2016: Stories From the Near Future by Roberto Ricci

Author:Roberto Ricci [Ricci, Roberto]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781301475537
Goodreads: 21694646
Publisher: Smashwords Edition
Published: 2012-11-12T00:00:00+00:00

SWEET DREAMS INC.

“So, today is the big day,” said Sam to his wife Deirdre trying to sound as cheerful as possible. The reality was that he had not slept the entire night. This day marked his wife’s seventy-fifth birthday and it would also be her last. For the past months, he had convinced himself that March 13th 2016 would never arrive or that somehow it would be skipped by the calendar. Yet, the day had arrived, inexorably.

He had tried his best to appear good-humored in front of her since breakfast. As a matter of fact, he had cooked breakfast himself that morning, for both of them. It had probably been the only time in forty years of marriage.

Yet as time passed, his preoccupation grew. He found himself constantly looking out the window. Maybe they’ve forgotten about her, he thought. Maybe her file got lost amidst the bureaucracy of the procedure.

“Stop looking out the window Sam. It’s the fifth time since this morning and you’re making me nervous,” said Deirdre as if reading his mind.

“They could have at least had the decency to tell us when to expect them. Usually when someone comes to your house they say a time or in the morning or in the afternoon or before or after lunch. These people have never told us anything! I think I’ll write to the CEO of Sweet Dreams and tell him about it. I’m sure he’ll thank me for my insight as this aspect of the procedure certainly has room for improvement.”

“It’s not a courtesy visit Sam. Besides, does it really matter at this point when they arrive?” she said. She then turned her NetView headset on and began to watch an old episode of Passionate Lives, her favorite Soap Opera.

“Oh go ahead, isolate yourself with that headset of yours, like all of our neighbors do!” The harsh tone surprised Sam as he was usually not one to lose his temper.

On a normal day, he would never lose his self-control but today certainly wasn’t a normal day. He looked out of the window again. Like most Sundays, the neighborhood was quiet; no cars passing by, no children playing. Nowadays everybody was always inside their homes, always connected to something except to one other, he thought. “I still don’t understand why you’re doing this,” he then said out loud. “In fifty years of marriage I’ve always respected your decisions. Always! But this time I must say I completely disagree with you. Completely disagree!”

He turned to look his wife. Deirdre, who was sitting on the sofa, did not appear to have heard Sam’s outburst. She rather gave the impression of contemplating the wall in front of her as she was watching the images that her NetView headset was projecting in front of her and that only she could see.

He gently tapped her shoulder and removed her headset. To his surprise when Deirdre turned towards him she had tears in her eyes. “Don’t do it, Deirdre,” he finally managed to say, looking at her and speaking softly again.

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