Not Really

Alice stared down at the smartphone in her hand. The screen displayed the time as 11:59 AM. In just one minute, this device, along with every other smartphone across the globe, would go dark. Global announcements had warned of a catastrophic virus released by cybercriminals, targeting mobile operating systems worldwide. To prevent absolute system failure, authority networks found it necessary to initiate a total shutdown. IT agencies were now racing against the clock to fix the breach before the hardware became permanently corrupted and rendered entirely useless.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0... The clock struck 12:00 PM on the dot, and every screen faded into complete blackness.

Alice walked down the long stretch of the pavement, heading toward the third block where a local hamburger joint stood. She wanted to grab a quick lunch. How frustrating, she thought, recalling how she had completely forgotten to order food through her usual app before the network went down at noon. This oversight forced her out of the office to find something to eat on foot. As she walked past several open-air restaurants along the sidewalk, a rare sight caught her eye. People were sitting together, eating, drinking coffee, and talking face-to-face. It was a scene she had not witnessed in a very long time, not since smartphones took over daily life. A faint smile curled at the corner of Alice's mouth. Turning away from screens to look at each other while speaking felt like a much better alternative to bowing heads over glass rectangles. After ordering her favorite chicken burger, she picked up a book from a nearby shelf to read while waiting, rather than mindlessly scrolling through her phone as she used to do.

After finishing her meal, Alice instinctively reached into her bag to grab her smartphone to check the time. She stopped herself, remembering the device was dead. Instead, she lifted her wrist to check her watch. It was just past 1:00 PM. Yesterday, she had exchanged WhatsApp messages with her boyfriend, Rob, planning to meet up after work at 5:00 PM at their favorite cafe on the street corner. However, due to the widespread complications caused by the sudden smartphone outage, her manager had decided to close the office for the afternoon. With her schedule now completely wide open, Alice figured she might as well head over to the cafe early and wait for him there.

She quickened her pace, walking down the remaining two blocks toward the cafe. Excitement stirred within her. She had not seen Rob in quite some time because his workspace was located far from hers. Over the past two or three months, he seemed exceptionally overwhelmed with work, leaving them with no choice but to rely heavily on text messages to stay in touch. Rob used to tell her that even if they couldn't see each other, they could always stay connected through text. She looked at the lifeless smartphone in her hand. If the entire system had not crashed, making text messages impossible, would they even have found the time to meet today?

Alice stopped just outside the glass wall of the cafe, scanning the room for an empty table. Suddenly, her gaze locked onto a familiar figure at the corner of the shop. It looked exactly like Rob, and he was locking a blonde woman in a tight embrace. Alice focused her eyes, desperate to make sure she was wrong, but it truly was him. Yes, it was!

The echoes of countless text messages they had shared began to flash rapidly through her mind.

"I am so buried in work, sweetheart. I wish I could come see you right now."
"I miss you so much. As soon as things settle down here, I will rush to your side."

And every single conversation always ended with the exact same words:

"Love you always."

Alice walked back to the office building and found Rachel, her manager, standing right outside the entrance. Rachel walked over to her with an eager, energetic stride.

"Look at this, Alice! The network is back up. They fixed the system much faster than anyone anticipated. It has not even been a full day yet. It is truly unbelievable."

Alice pressed the power button on her phone. Almost instantly, a familiar chime echoed through the air as a new WhatsApp notification popped up on the screen. She looked down at the flat text on the display.

'The system is finally working again, my love. But bad news, my manager just called me in for an urgent meeting. I will not be able to make it to the cafe after all. See you soon.'

"It is so wonderful to have the system restored," Rachel said, looking back at her. "Life is just miserable without a smartphone. Don't you think so, Alice?"

Alice shifted her gaze toward the distant cafe at the corner of the street. She murmured softly under her breath, answering her manager with just two words.

"Not really."