Telescan 12

Margaret is sitting still like wax figure. Her face is numb and emotionless, like in a deep sleep, just with her eyes open.

“Not this again. Hello? Binging that show for 4 hours already..”

Ever since I got my wife new telescan 12, she never got back to reality. You see, that’s the tiny device implemented right into your brain, that makes it possible to control what you see: the latest news on television, fresh Instagram stories, funny YouTube videos with clumsy puppies or really anything you can imagine. You could always took it of, of course, but, judging from my wife’s behaviour, it was extremely difficult to do.

Finally she blinked. Her hair was oily and tangled, but her porcelein skin didn’t loose its touch of soft blush. Once Margaret was aspiring journalist, part time model and influencer. Every room she entered was enlightened with etheral gleaming, and her confidence was the key to many doors. That’s why I felt in love with her. She wasn’t like any other girls. Idea of not being with her made me lose my mind, so I did everything possible to earn her love. We’ve been happy ever since, before I made a crucial mistake of getting her telescan 12 surgery.

Margaret stretched on the futon.

- Did you get a good sleep, love? - I ask her with a smile on my face.

- I wasn’t sleeping. I was watching new episode of “Bachelor”.

- I know. Just kidding. - I put my arm on her shoulder and gently squeezed it. - Do we have anything for dinner?

Margy looked up as she was remembering something and smiled. All her moves and gestures were slow and measured.

- Didn’t make anything. Telescan now have the sensory update, where you can taste all the food from the videos. So I already had some lobsters by Gordon Ramsey.

- Okay. But you still need your calories. And so do I. Let’s go to the kitchen and fix some protein shakes.

- You go, I am tired. - She shook my hand off her shoulder.

- Just make me a company then.

- I know you wanna lure me into the kitchen and trick me into cooking. You always want me to do effort. If you just listened to me and got your telescan 12, you wouldn’t need any effort at all. - Margaret frowned. Her shiny blue eyes got filled with gray light, which was an indicator of her switching the channels. It was not possible to argue, so I put my leather jacket on the chair, took the cigar and wandered to the kitchen.

Mine and Margaret’s kitchen had a big window facing the downtown. Back in the day when we were younger it was a lively place - heart and soul of the city that never sleeps. It was built like a puzzle, made of street music, traffic noize, business conversations, laughter of kids and many many other sounds. Now it was silent like in the morgue. Just a bunch of strangers, all watching their telescans, moving like a zombie and not saying a word.

Suddenly, my thoughts were interapted by the sight of something shiny. How could I forgot. Maybe I am a bad partner and it is my fault wife became so distant? I took the finding a rushed back into the living room, while grabbing a bottle of Red and two crystal glasses on the way.

- Margaret. I am so sorry! Happy anniversary, love. - In my hand I was squeezing golden heart-shaped locked, with the pictures of our first date, the day when she was just my crush and we both acted shy and silly, and everything felt amazing- new feeling was about to blossom.

But she didn‘t even look at my present. Margaret was long gone. First I got scared and rushed to check if she was breathing at all. And she was - peacefully and deeply.

“What is she watching again?”

Normally, I would never interfere into with wife’s business. But the rage inside took over me. I though I was bad because I forgot about anniversary after a hard day at work, but she wasn‘t even in this world with me! And she was rude as well... Now I just felt like whatever she was watching was far more interesting than our life together. I took Margaret’s finger and scaned it with my portable scanner. It tranfered data from her head to my phone and I ran into bedroom, where I connected it to bigger tv.

Last memory. She really was watching Bachelor. Or should I say she was participating in it. Or just hanging out from that guy, eating Lobsters made by Gordon Ramsey. Perfect guy that could only exist in imaginary world, miles away from reality, that I carried on my shoulders. Reality where you should actually work hard, constantly improve and you can never be perfect. All she wanted now, all she had was an illusion. Margaret was a lost soul.

I hung the locket on her neck. I kissed her cheek and left through the door. That was the last time I saw her. Luckily, I soon got my own telescan 12, so I could keep up with my own perfect imagination, us being together happy, like we used to be when we met.