Three Girlfriends
I have waited for this day my whole life. Finally, have my dreams come true, or have it not?
The year is 2150. Some random place on earth, among elected human beings, he is sleeping nuzzled under a thermally insulated sheet. His room killed all the brightness outside, faultlessly shielded against any noise from a good night’s sleep. Yet, he cannot sleep because the day is special.
February 14, 2150.
The day he waited his whole life. The day he had earned.
He woke up feeling tired from the jittery sleep, but he was harboring all the energy to confront the day.
“Time,” he moaned.
A holographic display appeared before his face, a little above his head, like a dialogue box in a comic book.
It displayed the date and time, his plans and appointments for the day, his heart rate, and finally, his reward points.
Reward points: 28540560
He had earned these points his whole life, preserved them, waiting for this day.
A recorded voice whispered from the speaker.
“Your order is placed. All your vitals are normal, and we request you to be ready in ten minutes”
***
“150 reward points credited into your wallet for picking healthy food,” the recorded voice announced.
Suddenly, his personal overhead display screen appeared. The camera feed showed a beautiful woman on his doorstep. He instantly realized her.
She is Clara, his school friend. Not exactly his friend, because he had never spoken with her in all his life, but only to have a secret crush.
It has been nearly 20 years, but he couldn’t erase her from his memory.
“Why is she here?”
She waved her hand, smiling before the camera, requesting to let her in.
They sat on the couch. He could taste the awkwardness in the air.
“I don’t want to take up much of your time. From our school days, I have had this huge crush on you. But I didn’t have the guts to confront you. I tried to get over you all these years, only to end up at your doorstep. I am in love with you,” she confided to him.
He took his time to digest the information. The girl he had a crush on was also having a crush on him. Something twisted inside his guts, his heart rate plummeting to a dangerous level.
She left his house, adding nothing further while expecting a favorable answer within a day.
***
He could not concentrate on work. His eyes are staring at the screen with his mind elsewhere. He was a loner his whole life, and he repelled women. It was a dream to have a girlfriend who could accept his frailties. He was non-existent until this morning.
“Lisa is requesting access to your cabin,” the voice echoed on the screen.
“Lisa?, Weird!,” he thought.
Lisa is his co-worker. He hadn’t seen her after his failed pursuit of finding a girlfriend. She abandoned him after he asked her out.
She sat before him, staring at her feet, straining hard to compose herself.
“I am sorry for shunning you all these days. I was dating someone and I couldn’t gather the courage to sabotage my relationship with him, while my heart aching for you. But that was over now. The moment I saw you for the first time, I fell in love. I don’t know how or why, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I just wanted to say, I love you. Please!, don’t punish me for avoiding you,” she took off without pausing for his answer.
“The first shock was she had a boyfriend. Second, she broke up with him for me. For me. Why there is no one here to see this?. Specifically, the people who hailed me a woman repeller,” he said to himself.
The lunch tastes exemplary now. It is tough to explain what had happened in the morning. He was so elated but anxious at the same time. How could he decide one among them?.
While he was weighing the permutations, the display screen brought him back to reality.
“Caroline is requesting your appointment at 7 pm today,” it announced.
Well, this information is not a surprise. Caroline, his college friend, is getting married. She had already hinted at inviting him. Another one of his failed pursuits. But, unlike all others, she continued as a good friend.
“Well, to cut short, I called off my marriage,” she said. She arrived at his house way before her scheduled time.
Before he could ask why she said she was in love with him. She took an envelope from her purse. The letter he gave when he proposed to her.
“I didn’t realize I was in love with you. Once I got engaged, something was depressing me down. I couldn’t sleep even though I was to be married to the man of my life. Then, I found your letter in my drawer. I realized I was in love with you the entire time and that is the reason I am here now,” she clasped my hand.
His head started swirling like after a ride on a roller coaster.
“What was happening? I was an orphan until this morning. Now, I have three women desperate for me. This is unreal. Maybe someone pulling strings on me. But, even to do that, I have no one,” he rallied his thoughts in his mind.
The display screen flashed once again, revealing two women standing side by side at his doorstep. They were Clara and Lisa.
“Damn!,” he muttered under his breath.
