to my account."

"My wife passed away during the Invasion. She was murdered. I've remarried since but I don't love her the same way I loved my first wife. I would give anything to have her back."

"My stepsister's dying of cancer. She doesn't know that I found out. She hasn't told our father yet and now that I know her secret I don't want to see her. I'm scared of death and dying."

"I owe a lot of people money because I have gambling problems."

"When I was studying in London I met and married a Jewish girl. My parents don't know. When I graduated they arranged for me to marry my cousin. I take regular trips to London to see her."

"My four year-old cousin was raped by her uncle. Her father knows but he didn't tell the mother. They told my cousin it was a dream and she shouldn't tell her mother about it. They're worrying about a grown up being unable to accept reality and destroying an innocent child's life in the process."

"I married my husband out of obligation. The man I love is poor and my family wouldn't let me marry him. They don't know that my husband cheats on me."