soundlessness​

Hearing the rain pour down at the end of this quite December night. I started to wonder: am I going to miss this? Am I making the right choice? Enough I assured my self. All my life, I have never given something this much thought. But still, this decision is not a normal one, although I hate to use this word, it’s extraordinary. It will change my life or perhaps end it. 

Waking up in this fancy hotel to a beautiful, sunny Monday, I walked to the window to witness the sun. For some reason, and for the first time I didn’t mind the annoying tweets that the birds screamed, and for another odd reason, the sun never looked brighter. It was shining its gorgeous yellow light through this phony room I was arranged to spend the night in. I was told that a car will pick me up at 10:00. So I decided to spend the few hours I had at the park that was near the hotel. Although it was freezing, I loved how the trees looked in their white winter attire. I have always disliked winter. Everything about it from the clothes I had to wear to shield my weak body from the cold to the limits it restrains. But today, I did not seem to mind the cold nor the empty park. As I sat in an empty bench opposite the frozen lake. I started to admire the sounds I heard. Utter silence. I loved it. I Thought to my self, why is silence so underrated?. The absence of sound is so much more satisfying than what people think. Silence is more comforting, more sympathetic. Its more tender, and can offer a soothing experience no song can ever hope to bring. Enjoying silence is becoming harder every day, with all the gratuitous sounds that intrude our ears. Breaking the dazzling silence, I received the call: “Sir, the car is waiting for you outside”. 

I asked the driver politely to turn off the radio and not speak while on the road “ let us enjoy this solicitous silence” I told him. This is it. This is the moment I was grudgingly waiting for. Entering the building I felt my stomach turning, my palms sweating, perhaps that was my body warning me of what’s to come.  A tall, average looking gentlemen greeted me “ Hello sir, my name is Hank I’ll be your guide throughout the process”. Process? Is that what they call it? As if I needed more reasons to be worried. Still, it’s only natural to be worried. Average hank took me on a tour through the premises. “ sir, you are a part of a special, selected few” “ selected? I am here because I volunteered” “ yes sir, but not all volunteers get accepted. As I was saying, by taking part in this experiment you are helping us change the future, bringing us one step closer to an extraordinary breakthrough. AR or Augmented reality was always overlooked as a mere way of entertainment, but now with your generous participation, it will be much more than that”. After average Hank finished his spring exposition we arrived at last. The place looked less like a lab and more like a spaceship. At the middle of the room was this chair that was set up with a bunch of wires. And behind of what looked like bulletproof glass were two, not so average fellows.

… 

“Sir, can you give me your journal please?”
“I was planning to continue wiring until we start”
“well, we are starting now so please hand me over the journal” 

… 

Trail #128 was declared a failure. The subject lasted only 10 seconds. This journal that he left behind is confidential and must not be published under any circumstances.