Windows Out by Michael Galloway

Author:Michael Galloway [Galloway, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Candlepower Publishing House
Published: 2018-03-08T06:00:00+00:00

The Pitcher at the Fountain

Bernard pulled out a pair of khaki pants from the closet and slid them off the hanger with trembling hands. He laid the pants on the bed, folded them into thirds, and pressed the creases with his wrinkled hands. Next, he removed another pair of pants from the closet, but stopped at the foot of the bed. The pants dropped into a heap on the floor.

“Dad, what is this?” Evelyn, his oldest daughter, said as she entered his bedroom. She cradled a black box in her hands. The box had four silver buttons on one side, a pair of lights on the front, and a recessed square on the top. “What does it do?”

Embarrassed, Bernard bent down to pick up the pants. He tried to fold them on the bed but struggled to make the first crease. He stopped and stared at the box. “Your mother and I found that at a garage sale. It’s a holographic video camera.” For a brief moment, he allowed himself to smile. “It’s remarkable. Only a few of them were ever made.”

“If it’s a camera, where’s the lens? How do you use it?” She spun the box in her hands and gave him a confused look.

“Here. Let me show you how it works.” He reached over and took the device from her. He pressed the first silver button with his thumb. The four-inch recessed square on top opened to reveal an inner chamber full of black marbles. “This button open and closes the shutter.”

Evelyn peered inside. “It’s a box of marbles?”

“They aren’t marbles. They have wings.” He pushed the button again to close the shutter.

“But how do you take pictures? How do you play the movies back?”

“Follow me.” He passed by her and set the camera onto the kitchen table. He thumbed the second silver button and a holographic image appeared in cubical form just above the camera. The three-dimensional image of the inside of a car driving up a mountain pass in Colorado filled the entire space. On the right side of the image was Benard’s now-deceased wife, Renata, laughing as she pointed out the passenger side window. Her curly red hair was just as beautiful as the day he met her and her green eyes sparkled with wonder. She wore a beige leather jacket with a floppy white scarf. The realism of her image caused him to reach out and touch her jacket as if it was real. Despite his instinct, his hand passed through her jacket without a ripple of difference. As the video played, his mood shifted from joy to longing to despair.

“How old was Mom in this?” Evelyn said.

“It was just after we got married. She just turned twenty-four.”

“How come us kids never saw this? Or saw pictures from this trip?”

“Oh, we showed you the pictures. Just never the movies.” He turned away from the kitchen table as tears welled up in his eyes. “Watch as many movies as you want.” He called out from the bedroom.

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