They sat on the couch, confronting him. Their face turned red with anger. Their conversation got heated. He tried to calm them down, but his involvement encouraged them more. They are all stubborn.
“They all want me. Yes, I couldn’t believe it. They all want me, only me,” he was all happy about that idea.
“Listen to me, just hear what I say. Please! Calm down,” he barged between them, not letting them hurt each other. He tried separating them apart. But things went out of control. They literally were diving into each other.
Because of the commotion, they lost balance and fell, his head hitting hard on the floor. His head started spinning and slowly he lost consciousness.
He woke up with the recorded voice screaming inside his head. His house is empty. He slowly got to his feet, calling their names. No sign of any human life. The voice is repetitive now, looping the same message continuously.
His efforts at finding them went futile. Both worried and exhausted, he opened his personal screen.
“You have exhausted your reward points,” the voice repeated along with the message.
In utter shock, he browsed through his purchase history.
On the morning of 14th February 2150, he had placed a request on ‘Metaverse’.
An online virtual reality service that brings people’s dreams real. The company had a tagline,
Live your dreams.
“Lisa is requesting access to your cabin,” the voice echoed on the screen.
“Lisa?, Weird!,” he thought.
Lisa is his co-worker. He hadn’t seen her after his failed pursuit of finding a girlfriend. She abandoned him after he asked her out.
She sat before him, staring at her feet, straining hard to compose herself.
“I am sorry for shunning you all these days. I was dating someone and I couldn’t gather the courage to sabotage my relationship with him, while my heart aching for you. But that was over now. The moment I saw you for the first time, I fell in love. I don’t know how or why, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I just wanted to say, I love you. Please!, don’t punish me for avoiding you,” she took off without pausing for his answer.
“The first shock was she had a boyfriend. Second, she broke up with him for me. For me. Why there is no one here to see this?. Specifically, the people who hailed me a woman repeller,” he said to himself.
***
The lunch tastes exemplary now. It is tough to explain what had happened in the morning. He was so elated but anxious at the same time. How could he decide one among them?.
While he was weighing the permutations, the display screen brought him back to reality.
“Caroline is requesting your appointment at 7 pm today,” it announced.
Well, this information is not a surprise. Caroline, his college friend, is getting married. She had already hinted at inviting him. Another one of his failed pursuits. But, unlike all others, she continued as a good friend.
***
“Well, to cut short, I called off my marriage,” she said. She arrived at his house way before her scheduled time.
Before he could ask why she said she was in love with him. She took an envelope from her purse. The letter he gave when he proposed to her.
“I didn’t realize I was in love with you. Once I got engaged, something was depressing me down. I couldn’t sleep even though I was to be married to the man of my life. Then, I found your letter in my drawer. I realized I was in love with you the entire time and that is the reason I am here now,” she clasped my hand.
His head started swirling like after a ride on a roller coaster.
“What was happening? I was an orphan until this morning. Now, I have three women desperate for me. This is unreal. Maybe someone pulling strings on me. But, even to do that, I have no one,” he rallied his thoughts in his mind.
The display screen flashed once again, revealing two women standing side by side at his doorstep. They were Clara and Lisa.
“Damn!,” he muttered under his breath.
They sat on the couch, confronting him. Their face turned red with anger. Their conversation got heated. He tried to calm them down, but his involvement encouraged them more. They are all stubborn.
“They all want me. Yes, I couldn’t believe it. They all want me, only me,” he was all happy about that idea.
“Listen to me, just hear what I say. Please! Calm down,” he barged between them, not letting them hurt each other. He tried separating them apart. But things went out of control. They literally were diving into each other.
Because of the commotion, they lost balance and fell, his head hitting hard on the floor. His head started spinning and slowly he lost consciousness.
***
He woke up with the recorded voice screaming inside his head. His house is empty. He slowly got to his feet, calling their names. No sign of any human life. The voice is repetitive now, looping the same message continuously.
His efforts at finding them went futile. Both worried and exhausted, he opened his personal screen.
“You have exhausted your reward points,” the voice repeated along with the message.
In utter shock, he browsed through his purchase history.
On the morning of 14th February 2150, he had placed a request on ‘Metaverse’.
An online virtual reality service that brings people’s dreams real. The company had a tagline,
Live your dreams.
***
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