Glitch

The Real Life

I had a hoodie covering my head, and a cup of coffee in my hand. The atmosphere was intoxicating, but nothing close to home, nowhere near.

Every once  in a while, a few pixels shot out of my body to make sure I didn't forget the hideous truth that I was now a glitch. Every time I glitched, I remembered of all the good times and the fun times I had back home and how things had now changed. It hadn't been long, I thought, but I had lost sense of all time. It almost felt like an eternity ago that I was smiling and striding down the mellow fields but now I was here, afraid and alone, glitching till my body almost broke apart.  

Times Square was truly a wonder, people rushing here and there like a bunch of rats chasing after a slice of cheese. So engaging and yet so beautiful, an experience that never failed to please me. Yet, the fact that I had to sacrifice everything I loved and everything I stood for, only to live as an outcast in a city full of outcasts gave me deep discomfort. It was just utterly disheartening.

Of course, the glitching was tearing me apart, but it wasn't powerful enough to deviate the eyes of the people from their own rough and tough. I was invisible.

***

My mind was physically torn apart by the conflicting thoughts about how much I loved this city and how much I missed being home. I was mentally defunct. 

All I could remember was waking up in the sewers, immersed in all the filth and goop from all across the city. But that disgust was nothing compared to the immense pain that had overtaken my body. It took me quite some courage to stand up and make my way out of the sewers and when I finally did, I was overwhelmed with the sights I saw.

There were cars racing against each other, people fighting in the alleys and kissing under the lamp posts. People were rushing to get into buses while others enjoyed a delicious meal in the diner right across the street. This was it. It was exactly what I'd thought of it to be. Nothing more, nothing less. It took me no more than a few minutes to realize, that this was the essence of "real life."

I stumbled across the road, my clothes were torn to pieces. A man was lying drunk on the street, seemed like he couldn't care less about himself. So, I grabbed his hoodie and his jeans and set off.

***

Those past few days had been an absolute rollercoaster. I had already been to a lot of places and seen everything I could've in this gigantic city. But, one question still haunted my mind.

"How did I get here?"

All I could possibly recall was doing what I did every day, going out there, fighting the bad guy and setting the high score. I loved it completely, beating up bad guys and getting all the cheers and love, I was living my best life each and every second. Until, one day, something that resembled a wormhole showed up out of nowhere and sucked me in. And, there I was.

I was scared and alone. But there was this part, buried deep in my heart that hope that something or maybe someone's going to come along and free me of this misery. Yet, all I could do was hope. Hope.