The day started just like any other. I was meeting up with some friends to grab some lunch. We all wanted tacos, so we met up there.
As we ate, we chatted about, having the usual conversations you'd expect. Jokes, whatever's going on in our lives, work, family drama. The works. Then, Greg brought up the TV show he'd been hooked on. It was called 'Connected'. He went on raving about it, drawing in details that I can't really think of at the moment. It was something like a cartoon where this guy travels around in a flying car and meets new people.
We all kind of chuckled, thinking this was just some silly kids' show. But he insisted it was more than that. He began pulling plots and quotes from the show like he'd seen each episode hundreds of times. We all joked about it. Everyone except for Greg.
"It finds you when you need it the most," he claimed. "Not a moment before and not a moment after. You probably would have found it too, it's just not your time yet."
With that, he stormed off, leaving his words lingering in the air and echoing through our minds.
Not long after the interaction, it was back to my normal life. Work, home, watch TV until I passed out. There for a few days, I had even forgotten about this interaction. That was, until one fateful night.
I returned home after a rather long shift at work. There were customers going off on me over dumb things like the outrageously high prices, or that they were trying to return things but to the completely wrong store. It was exhausting. But finally, I was home. It was finally time to rest.
I slumped down on the couch and clicked on the TV. The bright light from the screen illuminated the room, making me squint a bit. As my eyes adjusted, I saw some colorful shapes bouncing around, until those shapes grew faces and shifted into people.
"This week on Connected..." the man on the TV said. I rolled my eyes. This show? Really?
I grabbed the remote and clicked a button to turn the channel, but the show remained the same. I clicked another button. Still the same show. Was it on every channel?
I hit the power button but the TV refused to turn off. Then, the man on the screen said my name.
"There's no need to turn off the program," the man said calmly, a welcoming smile on his face. "Here, let me guide you through today's adventure. This one's for you."
The TV faded to black before lighting back up. The scene changed. The man was with a woman in a purple jumper. They were in the snow out in the middle of the woods. They walked around and talked amongst each other. They approached a cabin in the middle of a snowy clearing. They stepped inside and were greeted by a man that looked very similar to me, but not quite. He was sitting in a rocking chair, facing the fireplace.
The man and the woman approached the guy in the cabin. They talked with him, sitting down some chairs beside him, speaking words that I hadn't heard in years. Words that my parents had spoken to me before they died. "When the lights fade, you will always be the one carrying on." Those words brought a tear to my eye.
I was taken back to when I was crawling out of that flipped car. My parents weren't in good shape at all. There was so much blood. And those words. Those words were what pushed me forward for years. I chased dreams of being a writer. Of being someone who could make a difference in the world. But then, financial struggles got in the way, leaving me to put that on the back burner. It had been that way for years. And this show... It reminded me of my parents. Of the life I'd promised them.
It was from that moment on that I continued to watch the show. Sure, the episodes might be meant for other people to be reminded of the dreams they chased, of the best parts of their lives. But I watched on, for each episode felt like my parents were speaking directly to me.
And sure, there might be a mass following of the show that only grows larger with each broadcast. Sure, the people who watch each episode fall more in love with it, no matter how dark it gets. But it's only a show, right? What's the worst that can happen?
As we ate, we chatted about, having the usual conversations you'd expect. Jokes, whatever's going on in our lives, work, family drama. The works. Then, Greg brought up the TV show he'd been hooked on. It was called 'Connected'. He went on raving about it, drawing in details that I can't really think of at the moment. It was something like a cartoon where this guy travels around in a flying car and meets new people.
We all kind of chuckled, thinking this was just some silly kids' show. But he insisted it was more than that. He began pulling plots and quotes from the show like he'd seen each episode hundreds of times. We all joked about it. Everyone except for Greg.
"It finds you when you need it the most," he claimed. "Not a moment before and not a moment after. You probably would have found it too, it's just not your time yet."
With that, he stormed off, leaving his words lingering in the air and echoing through our minds.
Not long after the interaction, it was back to my normal life. Work, home, watch TV until I passed out. There for a few days, I had even forgotten about this interaction. That was, until one fateful night.
I returned home after a rather long shift at work. There were customers going off on me over dumb things like the outrageously high prices, or that they were trying to return things but to the completely wrong store. It was exhausting. But finally, I was home. It was finally time to rest.
I slumped down on the couch and clicked on the TV. The bright light from the screen illuminated the room, making me squint a bit. As my eyes adjusted, I saw some colorful shapes bouncing around, until those shapes grew faces and shifted into people.
"This week on Connected..." the man on the TV said. I rolled my eyes. This show? Really?
I grabbed the remote and clicked a button to turn the channel, but the show remained the same. I clicked another button. Still the same show. Was it on every channel?
I hit the power button but the TV refused to turn off. Then, the man on the screen said my name.
"There's no need to turn off the program," the man said calmly, a welcoming smile on his face. "Here, let me guide you through today's adventure. This one's for you."
The TV faded to black before lighting back up. The scene changed. The man was with a woman in a purple jumper. They were in the snow out in the middle of the woods. They walked around and talked amongst each other. They approached a cabin in the middle of a snowy clearing. They stepped inside and were greeted by a man that looked very similar to me, but not quite. He was sitting in a rocking chair, facing the fireplace.
The man and the woman approached the guy in the cabin. They talked with him, sitting down some chairs beside him, speaking words that I hadn't heard in years. Words that my parents had spoken to me before they died. "When the lights fade, you will always be the one carrying on." Those words brought a tear to my eye.
I was taken back to when I was crawling out of that flipped car. My parents weren't in good shape at all. There was so much blood. And those words. Those words were what pushed me forward for years. I chased dreams of being a writer. Of being someone who could make a difference in the world. But then, financial struggles got in the way, leaving me to put that on the back burner. It had been that way for years. And this show... It reminded me of my parents. Of the life I'd promised them.
It was from that moment on that I continued to watch the show. Sure, the episodes might be meant for other people to be reminded of the dreams they chased, of the best parts of their lives. But I watched on, for each episode felt like my parents were speaking directly to me.
And sure, there might be a mass following of the show that only grows larger with each broadcast. Sure, the people who watch each episode fall more in love with it, no matter how dark it gets. But it's only a show, right? What's the worst that can happen?
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